Spanish Banks are a series of beaches in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located along the shores of English Bay in the West Point Grey neighbourhood. Spanish Banks is located between Locarno Beach to the east and the grounds of the University of British Columbia to the west.
Although the first European explorers in the Strait of Georgia were the Spaniards Juan Carrasco and José María Narváez, who sighted Point Grey in 1791, the Spanish Banks were named in commemoration of the meeting of the English under George Vancouver and the Spanish under Galiano and Valdés in June 1792. While Vancouver's maps do not show the bank, Galiano's charts of 1792 and 1795 do. The Hudson's Bay Company came to call the area Spanish Banks for these reasons. The name was bestowed upon them by Captain Richards of HMS Plumper during his survey of Burrard Inlet in 1859. [1]
Although technically just one bank, the Spanish Banks beaches are divided into three sections: Spanish Bank East, Spanish Bank Extension, and Spanish Bank West. These beaches are backed by grassy fields, which make them popular for walks, family gatherings, picnics, soccer and volleyball games. There is a separated bike path next to a walking path that runs parallel to the water. Metered parking was considered as other nearby beaches in Vancouver, such as Kitsilano Beach, are metered, but the decisions was postponed by the Vancouver Park Board in March 2018. [2] [3]
Spanish Banks is best known for its low tide flats, which are most prominent at Spanish Bank West. While swimming is possible at Spanish Bank East, skimboarding and kitesurfing are more popular activities at Spanish Bank West.
Spanish Bank East is situated west of Tolmie Street on Northwest Marine Drive. The beach is equipped with thirty sand volleyball courts that operate on a first-come, first-served basis. There are lifeguards on site (from Victoria Day to Labour Day), and a concession stand. A popular activity on Spanish Banks East is skimboarding in the many shallow pools and waves.
Spanish Bank West is located west of Spanish Bank East on Northwest Marine Drive. Like Spanish Bank East, this beach has eight volleyball courts, life guards on site in summer and a concession stand. However, this beach is designated as a quiet beach so no amplified music is permitted.
Spanish Bank Extension is to the west of Spanish Bank West and is the westernmost part of Spanish Banks before the shoreline becomes much narrower and rocky as it heads towards Acadia Beach. There are lifeguards on site in summer, but there are no concession stands or volleyball courts as there is little sand. Most of Spanish Banks Extension is a designated dogs off-leash area.
Wreck Beach is a clothing-optional beach located in Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which is in turn part of the University Endowment Lands just west of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The clothing-optional section is clearly marked with signs and stretches approximately 6.7 kilometres or 4.2 miles from Acadia Beach, in the north, to the Booming Grounds Creek on the north arm of the Fraser River. The park is administered by the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), though Indigenous claims are repeatedly asserted, especially by the Musqueam Nation.
Skimboarding or skimming is a boardsport in which a skimboard is used to glide across the water's surface to meet an incoming breaking wave, and ride it back to shore. There are currently 3 U.S. based competitive organizations including Premier Skim, Skim USA, and the United Skim Tour. Wave-riding skimboarders perform a variety of surface and air maneuvers, at various stages of their ride, out to, and back with, the wave. Some of these are known as "wraps", "big spins", "360 shove-its" and "180s". Unlike surfing, skimboarding begins on the beach by dropping the board onto the thin wash of previous waves. Skimboarders use their momentum to skim out to breaking waves, which they then catch back into shore in a manner similar to surfing.
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English Bay is an open bay northwest of the Burrard Peninsula in British Columbia, Canada, extending from the headland between Siwash Rock and Prospect Point on Vancouver's Downtown peninsula in the northeast, to the northwestern tip of Point Grey in the southwest. The bay encompasses the coasts of Stanley Park, the West End, Kitsilano, West Point Grey and the University Endowment Lands, and makes up the southeastern portion of the outer Burrard Inlet. There is a narrow inlet named False Creek at its eastern end.
West Point Grey is a neighbourhood in the northwest of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is on Point Grey and bordered by 16th Avenue to the south, Alma Street to the east, English Bay to the north, and Blanca Street to the west. Notable beaches within West Point Grey include Spanish Banks, Locarno and Jericho. Immediately to the south is Pacific Spirit Regional Park and to the east is Kitsilano.
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