Best Vancouver Autumn Places

Best Places in Autumn

Vancouver is beautiful in autumn, with fall colours throughout the Lower Mainland, especially in parks from late September until early November.

Vancouver Places in Fall

September is one of the region’s finest months with respect to the weather. It’s also when Lower Mainland Sunflower Festivals take place, as well as Corn Mazes. October brings harvest time, Thanksgiving, Pumpkin Patches and Halloween. By November fall is completely here with winter just around the corner.

Want to know Vancouver’s best places to be in the fall (especially outdoors) when the weather is good? Below we list some of our favourite autumn venues and activities.

LOCAL FALL GETAWAY IDEAS

Autumn can be a great time to escape the rainy weather and spoil yourself with a getaway. You don’t even have to leave the country to do that! Many local hotels offer great deals this time of year, and vacationing locally can be a lot of fun (especially if you’re staying at a nice hotel). For hotel deals in downtown Vancouver see our article about StayVancouverHotels.com.

Fall is also a great time to go camping if you have a camper or motorhome. It’s also a good time to rent an RV. The region’s parks are stunning with all their colours, campgrounds are no longer as crowded, and RVs keep you warm, dry and comfortable. For ideas on where to go and what to do, see our articles about Camping in the Lower Mainland and Our Getaway Camping Vacation in a Rental RV.

Top Vancouver Activities in Autumn

Some of our top recommended places and things to do in the fall include the following:

Visit Corn Mazes and Pumpkin Patches, including the ones at Fantasy Farms, Maan Farms and Greendale Acres, among other places.
Enjoy Halloween activities including ghostly walking tours with Forbidden Vancouver, outdoor adventure games with Vancouver Mysteries, the Halloween-themed film at FlyOver Canada and Haunted House attractions at various venues. There are also many fun Halloween Activities for Children.
Enjoy the autumn colours in Vancouver’s Parks & Nature or check out one of the Lower Mainland’s Top Hiking Trails.

Continue reading for more ideas on things to do this autumn.

WILDPLAY ROPES COURSES IN AUTUMN

A best place to be in autumn is at the WildPlay Element Park in Maple Ridge. The attraction has amazing ropes courses, ziplines and other fun activities. And it’s all in the middle of the forest!

Click WildPlay Maple Ridge to learn more about the venue.

Best Fall Places in Vancouver

Vancouver’s finest parks and gardens are good places to check out in the fall. Best times to visit can be in September while there’s still a bit of summer weather, or in October when the colours are at their peak.

Great spots to admire autumn colours within Vancouver are listed below. Best times to visit any of them are on sunny days before many of the trees completely lose their leaves in November.

Vancouver Parks

Stanley Park – Arguably one of the best places in the world any time of the year, Stanley Park is especially pleasant and colourful in the fall. Bike rides around the Stanley Park seawall aren’t too strenuous, and the fall leaves are beautiful throughout. You can’t go wrong with a cycle, jog or walk around the park.
- To see what the area looks like when fall colours are at their peak, see our article about Stanley Park in Autumn.
Queen Elizabeth Park – Vancouver’s highest point within the city limits is also stunning with its autumn colours. Enjoy the views of the city, a game of pitch and putt golf, or lunch at the Seasons in the Park restaurant.
Trout Lake – John Hendry Park and Trout Lake are beautiful in the fall, at least before all the trees become bare. A good time to go is on Saturdays up until around mid-October to check out Trout Lake Farmers Market, before it wraps up for the season.

Queen Elizabeth Park in Fall — Queen Elizabeth Park

Vancouver Gardens

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden – Vancouver’s Chinese garden is a nice place to explore, especially as part of a visit to Chinatown. An interesting time to go is in late September to enjoy the evening Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. The fall colours typically peak at the garden at the very end of October and first week of November, although each year is slightly different.
UBC Botanical Garden – If you’re into gardens, the botanical gardens at UBC are nice this time of year too, as is UBC’s Japanese Nitobe Memorial Garden. Best times to visit are before November. That being said, between around mid-November and March most years, entrance fees are just by donation.
VanDusen Botanical Garden – The city’s botanical gardens can be stunning in October before the trees lose their leaves. There’s also the Harvest Days event which runs for most of the month.

In addition to the above, there is Coal Harbour. The seawall between Stanley Park and the Convention Centre is a popular place for a walk or leisurely bike ride. From the seawall you can enjoy the views of Stanley Park, downtown Vancouver, Burrard Inlet and the North Shore mountains.

For leisurely walks and bike rides, other great fall places to check out within Vancouver include the False Creek Seawall, especially around Granville Island, or the trails between Jericho Beach and Spanish Banks.

False Creek and Granville Island in Fall

Other Lower Mainland Best Places in Autumn

Some of the Lower Mainland’s other best places to enjoy the autumn season include the following:

In Burnaby

Burnaby Mountain, Barnet Marine Park and Deer Lake Park are beautiful on sunny days. Central Park is nice too, although the others are arguably better for the fall colours.

In the Fraser Valley

Fantastic places to explore in the Fraser Valley include the region around Harrison Hot Springs (especially if you can afford to stay at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and escape from the cooler weather in the hot springs).

The Fort to Fort Trail along the river at Fort Langley is nice any time of the year. Rolley Lake has mostly evergreen trees, but is also nice to walk around in autumn. Mill Lake Park in Abbotsford is also pretty in the fall.

Mill Lake Park in Fall — Abbotsford’s Mill Lake Park

In Maple Ridge

Kanaka Creek Park is beautiful any time of the year, including in the fall. Alouette Lake and Golden Ears Park are also great this time of year.

In North Vancouver

Some of the best places for fall activities can be found on the North Shore. This includes hiking and fishing at Rice Lake (which gets restocked this time of year) and the nearby Seymour Demonstration Forest (which is great for family bike rides).

Also interesting in autumn is the Capilano River Regional Park where you can look at salmon up close at the Capilano Hatchery. Other great North Vancouver places to visit in the fall include the Maplewood Conservation Area, which is best before mid-November, and the walking trails at Cates Park.

In Richmond

Minoru Park can be a nice place for a picnic. The paths along the water at Steveston Village and the West Dyke Trail are great places for walks, jogging and bike rides.

Up the Sea to Sky Highway

Beautiful fall views can be found at the top of the Sea to Sky Gondola. The fishing is supposed to be amazing this time of year on the Cheakamus and Squamish rivers. Whistler Village too is beautiful in the early fall.

In Surrey

The gardens at Bear Creek Park can be beautiful this time of year, as well as at Hawthorne Park and Fleetwood Park. Plan to go for a stroll while you’re at any of these places, or take bikes for the kids as there are some nice short trails.

The trails through the woods at Elgin Heritage Park between Stewart Farm and Crescent Beach are also exceptionally nice this time of year. Located on the border between Surrey and Pitt Meadows, Barnston Island is also a great place for a bike ride on level terrain.

In West Vancouver

Good places to enjoy the fall colours in the Lower Mainland’s wealthiest city include along the seawall between Ambleside and Dundarave, or from Ambleside up along the Capilano River. Other year-round beautiful places are Lighthouse Park and Whytecliff Park.

In Port Moody

The nicest place for fall colours in Port Moody is arguably Rocky Point Park. Nearby Buntzen Lake and Sasamat Lake are also beautiful year-round, but don’t have as much in the way of autumn leaves. The colours at Buntzen Lake are best in the early fall. Sasamat is green pretty much all year long.

Vancouver Fall Activities

In addition to all the above wonderful places to visit, there are many activities that people generally associate with autumn (in addition to things like raking leaves, working in the garden and carrying an umbrella everywhere you go). These include getting in the season’s last good rounds of Golf at the Region’s Best Courses before they get soggy from all the rain.

Other great autumn activities include visiting Farms & Pumpkin Patches at harvest time, like Peteys Pumpkin Patch in Chilliwack, Maan Farms in Abbotsford or the Harrison Pumpkin Festival in Agassiz. Seeing and/or catching fish in the region’s many rivers, lakes and other bodies of water can also be fun (where permitted, and assuming you have a licence).

For more ideas on things to do, check out Vancouver’s Best Fall Activities.

Halloween Happenings

Halloween celebrations are another traditional fall activity. Fun and spooky events happening this time of year include the following:

Forbidden Vancouver – the Lost Souls of Gastown walking tours take place all month in October, plus that tour and others run from September until November.
Vancouver Mysteries – the outdoor game company offers its Halloween Mystery Nights adventure throughout the month of October (and other games other months too).
FlyOver Canada – the family-friendly Halloween-themed film at Canada Place is called HowlOver Canada.
Brinkworth Dungeon – the Langley haunted house starts up in October and runs until a couple days after Halloween.
Reapers Maze of Terror – one of the Lower Mainland’s best haunted attractions at Fantasy Farms in Chilliwack.
Peteys Pumpkin Patch – a family-friendly attraction in the Fraser Valley (at the same venue as Reapers).
Fright Nights – the famous haunted houses and amusement rides happen at the PNE.