Sunset Beach

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Once the location of a Sawmill factory, Sunset Beach is now known for being a quiet sandy beach at the mouth of False Creek. Visitors may come to swim during the summer time, stroll along the Stanley Park Seawall, or bring their dogs to the off-leash dog park.

Located at the mouth of False Creek, on Beach Ave between Bute St and Thurlow St, Sunset Beach is a less populated beach close to the West End and downtown Vancouver. It is close to the Vancouver Aquatic Centre and has access to the False Creek Ferry pier.

AMENITIES:
On the Stanley Park Seawall system
Concession
Public washrooms
Designated quiet beach
Access to the False Creek Ferry pier
Pay parking
Lifeguards between Victoria Day and Labour Day (late May to early September)

FIRST NATIONS PLACENAME:
The traditional name for this beach in the Squamish language is Í7iy?el?shn, pronounced "ee-ay-ul-shun".

The traditional name for this beach in h?n?q??min??m? is d??y??lx?n, meaning good underfoot.

Photo: Russell Docksteader - 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 60-95% 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:

Current Weather

11°C

Mostly clear

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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