Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach is the stretch of sand where Davie Village meets the water, at the western foot of Davie Street on English Bay. Because it is the closest beach to the West End's gay neighbourhood, it has long been the go-to spot for the LGBTQ+ crowd to lay out towels on a warm afternoon, and it doubles as the main site of the Vancouver Pride festival each summer. The setting is pure Vancouver: mountains across the water, the seawall curving toward Stanley Park, and the Burrard Bridge framing the sunsets that give the beach its name. It is a relaxed, mainstream public beach rather than a clothing-optional or cruising one (that is Wreck Beach across the water), so expect families and sunbathers alongside the regulars. Lifeguards patrol in summer, there is an outdoor pool at the eastern end, and the grassy Sunset Beach Park behind it fills with picnics on Pride weekend.