Kitsilano Beach

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Once known as Greer's Beach, when it was owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), Kitsilano Beach is now Vancouver's most popular beach. The oceanside heated salt water pool opened as Canada's first and longest saltwater pool in August 1931 and attracts swimmers and sunbathers alike.

Kitsilano Beach, known as "Kits" Beach, is located on Cornwall Ave at the north end of Yew St. The Seawall runs along side the beach and Kitsilano Pool is at the west side.

FIRST NATIONS PLACENAME:
Skwa-yoos.
X?epx?pa?y?em in the Squamish language.

FIRST NATIONS HISTORY:
In the early 1930’s maps were produced to show the Squamish names for local beaches and landmarks, Kitsilano Beach was identified as Skwa-yoos. However, these maps contained place names that used English letters to represent sounds that are not found in English, but only in the Squamish language. The Squamish Nation updated Skwa-yoos to X?epx?pa?y?em, to reflect the correct pronunciation.

Kitsilano Beach is located in the Kitsilano neighbourhood, which is named after Squamish Chief August Jack Khatsahlano (Xats'alanexw), who was a prominent Squamish Chief and notable Vancouver historian who shared Indigenous oral history with others.

AMENITIES:
Concessions
Public washrooms
Tennis courts
Basketball courts
Playground
Lifeguards from Victoria Day to Labour Day (late May to early September)
Pay parking
Waterfront Restaurants

Photo: rago_pago - Flickr

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 27th, 2022. Fraser Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on September 29th, 2022 at 3:47 PM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) monitors the water quality at 31 Vancouver-area beaches. Sampling is conducted during the height of swim season (May – September) and for the annual Polar Bear Swim (December).

VCH follows the Canadian Recreational Water Guidelines. Recreational water is considered safe if the geometric mean result is under 200 E.coli/100mL based on the previous last five samples or a single sample limit of under 400 E.coli/100mL. Should the results exceed the guidelines or in the event of a known hazard or spill, the Medical Health Officer will make an assessment of the risk to human health. If there is a risk to human health, a warning sign will be posted at the beach stating “This Water is Contaminated and Unsafe for Swimming.” Results are communicated on the Vancouver Coastal Health website. Data is shared on Swim Guide according to these results, as soon as they become available. Data is typically available on Thursdays or Fridays

Recreational water quality for a beach is determined by E. coli counts from the Greater Vancouver Regional District Water Quality Laboratory.

A beach is marked Green when geometric mean results are under 200 E.coli/100 mL and single sample results are below 400 E.coli/100mL.

A beach is marked Red when the geometric mean results are equal to or above 200 E.coli/100 mL water or single sample results are above 400 E.coli/100 mL.

A beach is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information

Water Quality Graph