Burnaby Mountain Park in Burnaby, British Columbia

Burnaby is located on the southwest coast of British Columbia, Canada. Despite its city status and its urban and suburban sections, Burnaby still contains undeveloped areas of natural landscape. One of these areas is Burnaby Mountain, a 1214 foot (370 meter) elevation that overlooks a coastal fjord called the Burrard inlet. This inlet, which travels eastwards from the Pacific Ocean, separates Burnaby from the North Shore Mountains. Burnaby Mountain is mainly forested, apart from areas set aside for Simon Fraser University and for Burnaby Mountain Park, and is a conservation area. The park offers wonderful views of the inlet, mountains and the cities of Burnaby and Vancouver.

Burnaby is Vancouver’s eastern neighbour and is part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). The two cities are separated by Boundary Road. The buildings on one side of Boundary Road are in Burnaby while the buildings on the other side are in Vancouver! Burnaby is named after Robert Burnaby, a nineteenth century civil servant, politician and explorer who was very active in Freemasonry in British Columbia.

I live at the bottom of Burnaby Mountain and frequently walk up to Burnaby Mountain Park and along the trails that travel over the mountain. The park has a large area covered in grass as well as some trees, a restaurant, a rose garden, a large sculpture consisting of totem poles created by artists from Burnaby’s sister city in Japan, a children’s playground and great views. The park also contains picnic tables and a washroom.

In the summer the park has two large eco-sculptures of Tancho cranes. The frames of the sculptures, which are made of metal, are filled with soil and covered with a porous landscaping fabric. Holes are made in the fabric and plants are then inserted into the holes. Eco-sculptures can be found in other parts of Burnaby too. Their population is growing!

One side of Burnaby Mountain Park gives a westerly view of Burnaby, Vancouver and the Strait of Georgia, which is part of the Pacific Ocean and separates the lower mainland region of British Columbia from Vancouver Island. From another side of the park visitors get a northerly view and can see the Burrard Inlet, Indian Arm, which is a branch of Burrard Inlet extending to the North, and the North Shore Mountains.

The playground is beyond the grassy main area of the park, and is a little way up the hill in a pleasant area surrounded by trees. Although Burnaby Mountain Park does have a flat section for people who would like a gentle stroll while admiring the park and the views or when visiting the restaurant, a large section of the park is built on a slope. The slope is very popular for tobogganing in winter. Due to its higher elevation Burnaby Mountain often gets snow while at its warmer base snow is absent.

The pictures in this hub are photos that I've made in different years and at different times of the year during my trips to Burnaby Mountain. In the satellite map below, Burnaby Mountain Park is the grassy area to the left of Simon Fraser University.

The Centennial Rose Garden contains over 900 rose bushes and many different varieties of roses. It was planted in 1992 to celebrate Burnaby’s centennial. The garden contains benches to enable people to sit and enjoy the beautiful flowers.

Burnaby Mountain Park has other careful-tended beds of flowers and ornamental shrubs and is a wonderful place for photographers.

The carved poles of the Kamui Mintara sculpture are designed to connect Burnaby with Kushiro, its sister city in Japan. In English the sculpture is known as Playground of the Gods. Nuburi Toko and his son Shusei, who belong to the Ainu culture, created the sculpture. The Ainu were the first inhabitants of Japan. The sculpture depicts the descent of the gods to Earth to create the Ainu people. The totem poles show a variety of animals, including the owl, the bear, the whale and the raven, some of them looking across the Strait of Georgia past Vancouver Island to Japan.

The Trans-Canada Trail travels up and over Burnaby Mountain and passes through Burnaby Mountain Park. This trail will be the longest network of trails in the world when it’s complete. It will extend for 22,000 kilometers and will travel from the west coast of Canada to the east coast, and up into the Arctic. At the moment (summer 2011), 16,500 km of the trail have been completed. It’s designed for walkers, cyclists, horseback riders and skiers. The main job left is to connect the various sections of the trail.

There is a parking lot located at the end of Centennial Way for people who would like to drive to Burnaby Mountain Park. There are also buses that go to Simon Fraser University. The park is just a short walk from the university. If you’re prepared for a steep uphill climb, you can cycle or walk up to Burnaby Mountain Park along the Trans-Canada Trail. Some tour buses include Burnaby Mountain Park on their itinerary.

Visitors to Vancouver often go to famous areas such as Stanley Park, the downtown area and the beaches. They don’t always realize that just a short distance from Vancouver is a lovely Burnaby park with spectacular views.