Beachcomb the Shore at Cates Park

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

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

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

Stanley Park's quiet inner lake does herons, swans, a 1936 fountain and benches, without a single cyclist in sight.

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

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

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

West Van's waterfront walk puts Lions Gate, Stanley Park and the whole downtown skyline across Burrard Inlet at your disposal.

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.

Arrive an hour before sundown on Port Moody's waterfront pier, stay for the ice cream, extend with the nearby brewery row.

Ten minutes through never-logged Douglas firs to warm granite bluffs above the Point Atkinson lighthouse and Howe Sound.

Sailboats, mountains, evergreens and a flat free walk from Jericho to Locarno. Vancouver's gentlest waterfront at late afternoon.

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