Best Time To Visit Vancouver BC (By A Local)

Vancouver is one of Canada’s top places to visit, so I understand why you would want to see this beautiful city. The mountains are stunning; the ocean is right there, and you can do so many outdoor activities.

Being born and raised in Vancouver, I know the city like the back of my hand and can provide you with information on the best time to visit. We’re pretty much the only city; in fact, British Columbia is one of the only provinces that experiences all four seasons.

While Vancouver is a year-round destination, depending on what you want to experience will determine what time of year you should visit and what best suits your needs. Let’s go into more detail about when would be the best time to visit for you.

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Best Accommodations Site: Booking.com
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Best Time To Visit Vancouver

While Vancouver is worth visiting year-round, I also want to mention that, obviously, the weather controls itself, so some years might be better or worse than others when visiting Vancouver. Of course, climate change is also a massive factor, but keep that in mind.

A view of Coal Harbour in Vancouver. It's a clear sky day and there are people walking on the Seawall, buildings on the left, with Stanley Park peaking out in the distance on the right. There's also a seapalne docked in the water at the water airport.

Spring

March | April | May

Spring is one of the rainiest times to visit Vancouver. However, it’s also one of the prettiest times to visit because all the flowers, trees, and cherry blossom trees start to bloom for the season. The snow slowly melts on the mountains, opening up the start of the hiking season.

However, spring will be one of the better times to visit if you’re looking for more reasonable prices for accommodations and fewer crowds. Attractions also start to open throughout the season to prepare for the coming season.

Events & Things To Do in Spring

One of the best things to do in spring is photograph the many cherry blossom trees around Vancouver. The city has 43,000 trees and 54 different cultivars.

While it’s an excellent opportunity for those Instagram pictures, there’s also the Cherry Blossom Festival, held every year in March, during the weeks the cherry blossoms bloom. During the festival, you can enjoy live entertainment, food, activities, and more.

Pretty light pink cherry blossom trees with a blue sky background.

There are many activities to do in the city, such as walking tours, like the Gastown Historic Walking Food Tour, with a guide explaining the history of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood and enjoying an assortment of food and wine along the way.

➡️ Check Prices & Availability Here for The Gastown Historic Walking Food Tour

Even though Vancouver experiences a lot of rain during the spring, this is one of the best times to visit gardens like Queen Elizabeth Park, VanDusen Gardens, and Stanley Park (the Rose Garden and the Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden).

In addition, if you’re looking for a road trip, head to Vancouver Island from Vancouver to explore the world-famous Butchart Gardens, which have been blooming for over 120 years.

The Butchart Gardens sign "Over 100 Years in Bloom" has a bunch of different coloured flowers in the middle. It's on top of a hedge and has a flower bed at the bottom.

Summer

June | July | August

Of course, summer is the best time to visit Vancouver. It will bring the best weather and many things to do around the city and the rest of the Lower Mainland (other outside cities). But it does come at the cost of everything being more expensive and busy almost everywhere you go.

On average, summer temperatures in Vancouver range from 20°C to 30°C (68°F to 86°F), and there’s little to no rain.

Events & Things To Do in Summer

Vancouver is known for its nature. One of the best things to do in the summer is to get outdoors and experience the mountains, hikes, and surrounding lakes outside the city.

There are a lot of day trips from Vancouver that you can do, such as to Whistler, which is approximately a 2-hour drive away from the city along a beautiful stretch of highway called the Sea to Sky.

A sitting area in Whistler Village with a man made pond (very murkey). There's a buidling and decorative rocks and shrubbery around the pond.

Don’t forget to stop off at Squamish for a lunch break and explore the Britannia Mine Museum, an excellent spot for families to take a mine tour and learn about one of the province’s old copper mines.

A white staircase looking building on the side of a hill with many windows known as the, the Britannia Mine Museum.

➡️ Check Prices & Availability Here for Britannia Mine Museum

You can also take a ferry ride to one of the Gulf Islands to experience the outdoors and local artisan markets and farmers markets. If you’re looking for a weekend getaway, head to the Okanagan Valley to experience award-winning wine from top wineries in the country.

Since there are many events and festivals that take place in the summer, here’s a list of some of the most popular events and festivals that happen in Vancouver:

Honda Celebration of Lights
Dragon Boat Festival
Richmond Night Market
Vancouver Pride Parade & Festival
Khatsahlano Day
Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival

Massive crowds of people in the middle of the street on Khatsahlano Day checking out the stalls and booths on each side of the street. There's massive crowds all the way down the street and beyond. — Khatsahlano Day

Fall

September | October | November

I find that fall seems to be an overlooked time to visit Vancouver. While yes, the temperatures start to drop, and there’s more rainy weather, prices for accommodations are also more reasonable, and there are fewer crowds.

Vancouver does experience sunny weather in the fall, so there are times when you can explore the city staying dry. Fall is also an excellent time to visit because the leaves start changing, and the scenery is beautiful.

Events & Things To Do in The Fall

October is when Vancouver has many fall activities to do in and around the city. There are events like Fright Night at the PNE, corn mazes, haunted houses, and pumpkin patches outside of the city. Plus, there’s the Pumpkins After Dark hosted at Swangard Stadium.

However, if you’re looking for something spooky to do during the month, there’s Vancouver’s Lost Souls Walking Tour that will take you through historic and landmark locations in Gastown.

➡️ Check Prices & Availability Here for Vancouver’s Lost Souls Walking Tour

Vancouver’s professional National Hockey League (NHL), the Vancouver Canucks season, also starts, so if you can catch a game or a preseason game, it’s always a good time and a fun atmosphere when they win.

The Vancouver Cancuks winning a game at Rogers Arena. They're on the ice giving props to their goalie and the rival team leaving the ice. There's fans and people leaving the arena and cheering.

Cirque de Soleil is a professional acrobatic performance company that performs throughout the fall and winter in Vancouver. The company has different themes each year, so there are never the same performances as the previous years (unless they say otherwise).

There are also many craft shows throughout the city in November. It’s the perfect place to do some early Christmas shopping and support the local artisans and small businesses that travel from around the province or the Lower Mainland.

Artisan Co-Operative Circle Craft established 1972 (circle sign with an arrow going through), is one of the biggest craft shows in Vancouver.

Winter

December | January | February

After summer, winter is the next most popular time that people visit Vancouver. Because we have our mountains, Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour, an hour or less to get to from the city makes it easy access for locals to do winter activities.

The weather is mild during the winter, with temperatures hardly falling below 0°C and sometimes snowfall, depending on whether we get a cold front. However, there’s still a lot of rainfall throughout the winter.

Furthermore, because winter is the next popular time to visit Vancouver, accommodations are more expensive, and there are more crowds but fewer than in summer.

Events & Things To Do In Winter

There are many winter activities to do in Vancouver. Since Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour mountains are all under an hour’s drive from the city, many people make the trek to go skiing, snowboarding, tubing, snowshoeing, and other winter activities.

A crowd of people going up the side of a hill with inner tubes getting ready to line up and slide down with their inner tunes.

One of the events that takes place in Vancouver during the winter is the popular Vancouver Christmas Market. Thousands of people participate in this popular event and other Christmas events during the holiday season in the city.

Other festive events include Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Bright Nights in Stanley Park, which supports the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund, VanDusen’s Festival of Lights, and more.

Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park decorated the trees with lights and the suspension bridge. There's a buolding on the left side with a spiral staircase with Christmas lights on it. — Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

Safety

Unfortunately, forest fires are a common occurrence every summer in British Columbia. However, certain years may be much worse than others, and places may be closed to the public because the fire(s) are too close to the area.

BC Health recommends staying indoors with the windows closed and monitoring your symptoms for smoke inhalation and respiratory problems.

If you’re going into the backcountry, hiking anywhere outside of Vancouver, or even on park trails, be on the lookout for wildlife. BC Parks has recommendations if you come across wildlife, such as keeping your distance and never feeding them, and other information if you come across certain wildlife, such as bears and coyotes.

Also, pack the 10 essentials if you’re heading out on an adventure outside.

Avalanches can also occur during the winter in British Columbia. So, if you’re planning on doing any winter activities in the mountains, make sure to stay within safe areas.

Conclusion

As you can see, while Vancouver is a year-round destination, I recommend visiting in the summer because it’s the best time for activities and weather. But you should still visit during other seasons, as there’s so much to do and see around the city regardless of the time of year you decide to visit.

Have a good day 🙂