Urban idyll: Stanley Park seawall winds around Coal
Harbour, adjoining the downtown waterfront
Stanley Park trails are the perfect places to be awed by the spectacular show
that evergreens and deciduous plants choreograph in autumn. On the seawall circuit, green conifers and Photoshop-blue skies highlight the red-gold
leaf confetti of maples, alders and black cottonwood. Veer off deeper into
the park to savour the intoxicating aroma of wild mushrooms and the peace
and quiet of meandering sylvan trails. As you emerge into the sunlit oasis
around Beaver Lake, vivid crimson Labrador tea and exuberantly yellow
bulrushes contrast sharply with the deep greens of the surrounding forest
canopy, ochre salmonberry bushes and spiky, brown bog buckbean. On the
lake loop, the pre-hibernation silence is punctuated by chattering squirrels on
nut-hiding missions and the chirping of soon-to-be-gone migratory birds. End
your fall ramble with a brisk walk to lovely Lost Lagoon, its golden weeping
willows and scintillating Jubilee fountain the perfect metaphor for autumn’s
bittersweet delights.
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PHOTO: MAX LINDENTHALER / ISTOCK
Trailing Autumn