Family outings for real Metro Vancouver days

A Vanier Park planetarium visit packages a Star Theatre show, live science demo, and Cosmic Courtyard gallery for mixed-age curiosity. Children under 5 enter free with a paying adult, and published discounts include TransLink Compass cardholders and Indigenous guests.

• Indoor
• Rainy Day
• Science
• Planetarium
• Preschool
• Elementary
• Teen

Hands-on galleries, live science shows, and a full-day indoor pace make Science World a reliable rainy-day stop beside Science World SkyTrain. Admission includes children 2 and under and self-identified Indigenous guests at no charge, and the centre recommends allowing about two hours.

• Indoor
• Rainy Day
• Science
• Toddler
• Elementary
• Teen
• Transit

Canada's largest aquarium sits inside Stanley Park with marine habitats, a children's Clownfish Cove play area, Wet Lab touch experiences, and daily animal programs. Plan timed tickets and parking or transit before you go, and note the venue's cashless payment transition.

• Indoor
• Outdoor
• Rainy Day
• Animals
• Toddler
• Elementary
• Teen

An eight-acre Fraser River boardwalk site where heritage buildings tell fishing, canning, and boatbuilding stories at no charge. Grounds stay open dawn to dusk, building hours follow the published 2026 seasonal calendar, and most buildings are accessible.

• Outdoor
• Historic Site
• Free
• Multigenerational
• Wheelchair
• Stroller
• Restrooms

A 200-acre peat bog park with marked trails, a short wheelchair-accessible pond boardwalk, and a Nature House with exhibits and live animals. Trails are free from dawn to dusk, and Nature House admission is by donation.

• Outdoor
• Indoor
• Free
• Nature
• Wheelchair
• Stroller
• Multigenerational

A seasonal open-air village where kids can ride a vintage carousel, meet costumed interpreters, and explore early-20th-century shops at free gate admission on ordinary open days. Confirm the current 2026 season window before promising a rainy-weekend backup, because the museum is not open year-round.

• Outdoor
• Historic Site
• Free
• Seasonal
• Toddler
• Elementary
• Multigenerational

A free dawn-to-dusk Burnaby park with lake-loop trails, picnic lawns, a sandy play beach with swings, and an accessible washroom near the Sperling Avenue parking area. Pair a short paved stretch with grandparents and a playground stop for younger kids without buying tickets.

• Outdoor
• Free
• Playground
• Picnic
• Wheelchair
• Stroller
• Multigenerational

A free Fisheries and Oceans Canada hatchery inside Capilano River Regional Park where families can view rearing tanks and, in season, salmon climbing the fishway. Pair a short indoor stop with a picnic or accessible viewing platform, and keep children away from steep canyon edges.

• Outdoor
• Indoor
• Free
• Nature
• Science
• Elementary
• Multigenerational

A District of North Vancouver working farm where toddlers and preschoolers meet goats, rabbits, cows, and other barnyard animals on a compact five-acre site. Babies 18 months and under enter free, and online or walk-in tickets are available year-round with seasonal hours.

• Outdoor
• Farm
• Animals
• Infant
• Toddler
• Preschool
• Restrooms

A large Coquitlam urban forest with a playground, picnic shelters, washrooms, and a 5.5 km community path that can stretch into a longer walk for older kids. Shorter lake loops and a sheltered picnic stop help mixed-energy groups share one park without tickets.

• Outdoor
• Free
• Playground
• Picnic
• Teen
• Elementary
• Multigenerational

A compact Port Moody station museum with railway exhibits and a historic train car, run on a suggested $5 donation. It is a short rainy-day stop near Moody Centre SkyTrain and Rocky Point Park when you need an indoor reset without a destination ticket price.

• Indoor
• Rainy Day
• Historic Site
• Donation
• Transit
• Multigenerational

A free Cloverdale museum with galleries, an Indigenous Hall, and a TD Explore Zone play space for younger kids. Sensory Friendly Sunday runs the first Sunday of most months, and visitors under 12 need an accompanying adult.

• Indoor
• Rainy Day
• Free
• Toddler
• Preschool
• Elementary
• Sensory Modified

A Green Timbers interpretive centre with a nature exhibit, children's books and puppet theatre, and free drop-in family programs such as Thursday game nights. An all-terrain child wheelchair is available on site, and story times run rain or shine in the park.

• Indoor
• Outdoor
• Free
• Nature
• Toddler
• Preschool
• Wheelchair

A Langley aviation museum with indoor aircraft exhibits, outdoor display space, and a fenced picnic area for families who want a concrete, walkable rainy-day plan. Children 5 and under are free, and a family ticket covers two adults plus up to five youth.

• Indoor
• Outdoor
• Rainy Day
• Museum
• Teen
• Elementary
• Picnic

A 120-acre Aldergrove zoo with more than 60 species and about three kilometres of wheelchair-accessible paved pathways. Toddlers 2 and under enter free, and the zoo encourages wagons or non-motorized wheels for the long walk between habitats.

• Outdoor
• Animals
• Elementary
• Teen
• Toddler
• Wheelchair
• Stroller