The jewel of the city, Stanley park is a 400-hectare (1,000-acre) rainforest of cathedral-like groves of cedars and Douglas firs, jutting out into the ocean from the edge of the busy West End. It's named after the same Lord Stanley who gave his name to professional hockey's top trophy, though truth be told, His Lordship had little to do with the creation of the park. That was due to a cabal of West End landowners who worried that if the vast, beautiful peninsula ever came on the real estate market it would wreck the value of their own holdings. So they convinced the federal government -- which had held the land as a military reserve -- to gift it to the young city as a park. It turned out to be a good thing, since exploring the park is perhaps the quintessential Vancouver experience. The park is filled with towering western red cedar and Douglas fir, manicured lawns, flower gardens, placid lagoons, and countless shaded walking trails that meander through it all. At the waterline, a seawall runs the outside edge of the park, allowing cyclists and pedestrians to experience that magic interface of forest, sea, and sky. One of the most popular free attractions in the park is the collection of totem poles at Brockton Point. Most of these totem poles were carved in the 1980s to replace the original ones that had been placed in the park in the 1920s and '30s. The area around the totem poles has recently been improved with the addition of open-air displays on the Coast Salish First Nations and a small gift shop/visitor information center. The park also boasts abundant wildlife, including beavers, coyotes, bald eagles, raccoons, trumpeter swans, brant geese, ducks, and skunks. There's also a demonstration salmon stream. To explain these natural wonders, the Lost Lagoon Nature House (tel. 604/257-8544; open 10am-7pm July 1-Labour Day; weekends only outside this period; free admission) offers directions and maps, a research library, brochures, and exhibits on the nature and ecology of Stanley Park. On Sundays they also offer Discovery Walks of the park. Equally nature-focused but with way more wow is the Vancouver Aquarium . There's also the Stanley Park's Children's Farm (tel. 604/257-8530), a petting zoo with peacocks, rabbits, calves, donkeys, and Shetland ponies. Next to the petting zoo is Stanley Park's Miniature Railway (tel. 604/257-8531), a diminutive steam locomotive that pulls passenger cars on a circuit through the woods, carrying nearly as many passengers annually as all of the Alaska-bound cruise ships combined. The park's trio of restaurants includes the excellent Teahouse and Fish House, though the third isn't worth patronizing, but two out of three ain't bad. For swimmers, there's Third Beach and Second Beach, the latter with an outdoor pool. For kids there's a free Spray Park near Lumberman's Arch. Perhaps the best way to explore the park is to rent a bike or in-line skates and set off along the seawall. If you decide to walk, remember there's a free shuttle bus that circles the park every 15 minutes, allowing passengers to alight and descend at most of the park's many attractions.