Surroundings, Vancouver

From the 1250 m (4100 ft) high Grouse Mountain - Vancouver's "private" peak - an unmatched panorama can be enjoyed in clear weather, especially in the evenings when the city lights are on. A cable car, operating daily, runs from the end of Nancy Greene Way to the summit restaurant (at 1128 m (3700 ft)) from where a chair-lift continues to the summit itself.Grouse Mountain is a winter wonderland providing access for outdoor skating, snowshoeing, skiing and snowboarding. In summer, Grouse Mountain is a hikers paradise with trails to challenge, the famed Grouse Grind, and mountain-top alpine trails of varying intensity.

The Royal Hudson's Steam Train is no longer running.

When in production between 1930 and 1935 the Britannia Beach copper mine was the largest in the British Empire. Today there is an interesting mining museum, The Britannia Mine Museum, with collections of old photographs, equipment, machinery and minerals. Visitors are taken by mine railway to a specially laid out gallery underground.The gravity fed concentrator mill is a listed National Historic Site as well as a Provincial Historic Landmark. The Britannia Mine Museum also has a number of hands on exhibits, visitors can take a ride through the mine, and pan for their own gold.

Situated on the Fraser River about 25 km / 15 mi south-east of Vancouver, adjoining Burnaby to the south-east, New Westminster (present population about 40,000) is the oldest town on mainland British Columbia. Founded in the 1850s it was a boom town during the gold-rushes and by 1868 had been elevated to provincial capital. In the town center are many Victorian buildings which, having survived a major fire in 1898, have now been carefully preserved. Particularly worth seeing are Irving House (302 Royal Avenue open May-Sep. 11am-5pm, at other times Sat. and Sun. 1-5pm), the impressive home of a riverboat captain, and (beyond it) New Westminster's Museum.

Port Moody, now a suburb of Vancouver, lies at the head of Burrard Inlet some 20 km (12 mi.) east of the city center. For just one year it was the terminus of the Trans-Canadian Railroad - hence the Golden Spike Festival held annually at the end of July/beginning of August. Built in 1907 the restored CPR station has now been converted into the Station Museum recalling the early days of the railway era on Canada's west coast.

Richmond (23 km / 14 mi) south of Vancouver; population 150,000) was founded in 1879 on a large island in the Fraser River delta. On its south-west side (and now incorporated into the town) is the picturesque former fishing village of Steveston with delightfully restored old timber houses, boatsheds and landing stages. Scores of fishing craft still bring their catch ashore here. Located in Moncton Street is the Steveston Museum.