Walking is the most popular activity to do in Stanley Park.  Thousands of people walk in and around Stanley Park every day!  People can walk on the Stanley Park Seawall or on the many paths and trails within Stanley Park.  A few people are more adventurous and walk all the way to North Vancouver from downtown Vancouver through Stanley Park.  Below we will describe all these ways to walk in Stanley Park.

One of the most popular places to walk in Vancouver is on the Stanley Park Seawall.  The Stanley Park seawall has a dedicated walking lane on which you can walk both directions.  If you walk around the entire perimeter of the park it is 9 kilometers long (5.5 miles).  Most people only walk on the seawall for only a part of it.  The Stanley Park Seawall is relatively flat with only a few slight up and downhill sections.  It is ok for wheelchairs and strollers.

There are fabulous views of English Bay, Coal Harbour, downtown core, North and West Vancouver, and the ocean from the Stanley Park Seawall.

There are many benches along the seawall where you can stop and rest.  There are concession stands and washrooms along the way at the Stanley Park Information Booth, Brockton Point, Lumbermens' Arch, Third Beach, and Second Beach.  There are water fountains along the way, however most have not been turned on during the Covid pandemic so bring your own water if you don't want to buy some at the concession stands.

The Stanley Park seawall connects at Coal Harbour to the Coal Harbour Seawall.  At English Bay the Stanley Park seawall connects to the English Bay Seawall.  Therefore, you are able to walk about 24km in total on seawalls if you were so inclined!

The Stanley Park seawall is open 24 hours a day, but we recommend for your safety to not walk alone at night.  In 2021, there have been interactions with Coyotes at dawn and dusk.  More information about how to deal with coyotes: Coyotes

If you walk on the Stanley Park Seawall from Coal Harbour to English Bay you will pass many of the attractions in Stanley Park such as the Horse-drawn Carriage Tour, Totem Poles, Brockton Point Lighthouse, Girl in Wetsuit statue, SS Empress of Japan Figurehead, Lumbermens' Arch, Variety Kids Water Park, Siwash Rock, Third Beach, Second Beach, and the Second Beach Outdoor Swimming Pool.

Inside Stanley Park there are many paths and trails to walk.  These are intertwined throughout the park to allow you to get to where you are going in a reasonably short distance.  There are many paved paths.  There are also many crushed gravel trails.

The paved paths are more around the centre of the park where the Stanley Park Pavilion, Malkin Bowl,and the Vancouver Aquarium are located.  There are too many paths to describe individually here.

The trails are all over the park.  You are really hiking in the forest on most of the trails.  There are nice trails to walk around Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake.  Some of the trails heading up to Prospect Point are quite steep and not totally accessible.  Here is a complete list of trails: Trails

In 2021, a number of trails have been closed due to Coyote attacks.  Please be careful.

A few people are more adventurous and walk all the way to North Vancouver via the Lions Gate Causeway and Lions Gate Bridge.  There are fabulous view of Burrard Inlet from the Lions Gate Bridge.

After some fatal accidents caused by bicycle/people interactions, the province in 2016 upgraded the sidewalk to better accomodate both cyclists and pedestrians.  This is a very long walk with uphill portions and should only be attempted if you are very fit.  Note that the east sidewalk of the Stanley Park Causeway allows for pedestrians to walk north-south and bicycles to go north only.  The west sidewalk of the causeway allows for bicycle to go south only.  No pedestrians are allowed on the west sidewalk.

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