Bella Bella Walks the Seawall: Stanley Park (east)

Since our adventure began on March 6^th in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood, we’ve covered about 18 kilometres of seawall together! Wow – I wouldn’t try to do this walk all in one day, or my paws might get blisters.

Lots of people walk all the way around Stanley Park in one go, though – it makes a really nice outing. You can pack along a snack for energy, or stop at one of the park’s restaurants and concession stands. OK, OK, I’m thinking with my appetite again. Bears do.

We’ve now reached beautiful Lions Gate Bridge. It’s 1,823 metres long, while its tallest tower is 111 metres high. The bridge itself has a clearance (that is, vertical room for ships) of 61 metres at high tide, and 64 metres at low tide. Some ships are so tall that the three metres’ difference matters!

Dignified lions crouch at the southern end of the bridge. They were created by a sculptor named Charles (or Carlo) Marega. The sculptures were inspired by two things: twin peaks in the North Shore Mountains called The Lions, and the mighty lion that traditionally symbolised the British Empire.

This little model is just a pussycat.

You can hike up a path from the seawall, just east of the Lions Gate Bridge, to reach Prospect Point.

At about 67 metres, Prospect Point is the highest lookout in Stanley Park. The views from up here are breath-taking!

 

The hike up from the seawall already had me a bit breathless … it’s way easier going back down the path to sea level again.

There’s a lighthouse just to the west of Prospect Point, almost under the Lions Gate Bridge. Information about tides, wind, and traffic used to be passed to it by a Signal Station on top of Prospect Point. The old Signal Station was demolished in 1939, but the lighthouse remains.

 

Great scott – is that a sea monster?

Whew, no – it’s the figurehead (a decoration on the bow, or front end, of old ships) from a historic cruise ship called the Empress of Japan. The Empress of Japan was built in England in 1890, and sailed to Vancouver on its maiden voyage. This ocean liner spent the next three decades sailing across the Pacific Ocean … a total of 315 times.

The original figurehead is safely stored at the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Kitsilano. Remember when we strolled past that museum together? This is a fibreglass replica (which doesn’t mind the rain).

This pretty lady doesn’t mind the rain, either. The Girl in a Wetsuit has perched on a granite boulder by the seawall since 1972.

She was created in bronze by a sculptor named Elek Imredy. She may remind some of you of another famous lady: the Little Mermaid, a statue that graces the harbour in Copenhagen, Denmark.  I suspect that seagulls like both statues …

  What do you think? Have I struck the same pose? Just call me Bear in a Sweater. 

The northeastern tip of Stanley Park is called Brockton Point. It’s fun to watch shipping traffic from here, and float planes landing and taking off in the inner harbour.

The Brockton Point Lighthouse is an active lighthouse run by the Canadian Coast Guard. It was built all the way back in 1914.

Nearby, a pretty little pond is surrounded by Stanley Park’s totem poles.

These poles remind us that, since time before memory, First Nations lived in what is now the park. Squamish people had several villages on the peninsula, while Musqueam people came here to fish and gather other resources. 

 

Hey, how do you like the name on this coffee shop? We Spirit Bears are pretty famous!

(I explained a bit more about Spirit Bears in this post last summer.)

Dave and I are trying to decide what to order ... everything looks good.

 

This is the Nine O’clock Gun. It goes off with a tremendous BOOM every day at 9:00 p.m. The cannon was made in 1816, and brought to Vancouver in the mid-1890s.

Why set off a cannon at a certain time? Well, at first, it was to let fishermen know when to stop fishing on Sundays. Later, it was to make sure that people in Vancouver (and ships at anchor) all set their clocks to the same time. Now, it’s mostly just for fun.

The Nine O’clock Gun marks the southeastern end of Stanley Park. The seawall then swings west again, giving us a view over Coal Harbour toward downtown Vancouver. 

That building you can see with pretty white sails for a roof? That's Canada Place. It housed the Canadian pavilion during Expo 86. Nowadays it’s a convention centre, and a terminal for cruise ships.

Coal was discovered in this area a long time ago. Coal Harbour is now a sheltered inlet busy with boats and float planes.

Deadman Island sticks south into Coal Harbour. Also known as HMCS (“Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship”) Discovery, it’s home to a division of the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve, and an important base for naval training. It was named for a ship commanded by Captain George Vancouver when he explored Burrard Inlet in 1792.

Naval bases that are on land, like this one, are called “stone frigates,” and referred to as though they were ships.

Lost Lagoon was once a tidal pool that emptied (or was “lost”) at low tide. It was dammed by the Stanley Park Causeway – the road that leads to the Lions Gate Bridge – in 1912, and is now a pretty freshwater lake. Ducks, geese, and swans love to swim and rest here.

 

Lost Lagoon marks the end of our tour around Stanley Park, and the close of our adventure along Vancouver’s seawall.

Thanks for your company on this 22-kilometre trek! I’ve really enjoyed sharing the walk with you. Now, what do you think – time for a snack?

Story and photos © S. Clouthier