In Vancouver, we did many things. Wife did some shopping; we went outside the city and hiked for a day at Mt Seymour Provincial Park http://www.vancouverplus.ca/profile/386457 . Following is a quote from Lonely Planet re: Mt. Seymour "Mt Seymour Provincial Park, This park is a quick escape from the city. There's a road most of the way up to the peak of Mt Seymour, or you can relax on the chair lift. There are several hiking trails and the views of the city and surrounds are beautiful. The park is 13km (8mi) northeast of downtown across the Burrard Inlet; you can get there by car or bus." Even if you don't hike, the drive alone to the top of the mountain within sight of Vancouver is well worth it.

Near Seymour mountain is Lynn Canyon Park. Following is a quote from Lonely Planet re: Lynn Canyon "Set in thick woods, this park gives a good glimpse of the rainforest vegetation so different from that found in eastern Canada. There's a suspension bridge over Lynn Canyon, many hiking trails, and a wealth of picnic and swimming spots. The Lynn Canyon Park Ecology Centre has displays, films and slide shows about the biology of the area. The park is just a few kilometers north of Burrard Inlet, about 10km (6mi) northeast of downtown, and is accessible by car or bus." We hiked to the pedestrian bridge across a river. You are very high and swinging back/forth, cool and scary.

There is another suspension bridge, called the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which is "the greatest suspended footbridge in the world, spanning 137 metres (450
feet) across and 70 metres (230 feet) above the Capilano River Canyon." While that sounded neat, there is a charge here, while Lynn Canyon is free. We had thought about taking the gondola up to the top of Grouse Mountain but some locals we met said that there were two reasons why we shouldn't #1. there was a mountain bike race going on so it would be crowded, and the other more important reason was they said the hiking on Grouse Mtn is poor compared to Mt. Seymour.

We also rented bikes at Spokes Bicycle Rentals (1798 W. Georgia St, phone: 604.688.5141) which is only two blocks from Stanley Park. For being next to a large city, Stanley Park is incredible in its beauty. Make sure you spend some time here. We also biked south to Sunset Beach and then back to Spokes. Although we did not take a dip, there are some great looking beaches in Stanley Park and a pool with the terrific location of being right on the water.