Dundarave Beach and Village - West Vancouver

notes from Coleman

Activity:

I bet you didn't know the best supermarket in the world is called Dundarave.  It has crabs, swings, sand, water, and a big long walkway leading to another park called Ambleside.  It has sand and swings too.  Whenever Mom says, "Let's go grocery shopping," what she really means is," Let's go to the beach, get some exercise, shop, have a cup of coffee, and buy a few groceries in the meantime.

Dundarave village has a collection of small shops Mom likes to browse (including one with toys).  Plus, there's about four coffee shops she can pick from.  Mom can never walk by Capers Natural Foods either, without going inside to buy an organic something-or-other, and we always end up at IGA for the groceries. 

But the best part by far is the beach.  I love running the sand through my fingers.  I've even tried eating it a few times.  To tell you the truth it didn't taste too good, but it was fun seeing Mom jump up and down.  The water is cold, but Mom says at least it's clean.  (Apparently the poo count is very low at Dundarave).  Mom usually takes me to the playground for a swing, before she plops me in the stroller for a walk along the seawall.  Actually I don't mind sitting in the stroller for an hour.  There's plenty to look at-dogs, birds, water, sand, boats and bigger boats.  So next time you get stuck grocery shopping with your Mom (or Dad), tell them about Dundarave.

Age group:

All ages

Expense rating:

Free

:

What I like about Dundarave is there's not too many people, and it has good sand.  I've even seen them dump truckloads of clean, beautiful sand in the playground.  Mom likes the grass area close by, when she gets tired of scooping sand out of my mouth.  Dad is the only one who gets his hair wet.  He calls it "refreshing."  I've only had my feet refreshed.  Nathe likes to ride on the big logs in the water and Jen is our crab collector.  One day Jen found 200 crabs.  Mom said, "No way," when Jen asked if she could grow a crab garden in her room.  Of course, when Jen, Nathe and Dad come along we skip the grocery shopping altogether.

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Details:

From Vancouver, go north over the Lions Gate bridge, and then west along Marine Drive, past Ambleside Beach.  The village huddles on a section of Marine Drive between 24th and 25th Street in West Vancouver. 

Area:

West Vancouver

Season:

All seasons

Educational highlights:

Fun for the adult?:

There's the seawall walk for a bit of exercise for the whole family, the beach for us kids, and coffee for Mom at Delaney's in the Village.