Wreck Beach
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Wreck Beach is one of the largest clothing-optional beaches in the world. It is part of Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which is in turn part of the University Endowment Lands just west of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The clothing optional section is clearly marked with signs and stretches approximately 6.5 km from Acadia Beach in the north, down to the Booming Grounds Creek on the north arm of the Fraser River. The park is administered by the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), though aboriginal claims are repeatedly asserted.
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[edit] Acadia Beach — Tower Beach — Point Grey
The shoreline throughout this section of Wreck Beach is mainly rocky with some sandy stretches and there are fewer beach goers here. An area is provided for owners to have their dogs off leash. During the smelt season, naturists share this area with clothed fishers and their families. Smelt fishing is typically prohibited from the middle of June to the middle of August.
Acadia Beach is short walk down a gentle slope from the parking lot on Marine Drive. There is a grassy area here with several picnic tables. Tower Beach is at the end of the much longer Trail 3 and Point Grey is near the steeper Trail 4. There is no place to park by either Trail 3 or 4. All of Wreck Beach is connected and it is possible to walk from one area to another. However, if the tide is too high, access can be limited.
Along Tower Beach are two tall concrete gun towers that are relics from World War II. Just south of these towers is Point Grey, called Ulksen in the local Salish language.
Along with lush vegetation, various forms of wildlife can also be seen, including nesting herons, sea lions, kingfishers, and occasionally, bald eagles.
[edit] Wreck Beach proper
While the entire beach within Pacific Spirit Regional Park, clear around Point Grey, is often referred to as Wreck Beach, the large sandy area on the north side of the North Arm Breakwater at the base of Trail 6 is what most think of when they talk about Wreck Beach. The trail is the most developed of the trails down the bluff and consists of approximately 400 wooden steps. This section of the beach is the most heavily used. Here, black market vendors sell clothing, drinks, snacks, sunscreen, as well as alcoholic beverages and various intoxicants (including marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, and LSD).
Nudity is optional throughout Wreck Beach; however, regular beach-goers consider it good etiquette to join the unclothed rather than just observe them. Additionally, due to Wreck Beach's proximity to the University of British Columbia, many students, most of whom are not nudists, can be found at Wreck Beach. In recent years many beach users have objected, on both privacy and environmental grounds, to the University's plans to erect new buildings partially overlooking the beach.
While many people assume that clothing-optional beaches and resorts are for adults only (and some are), it is common to see families with children and teenagers enjoying Wreck Beach.
[edit] Trail 7
The area inside the North Arm Jetty, where the breakwater begins, is an extremely gay-friendly section. The trail has recently been improved with the addition of handrails and better stairs. The ocean here was stagnant and polluted-however changes in booming practices have helped to revive the balance and water is now considered suitable for swimming.
At the bottom of the trail you can choose to go right (northwest) or left (southeast). There is a sandy spit several hundred meters to the northwest, where there is often a crowd. There are numerous small pockets of sand along the trail in both directions. There are also a number of small trails, all along this area, that lead into secluded areas in the woods that are sometimes used for gay sex.
[edit] Access
Wreck Beach adjoins the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus, west of the city limits of Vancouver. It is accessible by road, water, and public buses. The most popular part, Trail 6, is 3 km overland from Vancouver.
TransLink runs a number of bus routes (4, 9, 17, 25, 41, 43, 44, 49, 84, 99, 258, and 480) to the UBC bus loop. From there it is a five-minute walk west, down University Boulevard, to UBC Gate 6 (from which Trail 6 takes it name). Turn right on S.W. Marine Drive and the trail is immediately to the left about 100 meters.
From Highway 99, turn west on one of these roads: S.W. Marine Drive, 41st Avenue (which eventually merges onto S.W. Marine Drive) or 16th Avenue (which eventually ends at S.W. Marine Drive, then turn right). Alternatively, from the north only, take the 4th Avenue exit off the Granville Street Bridge (then from 4th Avenue, turn right on N.W. Marine Drive).
From Highway 1, take the Grandview Highway exit (28A) westbound (this eventually becomes 12th Avenue), turn right (north) on Clark Drive, left again (west) on 6th Avenue (this eventually becomes 4th Avenue), and then turn right on N.W. Marine Drive.
Wreck Beach lies at the base of a cliff. Therefore, the trails all are fairly steep. Trail 6 and Trail 7 both have stairs, Trail 6 being the better developed of the two. The path from the Acadia Beach parking lot is the most gentle slope and provides the easiest access to a clothing-optional area. When the tide is not too high, it is possible to walk along the entire shore: from Acadia Beach past the base of Trail 7. Erosion can make the route south of Trail 6 a bit tricky, and it can often be quite muddy.
[edit] Parking
There is a small parking lot at Acadia Beach, a pay parking lot south of Trail 6 and several pay parking lots on the UBC campus. Free parking is also allowed all along the east side of S.W. Marine Drive (opposite the cliff side) and along Old Marine Drive. Illegally parked vehicles are often towed away.
[edit] Toilets
The GVRD provides limited sanitary facilities. There are outhouses by the Acadia Beach parking lot and at the tops of Trails 6 and 7 and there are also portable toilets at the base of Trail 6. There is no running water, so many visitors bring their own. A few times over the years, the health authorities have issued warnings that the beach is too contaminated for swimming.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Carellin Brooks, Wreck Beach (book), Number 16 in the Transmontanus series from New Star Books, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; www.NewStarBooks.com. Issued 2007 August. ISBN 978-1-55420-031-3; ISSN 1200-3336 Number 16.
[edit] External links
- Pacific Spirit Regional Park
- Translink (Vancouver and area bus information)
- Wreck Beach Preservation Society
- Wreck Beach Butoh art film
