Get up close and personal with local wildlife including our resident harbour seals by snorkeling off the coast of Vancouver’s North Shore! Just minutes away from the vibrant entertainment of the city you will find this truely West Coast experience.
While you may assume that summer is the best time to snorkel, you actually get much better visibility to see our local wildlife in Fall and Winter with only a couple of degrees difference in water tempreture!
A popular place for snorkeling and shore diving is Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver. Not only a beautiful park on land, it is well-known for its biodiversity and nutrient rich waters that can make for some great wildlife sights. There are opportunities to stay shallow or take group classes to skill up before heading out on your own.
Local tour provider Seadragon Charters offers guided shore dives any day of the week for those of you looking to head out with a guide. Rentals are also available for experiences divers.
The spectacular Howe Sound is North America’s southernmost fjord extending from West Vancouver up the coast. The neighbourhood of Horseshoe Bay is the gateway to Howe Sound. It’s a network of fjords that incorporates many clusters of beautiful islands and is home to a wealth of wildlife.
Seadragon Charters offers snorkel and kayak tours, and charters so you can take your snorkeling journey deeper into Howe Sounds and take your dive into the seal colony at Pam Rocks. The seals can be curious, bobbing along the surface beside you, skirting under your fins, or teaching you how to catch some fish!
