Picnic Areas in Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC, Canada
There are many fantastic picnic areas in Stanley Park.
You can just find a piece of grass or beach and have a picnic.
There are also some areas with shelters and cooking facilities that can be reserved. We will tell you where these are and how to reserve these picnic sites in addition to a bunch of great free spots to picnic!
Reserved Picnic Sites
There are a number of reserveable picnic sites in Stanley Park. You need to get a permit from the city to use these sites. Reservations can be made on the City of Vancouver website (there is a link to it on the button below).
There is a cost to reserve a picnic site. The cost is different based on the picnic site. We will tell you the cost for each site below when we describe each site.
There are 2 time slots that you can reserve a picnic site for: 9am to 3pm OR 4pm to 9:30pm.
Reservations must be made at least 5 business days in advance.
See below for a description for each of the reservable picnic sites in Stanley Park.Ceperley Park/Second Beach Picnic Area
The most popular place to have a picnic in Stanley Park is arguably Ceperley Park in front of Second Beach.
You can picnic for free on the field in Ceperley Park. There is only 1 picnic table available on the field so you have to bring your own chairs and tables if you want them. Most people picnic here. There is limited water available at a water fountain, however, you are close to the Second Beach Concession stand and washrooms. Picnicing here is first come-first serve.
There is a reservable picnic shelter with picnic tables just above Ceperley field for up to 150 people and the Air India Memorial. The 2023 cost to reserve this picnic shelter for a time slot is $124 (residential) or $372 (corporate). Kitchen access is available for an extra $50 plus GST.
Prospect Point Picnic Area
The Prospect Point Picnic area is a reservable picnic site for up to 150 people with a large field(with a baseball diamond), cooking and washroom facilities. The 2023 cost to reserve this picnic shelter for a time slot is $199 (residential) or $597 (corporate).
Lumbermens' Arch Picnic Area
This picnic area is a large field next to the Lumbermens' Arch that can be used for picnics. There are a few picnic tables. This area isn't reservable so if there is a large event in the field, you may be out of luck for picnics.
Brockton Point Picnic Area
Many people picnic at Brockton Point. The most common area to picnic is next to the Brockton Playing Fields closer to the Totem Poles where there are no sports happening. There are no cooking facilites at this area. This picnic area is NOT reservable.
Miniature Train Picnic Area
There are 2 reservable picnic sites next to the Stanley Park Junction. These 2 picnic sites have shelters and cooking facilities. The 2023 cost to reserve these picnic shelters for a time slot is $124 (residential) or $372 (corporate). Kitchen access is available for an extra $50 plus GST.
Hollow Tree Picnic Area
Next to the Hollow Tree is a small secluded field with lots of large trees that can be used for picnics. This would be the spot to picnic if you want a quiet and/or romantic picnic. The downside to this area is that it isn't very accessible, you will probably need to drive in, there isn't much parking, and there are no cooking facilities.