Stanley Park is an urban park that lies next to the city of Vancouver’s downtown in Canada’s BC area. It was named after Canada’s General Governor when David Oppenheimer, who was a mayor then, established it in 1880. In comparison to Richmond Park in London, it is half in size while it is bigger than the Central Park in New York City by approximately 10%. More than eight million people visit this park on a yearly basis (both tourists and locals). It is encircled by a seawall and covers about 404 hectares of land. In the North American region, the park is ranked 6 best and 16th worldwide.
The park features five major attractions that lure people to visit it; these are both artificial and natural attractions. A large forest with various trees that is considered an urban oasis is featured in the park. Although the park has gone through deforestation by natural disasters like storms, it is well known for the Hollow Tree that was about 700 to 800 years old, the National Geographic tree and the Seven Sisters. Although some of these great trees were damaged, they are a must-see in this park.
Beaver Lake that features water birds and fish, Beaver Creek which is an inlet of lake Beaver features salmon, a lit fountain and Lost Lagoon are some of the water bodies around the park that visitors must see in the park in addition to the surrounding Pacific ocean waters. It is common to see a variety of birds around these water bodies such as ducks, swans, the Canadian goose as well as the beautiful blue heroin, among others.
There are several recreational facilities within the park such as the seawall that facilitates running, inline skating, walking and cycling; a golf course, tennis courts, Second Beach and a swimming pool by the side of the sea, Trains for Christmas and Halloween, an Aquarium for entertainment purposes; the Brockton Oval that allows for various sports like rugby, sports track and cricket; Under the Stars theatre as well as the Malkin Bowl.
The Park was originally home to various animals such as kangaroos and wolves, among others; however, the zoo was closed down. Currently, the park features more than 200 species of birds including those that are not native to the land. The Vancouver Aquarium, situated in the park, features whales, sea lions, dolphins and sea otters, among other marine life. Various mammals, invertebrates, fish species, reptiles and amphibians are also featured in the park.
The fifth must-see in the Stanley Park are various monuments and gardens such as plaques, statues as well as memorials.
