Ranking Every Park in Vancouver: Mt. Pleasant Edition

(yes, this is happening)

13. CAROLINA PARK

- Very small, very sad
- Tiny playground and no useable grassy area
- some small parks have charm, this does not

12. MAJOR MATTHEWS PARK

- Not terrible, but very non-descript
- Small playground, small flat field, no real room to explore
- why is the gazebo awkwardly shoved in a corner

11. SAHALLI PARK

- Perfectly Acceptable Neighbourhood Park, but not much else
- Large rambling community garden and secret side entrance
- Good for small picnics, but substandard playground and lack of interesting side stuff

10. MCAULEY PARK

- You know that weird triangle area at Kingsway/Fraser? Well it's a tiny park and it's charming!
- Big overhanging tree gives shade, neat little tables, neighbourhood appropriate monument to Vietnamese Boat People
- Too little for kids and too much car noise

9. CHINA CREEK NORTH

- It looks grand from up top, but in reality it's mostly a mediocre flat field with no shade
- New playground is pretty good for both young/older kids, but not making the most of the giant hill

8. TEA SWAMP

- Divided by a lane: north side is mediocre playground, south side is small but charming mini-park
- Neat backstory for the name, a number of solid areas to sit, good mix of man-made and natural elements
- Still small though

7. CHINA CREEK SOUTH

- Good playground, lots of great gentle slopes for bocce, nice mix of shade and sun
- The area off Broadway is surprisingly quiet, the area off Clark surprisingly loud
- Skateboard park/garden/bike path small touches, but important

6. DUDE CHILLING PARK

- Yeah, it's a fun sign, statue, and story to tell outsiders
- But otherwise, it's a big piece of flat land that works for Millennials drinking and dogs running, and little else
- The playground is VERY sad
- The grass is not great
- o v e r r a t e d

(gonna let this one simmer for a couple minutes)

5. ROBSON PARK

- Few people are going to rave about Robson, but it has pretty much everything you need
- Good areas to play sports, to sit, to get shade, to get sun, good playground, it's all good!
- Surprisingly quiet next to Kingsway
- But nothing is super, so here it sits

4. JONATHAN ROGERS PARK

- This is what Dude Chilling Park wishes it was: a low-key communal gathering place with great sun and great views
- Milano Coffee and 33 Acres perfectly situated nearby
- Slope on the south side gives just enough variety
- Just average for kids

3. MOUNT PLEASANT PARK

- Packs so many good elements in a relatively small area without it feeling cramped
- Feels integrated into the neighbourhood, feels quiet, but also close to Main/16th
- Very good playground, nice shady walking areas, a solid B+/A- park in all respects

2. HINGE PARK

- It's a tad over-designed and each area is a little too separate from each other
- But everything is great: nice field with views, the faux wetlands area with great exploring for kids, benches, a dog park, it's really missing nothing
- Urbanism Done Right

1. HABITAT ISLAND

- Why yes, the wilderness island in the heart of the city is very good
- So much mystery and exploration for kids; so many views and chill places for adults
- Not a place to spend hours; but might be the best 30 minutes you could spend in any park in Vancouver

Every week me and a team of PARK EXPERTS (aka my friends) will rank all the parks in a different Vancouver neighbourhood.

But we're keeping detailed scores.

And at the end, there will be a total

definitive

Ranking of Every Park in Vancouver.

Couple of notes:

- Neighbourhood rankings will be tweeted out each Friday. Still figuring the best format for the larger city-wide thing.
- We're using the city's definitions of what neighbourhood each park is in, so don't complain to me
- i am EXCITED to explore the city

Best unofficial park in Mt. Pleasant?

The little garden/wooded area at the top of the stairs at Great Northern Way and Foley.

We're only ranking official parks, but it's truly lovely.

NEXT WEEK: We rank Fairview.

Your comments, concerns, and pre-emptive complaints about where I'm going to rank your favourite park can start now.