Access:
There are many places to enter the Park and several transportation options. Main entrances may be found at the Park Center, on 16th Avenue, between Blanca and Wesbrook Mall, at 16th Ave. and Sasamat St., at Imperial Drive and 29th Ave., at 33rd and Camosun, on the south side of University Hill High School, along the west end of the University Golf Course, on Chancellor Blvd, between Blanca and Acadia. Reach the foreshore via the marked points along Marine Drive, west of the university.
Origins:
Pacific Spirit Regional Park (PSRP) was established in 1989. Originally part of the University Endowment Lands (UEL), the park was created as a natural forest preserve adjacent to the city of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia. It is currently part of the Metro Vancouver park system, which extends from the Straight of Georgia into the Fraser Valley.
Description:
The park covers 763 hectares, consisting of a spectacular foreshore, including the popular “Wreck Beach”, and a richly dense forest. The foreshore lies along the Point Grey Peninsula, from the Burrard Inlet in the north to the Fraser River in the south. The forest separates UBC from Vancouver.
People Places:
Over 50 km of forest trails are frequented by people with different interests: walkers (with or without dogs), runners, bicyclists, horse riders. Along the forest trails there are a variety of special places: Camosun Bog, Clinton rain forest, and Lily of the Valley grove, to name a few. Many of us become attached to our own special place. Also, runners plan out individual routes to optimize their fitness and cardio goals. The foreshore is very popular with naturalists and other sun-worshipers. It is also home to a variety of wildlife along the beaches facing the straight and the estuary marshes on the river.
Flora:
The forest has many varieties of evergreen trees, including Cedar, Hemlock, Douglas Fir and Sitka Spruce. There are also deciduous trees, like Vine Maple, Red Alder and Bitter Cherry. Berry bushes are abundant, too: Salal, Salmonberry, Blackberry, and Elderberry. Many varieties typical of rain forest plants are abundant: Ferns, mosses, lichens and mushrooms.
Fauna:
Birds and small animals are commonly heard or seen along the trails: Owl, Eagle, Chickadee, Warbler, Wren, Kinglet, Woodpecker and sea birds. Smaller mammals, like Douglas Squirrel, Vole, Mice and larger ones, like Coyote, Skunk and Raccoon are common. Salamander, Newt, Garter Snake, Toad and Tree Frog are found in the wet areas of the Park.
Transport by walking, “sole power” and by bicycle is easy from the UEL/UBC area as well as the neighborhoods of Point Grey, Dunbar and Southlands. Public transit runs along four major routes with stops near park entrances: Southwest Marine Drive, 16th Avenue, Broadway/University Boulevard, and Fourth Avenue/Chancellor Boulevard. From the north, you can enter the Park from Spanish Banks on Northwest Marine Drive also accessible by bus. If you are driving, there is ample parking along 16th Ave., 29th and Imperial, Southwest Marine Drive, and the beaches at Spanish Banks.
contributed by Fred LePiane
Oct. 2008