Bike Parks in Vancouver and Nearby

Our kids love going to our local bike park (Vanier Park) so in the fall we decided to explore a a few more bike parks in metro Vancouver (and Squamish). Both kids love this activity and never seem to get enough of it. We love it too, it’s fun, free and gets the kids to be active and tired (which is our goal at the end of the day). There is also an element of risk taking and risk management that is so important for kids. If possible we also try to combine it with a longer bike ride, so that we get some exercise too. 

We have a (now) six year old who rides a pedal bike and a two year old who rides a balance bike. The bike parks we visited offer enough variety that both of them find it interesting and challenging. Spring is almost here, which is a great time of year to visit these bike parks. I decided to write up a little summary that will hopefully be helpful for others as they look for bike parks to visit. I know we’ll go back to those we visited and find some new ones too!

Vancouver

Vanier Park

This is our default bike park and the closest to our place, so we’ve been here many times. It’s not big, but it offers a variety of options for both kids. A great option for the west side of Vancouver. 

Location: 1000 Chestnut Street @ Whyte Avenue (Close to the Maritime Museum/Kits Point), Vancouver

What’s in the park: Big dirt jumps and pump track, a mini pump track for little ones, and a medium sized pump track in the woods. Eagles can often be seen – there is a a nest right above the bike park.

Biking to the bike park: It’s easy to bike here since you can ride along the Seaside Greenway from both directions, or from Cypress St. The streets close to the bike park are very quiet and bike friendly.

Hastings Park

We’ve only been there once, but we’ll definitely come again! Close to the PNE and Highway #1. It’s not big but offered variety for both our kids, including an elevated ramp. A great option for the East side of Vancouver.  

Location: 2901 E Hastings St, Vancouver

What’s in the park: Medium size pump track, wooden platforms of different width for balancing and ramps that go up and down.  

Biking to the bike Park: Biking from the west side you can bike along the Seaside Greenway, Adanac bike route, Lakewood Dr. to Wall St. This is a bit of a roundabout way, but probably the most bike friendly option.  

North Vancouver

Moodyville Park

Moodyville Park is a cute little bike park in an awesome park. The kids have a hard time here deciding what’s more fun, the bike park or the playground. We’ve been here several times, and although it’s small, both kids enjoy it. Perfect for beginners and balance bikes riders. 

Location: 759 E 3rd St, North Vancouver

What’s in the park: A paved pump track. Kids can follow the white, blue or green lines for different levels or ignore them altogether.  

Biking to the bike park: We always go to Moodyville as part of our “Two Bridges Loop”. We cross the Lions Gate Bridge, ride along the awesome Spirit Trail in North Van which brings us to Moodyvile just in time for a lunch break. For us it’s exactly the middle point of this 34km bike ride from home. Then we continue along the Spirit Trail, ride a less impressive section on the road that leads us to the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge. From there the ride home is similar to the ride from Hasting Park – along Wall St., Woodland, Adanac and the Seaside Greenway.

Inter River Park

Inter River Park is big and often busy but offers really nice terrain for all levels of riders. We’ve been here several times and we’ll definitely be back for more. 

Location: Inter River Rd. (close to Capilano University), North Vancouver 

What’s in the park: A large dirt pump track, a small dirt bike track and a paved pump track which is also good for balance bikes and scooters. 

Biking to the bike park: We have yet to bike to Inter River Park – we always combine coming here with a hike on the North Shore when we have a car already. If you do bike from Vancouver the easiest would be to take the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge and to connect to Lillooet Rd. which also leads to Capilano University but to continue further till Inter River Rd. It’s definitely doable, but the road to the park is uphill.

Richmond

Garden City Bike Park

We didn’t know anything about the bike park in Richmond before we went there and we were pleasantly surprised by how good it was! The kids had a blast there and even our little guy managed to ride the smallest level of the big pump track.

Location: 9071 Granville Ave, Richmond 

What’s in the park: A very cool dirt pump track with pumps of different sizes, a small dirt pump track that’s good for beginners and little ones, a few balancing structures and an area with big jumps for advanced riders. 

Biking to the bike park: This was an around 30 km round trip from our home in Kits. We rode along the Arbutus Greenway, over the Cambie SkyTrain Bridge to Richmond, and then along Garden City Rd.

Squamish

Brennan Park

OK, it’s a little outside of metro Vancouver limits. It’s a good option if you are visiting or living in Squamish, or need a break if you are on a long drive along the Sea-to-Sky as it’s an easy turn off from the highway. 

Location: 39641 Loggers Lane, Squamish

What’s in the park: This park has two sections. On the side that is closer to the recreation centre there is a nice pump track that both advanced and beginners riders can enjoy. There are also a few balancing structures in the forest including a teeter-totter. There is also a small skate park often used by scooters and skateboarders, but our kids enjoyed biking there when it was free. Just behind this section there is another bike park (known as “the BMX park”) with a big dirt pump track.   

Biking to the bike park: We have yet to bike to Squamish or in Squamish, but if you are biking it looks like there is good access from the Sea-to-Sky Connector Trail.