Kitsilano Beach in Summer

Kitsilano, or Kits for short, is a popular and very trendy part of Vancouver that’s home to one of the city’s best beaches and places to walk and cycle.

Note: The pool at Kitsilano Beach may reopen as early as August 7th in 2024.

In this article you’ll find the following information about Kitsilano:

Vancouver’s Kitsilano District

The Kitsilano neighbourhood is home to the annual Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival in the summer just down the way at Vanier Park. Also in the area are the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, Vancouver Maritime Museum and Museum of Vancouver.

The Kitsilano region is also home to several stunning beaches as well as events like the Kitsilano Farmers Market and the Kitsilano Showboat concert series in the summer.

A Best Place to Walk and Cycle

You can ride your bicycle, walk or jog from Kitsilano Beach along the waterfront all the way to Granville Island, Science World and even to downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park, although the entire route is quite long.

You can also head out miles away in the opposite direction from Kitsilano, past equally beautiful Jericho, Locarno and Spanish Banks beaches in Point Grey and towards the University of British Columbia (UBC), although parts of that route are along main roads.

Kitsilano’s main shopping street is West Broadway, which has a wide variety of interesting stores and restaurants, as does West 4th Avenue.

Kitsilano’s most popular destination in the summer is its main beach, which attracts its biggest crowds during Vancouver’s Honda Celebration of Light fireworks displays in July.

Suntanning on Kits Beach Lawns — The Grass at Kitsilano Beach

Kitsilano Beach

Kitsilano is one of the region’s most beautiful and popular sandy beaches. From there you can see views of English Bay, the city and the North Shore Mountains. Kids have fun in the sand and at the playground, young folks play beach volleyball and people of all ages just hang out.

In the summer Kitsilano Beach is also a great place to swim, both in the freezing cold ocean and in the park’s beautiful and very large outdoor swimming pool (at least in years when it operates). In addition to the pool and large sandy beach, there are lots of wide open grassy areas at the park. There is also a concession stand and Boathouse Restaurant, as well as about 10 tennis courts and a couple of basketball courts.

In the summer there is “community-sourced” live music and entertainment on the Showboat Stage in the evenings. The shows are entertaining and admissions is free. In 2024 Showboat Kitsilano runs from June 21st to July 28th.

There is lots of parking at Kitsilano Beach, but it still gets full on hot summer days due to the location’s popularity.

Click the following link to learn more about Metro Vancouver’s Other Top Beaches.

Swimming at Kitsilano — The Swimming Pool at Kitsilano Beach

Kitsilano Farmers Market

The Kitsilano Farmers Market runs on Sundays from mid-May to mid-October from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm outside the Kitsilano Community Centre at 2690 Larch Street. It’s a pretty big market, with up to about 50 or so vendors on a good week. The market is located about 20 blocks from Kitsilano Beach, so a ways away, but within easy driving distance.

For more information on this and other Lower Mainland markets, check out Vancouver Farmers Markets.

Kitsilano's Farmers Market — The Kitsilano’s Farmers Market

Kitsilano Showboat Summer Concerts

The Kitsilano Showboat is a series of outdoor concerts held each summer at the ampitheatre on the southwest end of Kitsilano Beach. The concerts are all free and take place on weekends from around mid-June to mid-August most years. They usually begin at 7:00 pm.

Kitsilano Showboat nights are fun community-focused events. There are usually special performances on Canada Day and National Indigenous Peoples Day. Bands, dancers, choirs and other kinds of performers all take the stage over the course of the summer.

Places to Eat in Kitsilano

Kitsilano is a trendy place, and with that comes equally trendy restaurants. Most of them are located somewhere along 4th Avenue. Some of the best places, in our opinion, for a great meal are the following:

Aphrodite’s Organic Cafe & Pie Shop – a delightful pie and coffee shop at 3605 West 4th Avenue.
The Boathouse Restaurant – a popular restaurant with fantastic views right by the sand at Kitsilano Beach.
Fable Kitchen – located at #1944, it’s a popular restaurant with an open kitchen concept that prides itself in using local ingredients.
La Quercia – a reasonably-priced Italian restaurant at 3689 West 4th Avenue, just a few blocks from Jericho beach.
Maenam – a great Thai restaurant at 1938 West 4th Avenue.
Octopus’ Garden – a popular Japanese restaurant at 1995 Cornwall Avenue. Its prices are in the middle-to-high range.
The Wolf and Hound – a popular pub at 3617 West Broadway.

Kitsilano Beach Video

To get a good idea of what to expect at Kitsilano Beach, check out the following video. In it you can see scenes of the beach, Boathouse Restaurant, Showboat Stage and the park’s wide open grassy lawns.

Kitsilano Street Parties

There are a couple of street festivals that take place outdoors in Kitsilano each year. Both are open to the public and free to attend.

Greek Day on Broadway usually happens in June. It’s a one-day celebration of Greek culture, food and music, along with other family-friendly activities. The event is held on West Broadway between MacDonald and Blenheim.

The second street festival is the Khatsahlano Street Party in July. It takes place on West 4th Avenue between Macdonald and Burrard, so it’s an even bigger event. The festival features artisan vendors, a beer garden and live entertainment on several stages. For an idea of what to expect, check out the video below. It features footage from the 2024 event.

(Note: The music in this video is Happy Travel by Vitaly Vakulenko from Pixabay.)