Cycling on the 10th Ave Bike Route. Photo: Marty Clemens
Bike through a tunnel of pink blossoms as petals slowly float through the air. Over 40,000 cherry trees bloom in Vancouver each spring, and one of the best ways to see them is from the seat of your bike. Here are our picks for the best blossom bike rides around Vancouver.
Until further notice, in line with the public health order, non-essential travel into, within, and out of BC is not recommended. BC residents, let’s do our part by continuing to stay small and support local with your immediate household, in accordance with the latest guidelines.
Cherry Blossom Biking Tips
- Under British Columbia law, you have to wear a helmet when you ride.
- If you don’t have one, it’s easy to rent a bike from one of Vancouver’s rental shops.
- Fallen cherry blossoms can be slippery. Be careful when riding through “pink snow”, especially after it has rained.
- If you stop for photos, be safe and pull over to let traffic pass.
- Many of these bike routes are in quiet residential areas. Be respectful.
Bike the Blossoms Route
The Vancouver Cherry Blossom is not holding their annual Bike the Blossoms event in 2021 due to the pandemic. But you can still enjoy their carefully curated blossom bike route from 2019. It has a route map and turn-by-turn directions to explore East Vancouver’s side streets in a loop that starts and finishes at Trout Lake.
Cyclists during the Bike the Blossoms event in 2016. Photo: Tourism Vancouver / Melissa Bruntlett
Stanley Park Seawall
The Stanley Park Seawall is gorgeous at any time of year. But in the spring, several sections light up with pink blossoms. Look for flowering cherry trees along Lost Lagoon and near the Lost Lagoon underpass. You can also detour east along the Coal Harbour Seawall to spot even more blooms in front of the Coal Harbour Community Centre.
False Creek Seawall
Enjoy lots of cherry blossoms along the separated bike paths of the False Creek seawall. On the north side, look for flowers in David Lam Park and at the foot of Davie Street. Loop around to the south side to spot beautiful blooms on Granville Island, in Creekside Park near Fisherman’s Wharf, and in Vanier Park at the Museum of Vancouver.
Photo: Tourism Vancouver / Vision Photography
Off-Broadway Bike Route
This east-west neighbourhood bike route along 7th Avenue is a great place to bike through the cherry blossoms. The stretch between Hemlock and Main street is particularly spectacular.
Midtown-Ridgeway Bike Route
Bike across the width of Vancouver from Pacific Spirit Park in the west to Nanaimo Station in the east, enjoying bursts of bloom along the way. The designated bike route follows 37th Avenue most of the way. The best blossoms along the route are on 39th Avenue near Dunbar, near the entrance to Queen Elizabeth Park, and on 38th Avenue near Nanaimo Street. You can also detour south on Argyle Street for a few blocks for more flowers.
BC Parkway
The BC Parkway bike route runs underneath the Expo Line of the Skytrain. The section along Vanness Street in East Vancouver is spectacular in the spring. Cycle east from 29th Avenue Station past Joyce Station to enjoy some breathtaking cherry blossoms. Continue into Burnaby to see even more blooms outside the Burnaby Public Library near Metrotown.
10th Avenue Bike Route
The 10th Avenue bike route in between Fraser and Clark Drive turns into a pink tunnel of cherry blossoms in the spring. You can also detour onto nearby 11th Avenue for even more flowers on both sides of Fraser Street.
Tourism Vancouver/Kazutoshi Yoshimura
UBC Campus
The quiet UBC Campus is a great place to go for a blossom bike ride. Cycle through rows of flowers on Lower Mall, then head over to Regent College at the corner of Wesbrook Mall and University Boulevard to admire over 60 blooming trees. You can also park your bike and visit the manicured Nitobe Memorial Garden, which was designed to show off its cherry blossom trees in spring. (Book tickets in advance.)
Plan Your Own Adventure
There are over 40,000 cherry trees in Vancouver, and it’s easy to find them all thanks to this excellent cherry blossom map from the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. Pick an area to explore, then head out with your bike to enjoy the flowers. You can use the City of Vancouver’s Cycling Routes Map to plan your trip.
Photo: Tourism Vancouver/Jason Lee Wang
