Sports - Get Out There

Gear

Call it the green-light district: a three-block strip of shops along West Broadway (between Columbia and Ontario streets) is where Vancouver’s famously huge Mountain Equipment Co-op mothership lives (130 W. Broadway, 604-876-6221), along with nearly a dozen other outdoor gear specialty stores and outfitters — which makes it easy to shop around for equipment to buy or rent, sign up for a climbing class or find out about a hiking day trip. Check out Taiga, which sells locally made products (301 W. 8th Ave., 604-875- 6644) and Eco Outdoor Sports (202 W. Broadway, 604-875-6767).

Hiking

If a Vancouverite invites you on a hike you might want to clarify: given the variety of terrain in this part of the world, your day could entail anything from a leisurely stroll along West Canyon Trail in Golden Ears Provincial Park to a gruelling three kilometre vertical ascent up Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver. If you don’t trust the hard-core locals, try Best Hikes and Walks of Southwestern British Columbia by Dawn Hanna (Lone Pine Publishing). 
Grouse: 604-980-9311.

Skiing

The phrase “Best Ski Resort in North America” gets tossed around Whistler like a novice on a mogul hill. Says who, anyway? Well, basically every sport magazine, tourist guide and ski bum who rates these kinds of things: Whistler Blackcomb is home to more than 7,000 skiable acres including 12 alpine bowls, three glaciers, 200 trails, 33 lifts and the highest vertical drop of any ski hill on the continent. If you’d rather stick closer to the city (Whistler is about two hours north), there’s also excellent skiing, snowboarding, tubing and cross-country skiing at local mountains Grouse, Cypress and Seymour. 604-932-3434; 604-980-9311; 604-986-2261; 604-419-7669.

Windsurfing

Vancouver is a good place to learn windsurfing as there are many secluded bays and inlets; air sweeping off the Strait of Georgia creates mild wind tunnels and swirling pockets. Jericho Beach is especially good for beginners, and the school there has lessons for all levels (Windsure Windsurfing School, 604-224-0615). Squamish is a little more challenging and offers some of the best windsurfing conditions in the country.

Snowshoeing

North Vancouver may be a mecca to hikers and bikers but you can now add snowshoeing—the fastest-growing winter sport in North America— to that list. There are dozens of designated, groomed snowshoe trails on Cypress, Seymour and Grouse mountains; snowshoe running is also gaining in popularity, and training clinics at all three hills make them accessible to every level. Check out A Vancouver Guide to Snowshoeing by Devon Girard for maps and route descriptions or call the snowshoe centre at Mount Seymour (604-986- 2261).

Sailing

Ferries to the Gulf Islands and other destinations are one way to get out onto the water, but if you’ve had Master and Commander in heavy rotation on your DVD player, you might be looking for something a little more challenging. Yacht cruise charters, boat rentals and daylong or multiday sailing classes (highly recommended if you’re unfamiliar with local tides and currents) can be booked at Granville Island through Cooper Boating Centre (604-687-4110).

Paddling

Pierre Trudeau once famously said, “Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature.” Southwestern British Columbia makes this challenge easier than our former prime minister probably intended: numerous lakes, bays and protected coves in and around Vancouver make paddling an accessible daylong adventure. Rent a canoe from Mountain Equipment Co-op (604-709-6241) and head an hour north toward Squamish to paddle the Squamish River Estuary; sea kayak at Deep Cove (604-929-2268) or Jericho Beach (604-689-7575).

Fishing

In Vancouver you’re damn close to the best salmon fishing territory on the planet: Painter’s Lodge (800-663-7090), home of the original Tyee Club (wherein members must reel in a 30-pound fish from a classic rowboat) and King Pacific Lodge (888-592-5464), generally accepted as the most luxurious wilderness resort on the continent, are just two of the salmon fishing camps located on and around Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands. You’ll find incredible fishing locally as well: call Sewell’s Marina in West Vancouver (604-921- 3474).

Mountain Biking

The phrase “North Shore riding” is used around the world to describe biking that incorporates ladder bridges and constructed stunts; the trails here are considered by most riders to be the most challenging in the world (the folks at Cove Bikes (604-929-1918) in North Vancouver can set you up with gear and a trail map). But don’t let that scare you: if that’s not your pace, try one of the hundreds of city paths that wend their way along the seawall or ramble through a forest; no visit here is complete without a ride around the 10- kilometre, oceanside loop of Stanley Park (Denman Street Bike Rental, 604-602-9899).