There are many famous and beautiful parks in and around Vancouver, some ideal for hiking, some famous for their gardens, some simple fields in residential areas, but given the recent articles on Gastown, it seems like a perfect time to mention the virtually unknown, except by locals, Crab Park.

View of the North Shore from Crab Park

Crab Park can be seen from the seabus as you approach Downtown Vancouver, only a small slice of beach, a simple boardwalk by the water, and a green park for playing soccer or frisbee and a little playground just out of sight in the background.

I had lived in Vancouver for fifteen years before I went there, simply because, it’s not terribly obvious how to get there. Between Gastown and the water are a number of train tracks behind a high fence, and Crab Park is on the other side. However, it turns out that the park is only a ten to fifteen minute walk from Gastown. You follow the short stretch of Water Street until it turns into Alexander Street and continue for two more blocks. At Main Street there’s a vehicle and pedestrian bridge on the left that curves over the railway tracks.

A Chinese lion guards the Main Street Bridge

Crab Park is a great destination for a little stroll to escape the hubbub of the city, or an ideal place for a picnic. It also provides a picturesque and usually unseen view of the city: Harbour Centre and the Skyscrapers rising out of the trees, amazingly close, but viewed from a calm perspective. The little beach is a good place to sit and contemplate the mountains and the bustling port, although swimming it not recommended with the coming and going of Port Traffic.

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