North Vancouver's Inter River Park

Inter River Park is a multi-use park in the District of North Vancouver. It features several full-size sports fields, off-leash dog areas and hiking trails.

It’s definitely not the North Shore’s most famous or most used park. Nevertheless, it’s a nice one and popular with locals (as well as dogs and BMX bike enthusiasts).

In this article you’ll find a detailed description of the park, directions on how to get there, a video showing you what the place looks like, and tips to help you make the most of your visit.

Inter River Park on Vancouver’s North Shore

The park is just north of the Second Narrows/Ironworkers Memorial Bridge in the District of North Vancouver. It has eight sports fields including facilities for soccer, baseball and softball. It also has an outdoor lacrosse box.

The park has hiking trails that, heading north, eventually link with Lynn Canyon Park. If you cross the bridge, on the west side of Lynn Creek you’ll find trails that go through the forest and Seylynn Park all the way to Park & Tilford Mall to the south.

Much of Inter River Park is a designated off-leash or leash-optional dog park. Expect to see lots of dogs walking freely along with their owners on sunny weekends, and the occasional one playing in the creek when the water isn’t too high.

As well as sports fields and hiking trails, there is also a really good bike park with jumps, dips and turns for both novice and advanced BMX bikers.

We think of the park as having five different areas. The first is where you’ll find the sports fields and the second is where you’ll find the BMX bike park. A third area is the main flat and fairly wide path that runs north to south along Lynn Creek from one end of the park to the other. A fourth area is where forested trails start at the far northern end of the park. The fifth area is a series of walking trails through the trees on the west side of the creek.

Bridge at Inter River Park — Lynn Creek at Inter River Park

What’s Where at the Park

Inter River Park is a long and fairly narrow park. As you enter Inter River Park Drive from Lillooet Road you’ll see the Equestrian Centre on your right. Then at the bottom of the hill you’ll see a small parking lot, a baseball diamond and a couple of grass soccer fields.

If you keep right and go up the hill you’ll find a row of even more soccer fields. If you turn left, on the other hand, and go down the road a bit, you’ll find the BMX bike park.

Going back to the first small parking lot, at the far end you’ll find a path down the hill that goes to the water. At the bottom of the hill is the main path. It’s long, wide, flat and partly paved.

From the bottom of the hill, if you turn right and head north you’ll eventually reach the entrance to beautiful forested trails. These lead to Lynn Canyon Park and the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. The trails there are exceptional and include boardwalks through the trees. These trails though are not flat.

Again from the bottom of the hill below the first small parking lot area, if you go south you’ll loop around and come across the BMX bike park and the lacrosse box. And instead of going either north or south, if at the bottom of the hill you cross the bridge to the other side of the creek, you’ll find more beautiful forested trails.

How to Get to Inter River Park

Located at 1301 Lillooet Road, Inter River Park is both west and northwest of Capilano University.

Coming from Vancouver over the Second Narrows Bridge, one way to arrive is to keep left, continue along the Trans-Canada Highway and go up “The Cut” (which is the big long hill). A better way is to take the exit to Seymour Parkway and then get onto Lillooet Road towards the university. Instead of turning right on Purcell Road (toward CapU) turn left shortly after and onto Inter River Park Road.

The easiest way to find the non-sports-activities part of the park and access its nature trails is from the parking lot by the soccer fields on Inter River Park Road. After driving north up Lillooett Road, and turning onto Inter River Park Road, park your car at the first parking lot you see at the bottom of the small hill. At the end of the parking lot is a trail down to the river.

Inter River Park Video

Below is a video that showcases the trails at Inter River Park. Not included in the video are scenes of the sports fields or BMX bike park. What you will see though are the trails, forest, bridge, creek and people enjoying their time in nature.

The video was taken in the spring of 2020. Most of what you’ll see is of the trails on the west side of Lynn Creek (so outside Inter River Park itself). When you see the people in the video cross the bridge, that’s when they “officially” enter Inter River Park.

On the Inter River Park side of the creek is a fairly wide and flat trail that goes all the way along both the park and the river. It’s a nice walk and the video ends with a scene of people walking along this trail.

As you can see in the video, there are beautiful forested trails where dogs are allowed off-leash. Lynn Creek is actually a fair-sized creek, almost like a river, and can get quite high in the spring and after heavy rains.

What’s in the Area

Near the park is Lynn Canyon Park which is home to the popular Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. The trails from Inter River Park also eventually meet up with the Baden Powell Trail. That trail connects Deep Cove to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.

A couple of minutes away from Inter River Park you’ll find Rice Lake which is a beautiful spot to fish and walk around. You can access it via Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve which is just a 10-minute drive north along Lillooet Road. A short drive away in the other direction is Maplewood Farm which is popular with young children.

Tips and Advice

Below are some suggestions and extra bits of information to help you make the most of your visit to Inter River Park.

TIP #1: We love the trails at the north end of Inter River Park that lead up to Lynn Canyon. The boardwalk is lovely and the lush forest scenery is quite spectacular. If you just want to start here, and not walk the long flat path along the side of the creek first, park your car in the far northeast corner of the park (at the far end of the row of soccer fields). It’s just a short walk down from there to the entrance of the forested trails.

TIP #2: Inter River Park is a great place to take your dog as it can run off-leash in much of the area. If you don’t like dogs though this might not be your favourite place to be, especially on weekends with good weather.

TIP #3: The BMX bike park is exceptional and, when there isn’t an event going on or official team or club practices, anyone can try it out. Just remember to take your bike and helmet.

TIP #4: In our opinion, the two best places to go for a walk are on the west side of Lynn Creek and on the trails that begin at the north end of the park. Both are beautiful and in the forest. The former is fairly flat and great for a short leisurely stroll. The latter is very pretty with its boardwalks and steps, goes for a long way, and is very highly recommended.

Good Things to Know about Parking

TIP #1: If leaving your car at the first small parking lot you see when entering the park, note that it’s beside a baseball diamond. We usually park there and have never had a problem. If a baseball game is going on, however, be aware that stray foul balls could end up landing near your car.

TIP #2: The gate at the entrance to the park gets locked at night. It’s usually open from 6:00 am until 10:00 pm (but check the sign for exact times). This is good to know in case you plan to park here in the evening (where it’s free) and hike up the hill to Capilano University for a night course or event (where you have to pay for parking).