Stanley Park Seawall - A Lifetime of Stonework

Photo: Gareth Wyn Jones, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Vancouver Cruise Day Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Here the seawall enters Stanley Park, a 400-hectare forest park that is about a fifth larger than New York's Central Park. It opened in 1888, and Governor General Lord Stanley dedicated it the following year. Long before that, this land held Squamish villages such as Xwayxway, and the Musqueam also drew on its resources.

The stone wall under your feet was built to stop waves eating away at the shore. Work on the park section began in 1917 and took more than 60 years. Master stonemason James Cunningham devoted decades of his life to it and died in 1963 before it was finished; the full loop around the park was completed in 1980.

Today the park loop is about 10 kilometres, and it's one of the city's favourite walks and rides. If you're on a bike, ride counterclockwise; the bike lane has been one-way since 1984. On foot, allow about 15 minutes from here to the totem poles.

Getting here: From the east end of Lost Lagoon, walk north past the rowing club docks to the seawall, about 8 minutes.

Did you know?: Most of the Stanley Park seawall was built by hand, and a plaque near Siwash Rock honours James Cunningham, the stonemason who spent decades on it.

Photo op: Look back east from the seawall to frame the moored yachts with the downtown skyline behind them.

Nearby: Public washrooms are signposted along the seawall; food is limited until Brockton Point, so bring water.

More on Wikipedia: Seawall · Stanley Park · Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby

Stanley Park Seawall - A Lifetime of Stonework

Stops on this tour