Vancouver''s Beaches
Vancouver, it's rather surprising to find, has beaches . Perhaps not of Malibu or Bondi standard, but beaches just the same, and ones that look and feel like the real thing, even if much of the sand comes from Japan in container ships. All are clean and well kept: the clarity of the water is remarkable given the size of the city's port - and the majority have lifeguards during the summer months. The best face each other across False Creek and English Bay, starting with Stanley Park's three adjacent beaches: English Bay Beach , ranged along Beach Avenue; Second Beach , to the north, which also features a shallow onshore swimming pool; and Third Beach , further north still, least crowded of the three and the one with the best views of West Vancouver and the mountains. English Bay at the southern end of Denman is the most readily accessible, and easily visited after seeing Stanley Park. Across the water to the south and west of the Burrard Bridge, Kitsilano Beach , or "Kits", is named - like the district behind it - after Chief Khahtsahlano, a Squamish chieftain of a band who once owned the area. Walk here from Vanier Park and the museums (30min) on the coast path or, from downtown, take a #22 bus southbound on Burrard Street. Kits is a city favourite and the busiest and most self-conscious of the beaches. It's especially popular with the university, volleyball and rippling torso crowds, and the more well-heeled locals. Families also come here, though, to take advantage of the warm and safe swimming area, while sunbathers can take up a position on the grass to the rear. Vancouver's largest and most popular outdoor heated pool is the lido at Yew and Cornwall (daily mid-May to early Sept), while the shoreline path is a lovely place for an evening stroll, cycle or time out on a bench to watch the streetlife. Follow the path all the way east and it takes you to Granville Island by way of Vanier Park and the museums. A former hippie and alternative-lifestyle hangout, Kits still betrays shades of its past and, with nearby bars and restaurants to fuel the party spirit, there's always plenty going on (though there's also sometimes a vaguely meat-market sort of atmosphere). Jericho Beach , west of Kits and handy for the youth hostel, is a touch quieter and serves as a hangout for the windsurfing crowd. Still further west, Jericho blurs into Locarno Beach and Spanish Banks , progressively less crowded, and the start of a fringe of sand and parkland that continues round to the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus. Locals rate Spanish Banks the most relaxed of the city's beaches, while Locarno is one of its most spectacular, especially at low tide, when the sand seems to stretch for ever. Bikers and walkers use the dirt track at the top of Locarno, beyond which a broad sward of grass with picnic tables and benches runs to the road. You can rent canoes at Jericho from Ecomarine Ocean Kayak, 1688 Duranleau St (tel 689-7575). At low tide the more athletically inclined could walk all the way round to UBC (otherwise take the bus as for the Museum of Anthropology , where the famous clothing-optional Wreck Beach lies just off the campus area below NW Marine Drive - ask any student to point you towards the half-hidden access paths. It's inevitably aroused a fair bit of prudish criticism in the past, but at the moment attitudes seem more relaxed. The atmosphere is generally laid-back - though women have been known to complain of voyeurs - and nude pedlars are often on hand to sell you anything from pizza and illegal smokeables to (bona fide) massage and hair-braiding. Finally, Ambleside , west of the Park Royal Mall along Marine Drive (turn south at 13th St W), is the most accessible beach if you're in North or West Vancouver.
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