Stanley Park’s High Road: A Different Lens on Vancouver’s Iconic Forest | Vancouver Vibe 🇨🇦

What if the Stanley Park you think you know is only the surface? 🌲✨ In this video, we step away from the crowded perimeter to explore the elevated "spine" of Vancouver’s iconic forest along Stanley Park Drive. This is an exploration of layers—how the environment has shaped Vancouverites, and how humans have, in turn, spent centuries trying to redefine this landscape. 🇨🇦

Most visitors stick to the sea-level views, but the true environmental history of the park is found on the high ground. We begin at the historic site of Skwachàyis (Second Beach). Long before the modern pool or parking lots, this was a vibrant Coast Salish community. We look at the history of this land not just as a park, but as a site of displacement and the eventual creation of a Victorian "urban sanctuary." 🛶🐚

As we move toward the forest interior, we see a different side of the canopy. This isn't just "nature"—it’s a curated wilderness. From early 20th-century logging skid-roads to the first automobile paths carved out in 1910, we discuss how the park was engineered for beauty and access. 🌲🚗

The narrative takes a dramatic turn at Ferguson Point. From this high vantage point, we were lucky enough to capture a Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft performing rescue drills off the coast of Third Beach—a modern symbol of safety on the water. But beneath our feet lies a much heavier history. During the World Wars, this point was a "hardened" military site. We uncover the ghosts of the Military Battery and look at how the Teahouse building itself evolved from a military officers' mess into a place of leisure. 🎖️🚁

Continuing past the E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) Memorial, we reflect on the park’s complex cultural layers. This monument marks a fascinating intersection of Indigenous voice and colonial storytelling, located just minutes away from the former village site of Chaythoos. 🗿📜

We conclude our journey at the Third Beach picnic deck, overlooking the water from a perspective few tourists take the time to find. This video is for the curious observer—those who want to see the "why" behind the scenery and understand the military, industrial, and Indigenous stories that make Stanley Park a living record of our past. 🌊✨

If you enjoy deep-dives into history, urban geography, and the stories that define the Pacific Northwest, please consider subscribing to the channel. Let’s look past the postcard views and find the real story. 🔔👇

📚 FURTHER READING & HISTORICAL SOURCES

Inventing Stanley Park: An Environmental History – Sean Kheraj

Stanley Park’s Secret – Jean Barman

Archival Research provided by the City of Vancouver Archives (CVA)

Cultural histories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

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