Winter can be a busy time for many, and with days getting darker sooner it can be a challenge to make time for leisure activities. Taking a short walk in the evening is a great way to unwind, relax, and end your day on a positive note! The fresh, crisp winter air, sparkling holiday lights, and calmer streets are lovely at this time of year.
As part of our Living Streets program, we proudly launched our Winter Festive Walks in 2021 with the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House to promote walking in the winter months. We created these events with the goal of encouraging people of all ages and abilities to enjoy a walk/roll in the darker hours of the winter season and to show how being outdoors any time of the year can be fun! Going for a walk in your own neighbourhood or a new area you aren’t familiar with is an excellent way to connect with the local community, become more familiar with the city, and develop more sustainable transportation habits.
We organized three Winter Festive Walks in different areas in Metro Vancouver: the Spirit Trail/Lonsdale Quay on the North Shore, Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam, and Mount Pleasant in Vancouver. TransLink kindly provided Compass Cards for participants when we used transit to get to our location, and we showed participants how to reload their cards for future use!
NORTH SHORE SPIRIT TRAIL/LONSDALE QUAY
Winding along the scenic waterfront, the North Shore Spirit Trail is a fully accessible trail providing pedestrians, cyclists, inline skaters and people with wheeled mobility aids safe access across the North Shore. A collaboration between the City of North Vancouver, First Nations, North Shore municipalities, and the provincial and federal governments, the Spirit Trail connects neighbourhoods and new landmarks with popular destinations such as Lonsdale Quay. It’s a dynamic and unique feature of the city worth checking out!
We met at the seawall by Science World in Vancouver and encouraged participants to chat with each other about walking and how it makes them feel connected. We hopped on the SkyTrain to Waterfront Station, and transferred onto the SeaBus where we arrived at the Lonsdale Quay terminal in North Vancouver. From there, we walked west to Kings Mill Walk Park, and then turned towards the Shipyards where we enjoyed beautiful festive decorations and a warm hot chocolate next to the skating rink. We caught the sunset and took in the stunning views of Vancouver’s skyline! After a refreshing break, we walked back to the Lonsdale Quay terminal where we used our Compass Cards to take the SeaBus and Skytrain back to Vancouver.
What is there to experience?
Walkable trail along the North Shore waterfront
Benches and seating to enjoy the views of Vancouver’s skyline
BCIT Marine Campus
The Polygon Gallery
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Lonsdale Quay Market (tons of delicious food and lovely gifts!)
The Shipyards, an outdoor public space and retail waterfront complete with skating rink, restaurants, coffee shops, and many oceanfront lookout spots
LAFARGE LAKE
This route is set at the man-made Lafarge Lake, located in Town Centre Park in central Coquitlam. Lights at Lafarge, presented by Coquitlam Centre and produced by the City of Coquitlam, is a beautiful festival of holiday lights open to the public until January 31, 2022.
We met in the afternoon at the seawall by Science World. We initiated our activity with a stimulating conversation about walking and what it means to everyone, and made our way to the SkyTrain station. We used our Compass Cards to get on board and had a smooth journey to Coquitlam, where we disembarked at the Lafarge Lake-Douglas station. We then walked to the lake together. We enjoyed the lovely holiday lights and a leisurely stroll around the lake in the evening, taking in the festive atmosphere! We enjoyed a hot drink at the Evergreen Cultural Centre Portico, and made our way back to the SkyTrain where we used our Compass Cards to return to Vancouver.
What is there to experience?
Festive lights in the evening
A calm, leisurely walk around the lake
TransLake: an art exhibition by the SkyTrain
Town Centre Park
TD Community Plaza
MOUNT PLEASANT
As the final walk of the series, the Mount Pleasant walk was a great way to wrap-up a fun and successful walking program! We met in the afternoon at the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood house on Broadway, and made our way strolling through the residential streets of Mount Pleasant. We chatted about walking, neighbourliness, and community connections as we pointed out beautiful houses, unique decorations, and historic architecture.
We walked to the parklet at 3010 Main Street where we sat together at a large table and had great conversations with wam hot chocolates from JJ Bean! The lights from the businesses on Main Street were glowing in the dark as we enjoyed the sights of people walking by, cycling, and chatting away as a busker entertained the crowd at the parklet. The parklet, called Parallel Park, is Vancouver’s first parklet. Located just off of Main Street in front of JJ Bean, the parklet was installed in 2011 and has recently been redesigned as part of a larger initiative to transform this block into a neighbourhood plaza. The parklet was also the first to be paired with a bike corral!
After finishing our hot chocolates, we walked along Main Street back to the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, pointing out different restaurants and small businesses. Walking is a great way to get inspiration for your next dinner outing! It was lovely to see people out and about in the evening with friends and family, having a bite to eat, and studying at coffee shops while the lights sparkled! Although we didn’t use transit as part of our group activities on this walk because the theme was connecting to one local neighbourhood, most participants took transit to and from the event, or cycled!
What is there to experience?
Public mural art
Decorated houses
Unique and historic architecture
Parklet with bike corral
Parks and playgrounds
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House
Bike lanes
Listening to stories from locals
Delicious food and coffee
We hope these walks encourage you to make walking a part of your winter routine! Exploring new neighbourhoods (or your own!) by walking, rolling, cycling, or however you choose to get around without a car is an excellent way to foster community ties and become more familiar with where you live. You don’t have to view walking as a workout, in fact, taking a leisurely stroll is an even better way to take in the sights and sounds of a neighbourhood and familiarize yourself with your surroundings! Walking in the evening is calming, relaxing, and refreshing.
Check out this video showing all the routes!
Where will you walk this winter?
