John Hendry Park (Trout Lake Park) — Attraction in Vancouver

There are just some places in the city that are good for the soul, and can renew your spirit with each visit. Trout Lake has all the amenities, and yet, so much more... Here, you'll see baseball diamonds, football fields, an off-leash dog area, an ice rink, a community centre, tennis courts, tons of picnic spaces, playgrounds, tennis courts, a farmer's market, a concessions stand... You'll see juggling acts, funny photo shoots, jazz, rock, and karaoke performances, festival of lights installations, maybe even a wedding... You'll see children being children, families being families, friends being friends, even strangers being friends... You will see people playing that weird sport where people are in a circle batting a ball down into a mini-trampoline. You will accept an ice cream from a family that has too many in the hot sun... You will buy drinks from a 7 year-old's stand.

There's a shared experience here, and you feel the vibe of wholeness as a community. The mix of people is as diverse as you can get socio-economically, culturally, or age-related, but the sense of sharing an singular existence is not only palpable, but honoured.

Come out of the rat race for a spell, and join the human race...

And then, there's moments like this out of nowhere on a frozen day in...

Coming from Oakland this place is like a shrunk down Lake Merritt. Bustling with people making use of all it has to offer. You can often find people picnicking, gathering, playing music, playing sports. During covet people have been doing some wonderful social distancing hang outs here.

Two playgrounds for kids to play at and some really amazing climbing trees. Some pine trees behind the beach and bathroom area as well as a slanted tree by the newer kids playground by the community center.

The best thing about this place and many Vancouver parks is that it has a bathroom. The lineups can get long but mostly on the weekends in the warmers months.

Don't recommend chicken strips, hot dogs, or hamburgers from the snack stand. They are very very sad foods. Great for refreshments and ice cream though.

Human-made lake is so attractive. I love the way steam comes off it while uti rains.. Dogs dip in it on one end at the unofficial dog beach, as do some brave people during the summer at the small and sweet sandy human beach. Lifeguard on duty during peak summer. Too much goose poop and too murky for my liking.

Also a field for soccer/footy, baseball/softball diamond, benches, gravel soccer field, bike path, and gazebo (that gets taken reeeeal early by eager people...

Nice park, dirty 'lake'. There's a path that takes you all the way around the park. There's a restaurant - can't comment on it. There is also a great farmer's market every Saturday from May to October. There is a large community center there, but I haven't used it. Plenty of lawn area to sit, but there's also benches and a playground. There is also a small amount of parking. There are swimming areas for people and dogs, but to be honest I wouldn't recommend swimming there. I've only taken my dogs to swim there, but I will not again as one developed an ear infection that took multiple veterinarian visits and medications to end. The next time I visited there were signs posted at both beaches saying the water did not meet standards for swimming. These signs remained up for weeks, then I just stopped visiting. If you do wish to take yourself or your dog swimming, I would advise you to check out the bacteria levels online first. The dog off-leash area has plenty of area away from the dog beach, but it is not segregated in any way from the rest of the park or the road. Be safe! Also, there are no dog poo bags provided, but there are dog...