Photo: Tourism Vancouver / Hubert Kang
With hundreds of kilometres of designated cycling routes and the world’s longest uninterrupted waterfront bike path, Vancouver is a paradise for cyclists. Here’s everything you need to know about biking around our cyclist-friendly city.
What to Ride
Vancouver has tons of bike rental shops that can set you up with all kinds of bikes from city cruisers, to e-bikes, to mountain bikes. You can also check out Vancouver’s public bike share program. Known as Mobi, the system has thousands of classic bikes and e-bikes at 250 docking stations around the city.
Photo: David Niddrie/Mobi Bikes
How to Ride Safely
With lots of bike routes and separated bike paths, Vancouver is a great city for cycling. But there are a few things to keep in mind to stay safe.
- Make sure you wear a helmet – it’s required under British Columbia law.
- Use lights at night – they help you see and be seen.
- Look for and follow bike route signs and painted road markings as you ride. Vancouver has lots of infrastructure designed to keep cyclists safe.
- Stay off the sidewalk to protect pedestrians. Bikes must ride on roads, in bike lanes, and on the Seawall or park paths.
When to Ride
The best months for biking in Vancouver are May to September, but locals bike year-round. The hardiest cyclists bundle up for chilly or rainy weather, but no matter the month, you will find lots of Vancouverites biking on sunny days.
Where to Ride
There are tons of ways to bike in Vancouver. For the most beginner-friendly experience, stick to one of the city’s car-free bike paths. The famous Stanley Park Seawall makes a 10-kilometre loop around the park. But you can also extend your ride onto the False Creek Seawall.
Cycling on the Seawall. Photo: Tourism Vancouver / Destination Canada (CTC)
If you want to see more of the city, sign up for a guided tour. Cycle City Tours offers tours that hit the highlights in downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park on e-bikes or classic bikes. You can also sign up for tours around downtown, Granville Island, and Stanley Park with Toonie Tours. Yes Cycle has tours of Stanley Park, Granville Island, and downtown Vancouver. And Into the Wild Tours offers guided tours of downtown Vancouver’s best sites as well as nature escapes to bike a section of the Trans Canada Trail.
Photo: Tourism Vancouver / Cycle City Tours
Or see the Vancouver that locals know on one of our self-guided bike tours. You can bike to gardens, breweries, taco spots, and donut shops. Each tour includes turn-by-turn directions for a route that prioritizes quiet streets and bike paths. Or use Vancouver Biennale’s directions for self-guided tours that visit iconic public art pieces.
If you are into mountain biking, Vancouver is the place to do it. The North Shore Mountains are the birthplace of freestyle mountain biking. Today, a huge network of trails from beginner to expert stretches across the lower slopes of Mount Seymour, Mount Fromme, and Cypress Mountain. Use our Vancouver mountain biking guide the Trailforks app to find your way around.
Photo: Destination BC/Stirl and Rae Photo
