Clifftop Views at Lighthouse Park

The cliche that earned it. Eight free volleyball nets, a driftwood log, and English Bay going full pink.

Stanley Park's west-facing sandy cove, where everyone on the seawall cycles past while you watch the real show.

Grab Denman Street takeout, claim a driftwood log, and watch the sun drop behind the North Shore mountains. Free, always.

The highest point in Stanley Park, straight down the Lions Gate Bridge, and an ice-cream stand to stand at while you stare.

Burnaby Mountain's Ainu totems face a golden Burrard Inlet at sunset while 900 rose bushes perfume the whole situation in summer.

Vancouver's best kite-flying lawn sits between Kits Beach and Granville Island, with a postcard skyline view and zero admission.

Former basalt quarry turned sunken flower garden, with a stone bridge that has starred in approximately every Vancouver wedding photo.

English Bay's quieter cousin at the mouth of False Creek, where the ferries, the mountains, and the freighters all line up.

A rare hike you can do in nice shoes, 5 km of coastal forest, rocks at the end, Indian Arm below.

The one Vancouver sunset where the sand goes on forever, the crowds go home, and the sky takes its sweet time.

Canada's longest pier stretches 470 metres over Semiahmoo Bay, Mount Baker glowing across the water like it's showing off.

An iconic zig-zag staircase down through forest to a quiet pebble beach with big Boundary Bay sunsets and balancing-rock cairns.

A flat mirror-still lake loop that grows 700,000 lights every November and calls itself Lights at Lafarge.

A pocket botanical garden south of downtown Langley with a little tropical greenhouse, a gazebo, and benches made for lingering.