Museum of Anthropology at UBC, Nitobe Garden and the Wreck Beach Stairs

The museum is a perfect wet-day plan, and the Great Hall’s daylight is beautiful even under grey skies. Save the Nitobe garden and the Wreck Beach stairs for a dry afternoon; on a clear summer evening, stay for sunset on the beach.

The 99 B-Line from Commercial-Broadway and the R4 from Joyce-Collingwood both end at UBC Exchange, as do several other routes. Walk northwest across campus to the museum, or check for a campus shuttle. Driving is easy but parking is paid and enforced.

The museum closes on Mondays in the off-season and has longer Thursday hours; exhibitions change, and some carry separate timing. Check the official site for the current schedule and any Thursday-evening discount, and remember that Nitobe charges its own entry.

The poles in the Great Hall were carved to stand outdoors, facing the sea and the villages they belonged to. Erickson’s glass wall puts them back in that relationship: stand at the back of the hall and look past them to the outdoor Haida houses and the trees beyond. Then go outside and see the site from the other direction.

In the Multiversity Galleries, look for the drawers beneath the cases: where they open, there are more objects inside. Kids who glaze over at labels will happily hunt through them. The beach stairs are a good way to burn off whatever energy is left.

There are cafés and food outlets across the UBC campus, busiest during term. Wreck Beach has seasonal vendors in summer, but do not count on them; bring water and a snack down the stairs, since climbing back up hungry is miserable.

The Point Grey cliffs are eroding, so stay on marked trails and off the cliff edges. On the beach, check the tide before you walk far along the shore, and leave enough light for the climb back up the stairs, which are unlit.

There is little hotel choice near the museum itself. Kitsilano and Point Grey, on the bus lines toward campus, give you beaches, cafés and a short ride out; downtown works too, with the 4th Avenue and Broadway buses covering the distance in well under an hour.

The outdoor Haida houses and poles behind the museum, the forest trails of Pacific Spirit Regional Park and Wreck Beach are all free. On a tight budget, pay for the museum and spend the rest of the day in the park.