Did you know there’s an island in the Dunbar/Southlands neighbourhood in Vancouver, that’s so small it only has 1 street with 2 rows of houses? And they still managed to squeeze in the tiniest park on the tip of this island. We did an early evening stroll here and was quite amazed with the beautiful sunset view.

Deering Island is a very small island that is connected to Southlands by a small bridge. The drive here is very interesting as you will pass by many horse stables, a large riding club, and often horse riders just strolling on the road beside you. This neighbourhood is so unique that you will forget you are still in the city. You will soon see a bridge leading into the small Deering Island community.

Deering Island Park sits on the western tip of this small island. It’s so small it only has a “trail” no more than 200 meters long. To make the evening a little more substantial, we explored the Fraser River Trail to the west of Deering Island Park (approximately 2km out and back) which is owned by Point Grey Golf and Country Club. The whole trail mainly surrounds the Point Grey golf course and the first half of it is along the Fraser River, which was quite beautiful and interesting.

This tree lined dirt and gravel path is fairly flat but narrow. Strollers can be used here. Another interesting fact here is that you will be sharing the road with horses. Junior was so excited to see a big horse walking alongside him.

The view of Fraser River from the trail is surprisingly beautiful! There were boats of all sizes coming and going through this section of the river, which makes the whole scenery even more beautiful. We took a very leisurely stroll, stopping frequently just admiring the different boats and watching the mid autumn moon. Junior was totally loving the whole experience.

The trail turns north and follows a ditch that separates the two golf courses. Frankly this section of the trail becomes pretty boring unless you are into ditches. The trail ends at 51st Avenue at the Musqueam Gateway.

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We thought we could loop back to the park by walking on the street a bit, but since this area is mostly golf courses, there is no through road back to the park, unless you walk further out and onto SWMarine Dr. Taking the same trail back is the best idea to go back to the park.

When we got back to Deering Island Park, the sun was already setting. The park featured a couple of benches with a lookout to the Fraser River. We caught a killer sunset view before calling it a day.

Traffic

There were not many people here when we came on a weekday early evening. There are some cyclists and some leashed dogs on the tail as well.

Washroom

There are no washrooms in the park nor on the trail

Breastfeeding

There are a few benches in the park and also at the trail head.

Parking

We parked by the tennis court right at the trail head. This is a fairly small lot but there are not many people here so it’s easy to find parking.

This trail is a nice place for a short evening stroll or for junior to bike on. On a nice day, the sunset can be gorgeous, making the trip here so worthwhile. We are very likely to come again!

• Difficulty: very easy
• Pedestrian Traffic: mild
• Pets Traffic/ Horse Traffic: mild on a weekday evening
• Facilities: minimal, only benches available
• View: nice sunset view on a sunny day
• Overall score: 6/10

Fraser River Series:

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