Second Beach

Sitka Foundation supports water monitoring here to keep this beach healthy. Click here to learn more.

Stanley Park's Second Beach is the site of Vancouver's first ever draw and fill pool, which captured water from the ocean at high tide and, over a few days, heated up to the perfect swimming temperature.

Second Beach in Stanley Park is located at the junction of Stanley Park Dr and North Lagoon Dr next to Second Beach Pool, an oceanside, heated, outdoor pool. Barbeques can be used at nearby Ceperley Meadow and a picnic shelter can be reserved for private gatherings.

AMENITIES:
On the Stanley Park Seawall system
Concession
Public washrooms
Playground
Stand-alone barbeques allowed at nearby Ceperley Meadow
Picnic shelter (reservation required)
Pay parking
Lifeguards from Victoria Day to Labour Day (late May to early September)
Heated, outdoor pool

This beach is dedicated to Ida Greene who enjoyed many memorable days at Second Beach with her five boys.

Photo: Jerry Bowley - Flickr

Get directions to this beach

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 3:46 PM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

Report Pollution

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