The Stanley Park Seawall: Coal Harbour to English Bay on Foot

Start around three or four hours before sunset and you reach Third Beach and English Bay as the light turns gold over the water. Mornings are quieter on the path; summer weekend middays are the busiest time of the week.

The Coal Harbour waterfront from Canada Place to the park entrance is a lovely warm-up in itself, and you avoid the pay lots entirely. Bus 19 runs to the Stanley Park loop if you want to shorten the start.

The rental shops cluster on Denman Street and West Georgia near the park entrance. On foot the loop is a relaxed half day; on a bike it is under an hour, which leaves time to continue along Sunset Beach toward False Creek and Kitsilano on the same seawall.

Lumberman’s Arch has a big lawn and a summer spray park, and Second Beach has a playground and a large outdoor pool that opens in summer. Both have washrooms and snacks, which matter more than the views when you are walking with children.

Concession stands along the route cover the basics, but the better plan is to pick up food on Denman Street or in Coal Harbour before you start and eat it on the driftwood logs at Third Beach.

The 9 O’Clock Gun near Brockton Point is a naval cannon cast in 1816 that is still fired every evening at 9 p.m. If you walk in the evening, time your finish so you hear it boom across the harbour.

The beaches below the seawall look tempting to scramble along, but the tide comes up fast against the stone and the cliffs above Siwash Rock shed rocks after heavy rain. Stay on the path and obey any closure fencing.

The West End puts you within walking distance of both ends of the loop and of English Bay’s restaurants. Coal Harbour hotels trade a higher price for harbour views, while the downtown core a little further east has the widest choice at every budget.