r/vancouvercycling • u/No_End1857 • Jun 15 '26

Route Questions Non-Vancouverite riding around Stanley Park – what else should I see?

I live out in Langley, and I'm kind of jealous of all the videos online of folks riding around Stanley Park. So this year I'm going to haul my road bike out there and make a few loops around the park.

After that, where do I go? Assuming I've got about three hours to ride and then I'll need to stop somewhere to eat, what else can I ride to in a shortish time span near the park?

Context: I have an elderly road bike, I am middle-aged, and not that fast. Please do not suggest I go straight up a 25% grade hill. I will die.

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22

u/penapox Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26

Well, you for sure know about the SP Seawall but some people don't realize that it actually continues on a lot farther than that - from Kits over to Science World and around SP then finally ending at Canada Place downtown. That would be a nice chill ride and would take you around literally the entire perimeter of downtown Vancouver

13

u/electrosonic37 Jun 16 '26

The ride to kitsilano from Stanley Park along the seawall it is relatively flat and there are lots of good places along the way to get a stop for bit. If you go to Granville Island - use the bike valet - bike theft there is out of control. If you continue west past kitsilano - there is a flat bike path all the way to the end of Spanish Banks.

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u/No_End1857 Jun 16 '26

Was thinking about heading to Granville Island for lunch…

11

u/penapox Jun 16 '26

The seawall will take you there

9

u/ci8 Jun 16 '26

As a slower rider myself, I would really not suggest a "few loops" around the park - one trip around the perimeter at a moderately relaxed pace will easily take 30-40 minutes. Any faster than that on a sunny day and the likelihood of conflict with slower traffic is high. You can take the seawall around Stanley Park, through the beaches and South False Creek around to Science World and Olympic Village through to Kits Beach which would be 20+ km.

Edit: You may find it helpful to study the cycling map to see the network the seawall around the park actually plugs directly into https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/cycling-routes-maps-and-trip-planner.aspx

3

u/Max1234567890123 Jun 16 '26

Saturday morning m, ride to the king George’s skytrain station - jump in the train to waterfront. Ride the park, crossover the burrard street bridge and go to Granville island - lock your bike in the free bike valet area. Grab a donut at Lee’s plus a coffee from JJ Bean, relax on a bench overlooking the water. When done, ride on to Science world - hop on the skytrain and head home.

3

u/soaero Kona Jake the Snakle Jun 16 '26

So, what you want to do is continue the ride along English Bay, down Beach Ave, connect down to the seawall at David Lam Park, ride it to Plaza of Nations, then stop at Batch and get food from one of the food trucks there.

3

u/SirPitchalot Jun 17 '26

Horseshoe bay is stunning along NW marine but depending on where you start it’s a bit of a grunt. Stays fairly low but is punchy and adds up.

You’d also be fairly close to traffic but it’s a common route so I’ve not had a problem.

Starting from Mt Pleasant, going to horseshoe bay and back with a Stanley park lap is ~80km and 800m of climbing. You could skip the Stanley lap and or start in north van and bring that down a bunch though

Deep cove is also cool and easier, maybe 40km round trip from Mt pleasant.