This week, Westender is running its guides to the best patios and outdoor dining. I considered doing something similar for patio drinking, but my editor and I agreed that a guide to the best public drinking spots is more useful.
Why? Because in a city this beautiful and this expensive, paper-baggin’-it has become a necessity. Drinking in public: It’s not just for teenagers anymore!
The City of Vancouver does prohibit public drinking, so if you’re going to partake in the ancient act of public drinking, please be respectful. No drunken, loutish behaviour, lest you ruin it for the rest of us. And, please, remove your bottles and cans!
This list of public drinking spots was compiled based on a) accessibility, b) surrounding beauty and vibe and c) risk factor of getting busted by the cops.
Dude Chilling Park (aka Guelph Park)
The name says it all. The neighbourhood has become a hip(ster) hotspot over the past few years, and on any given sunny day you’ll find 20-to-30-somethings reading books, hula-hooping, smoking things that may or may not be cigarettes, and/or sharing beer carried over in growlers. This park earns extra brownie point for its close proximity to Brassneck and Main Street Brewing.
Beer Island (aka Habitat Island)
I wrote about this one a few weeks ago as part of the best places to booze in the city, full stop. I won’t get in to it again, except to say that it’s awesome, and that my friend Jonny and I coined the name “Beer Island”in 2011. Accept it.
The bench outside La Marche St. George (but only at night)
La Marche St. George is like a little slice of Salt Spring Island, right in the heart of Riley Park. There’s a chicken coop in the back, and great artisanal coffee and food sold in store. But perhaps best of all (for those who live in the ‘hood) there’s this bench around the corner from the entrance, which is an ideal spot for drinking beer while walking the dog at night – gazing at the stars, the trees and the surrounding beautiful homes that very few of us will ever be able to afford. It's awesome.
Wreck Beach
The cops are a regular presence now (or were last summer, anyway), but even still, public drinking is easy to get away with if you’re smart about it. It’s worth the risk! This beach is the closest thing to the Sixties Dream that Millennial Vancouverites may ever experience, and that includes the ability to get moderately intoxicated under a beating hot sun, while naked middle-aged men play Frisbee three yards away.
Third Beach
Yes, Kits and English Bay are beautiful, but the risks are too great for getting caught, and the close proximity to high density areas means there are plenty bozos roaming about to ruin the mood. Jericho and Spanish Banks, and New Brighton Beach on the other side, are rad, but are too far removed from downtown and East Van, it makes the whole notion of drinking-then-cycling-or-bussing-home really unpleasant. Third Beach on the other hand is close enough to the city to attract to attract a decent crowd, but removed enough to weed out excess bozos. It’s grown into a Wreck Beach Redux over the past few years, which means some nudity, some drugs and whole lot of red plastic cups.
Trout Lake (aka John Hendry Park)
The East Vancouver Experience distilled in to a single 0.25 sq. km landscape. Every variety of Vancouverite exists here: dog lovers, musicians, family picnickers, Commercial Drive punks in leather pants, yuppies, etc. The people watching is exceptional. It’s a laid back environment, and while the lake is a murky and kind of gross to imagine swimming in, it’s still a great place to soak in the rays and drown the day in a torrent of beer and/or wine and/or whatever you prefer.
That weird orange and blue cage off the walkway on the Powell Street overpass
A nice place to soak in the industrial aspects of our city, with an exquisite mountain view to boot. Excellent if you like drinking in cages.
What’s your favourite spot to drink in public? Tweet @thegrowlerbc!
