Regional parks in Metro Vancouver – including Iona Beach Regional Park – saw a surge in visitors last month as people spend more time outdoors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were approximately 28,600 visits to Iona Beach in January, according to Metro Vancouver Regional District – a big jump from the 11,800 visitors in January 2020.
The regional district takes care of 23 regional parks, as well as greenways, ecological conservancy areas and regional park reserves.
Across the entire regional park system, over 1.2 million visits were recorded last month – more than double the 550,000 visits in January 2020.
The busiest park last month was Pacific Spirit Regional Park near the University of British Columbia, which had almost 270,000 visits.
“For so many residents to use regional parks in the winter month of January shows just how valuable these greenspaces are for our communities,” said Metro Vancouver director John McEwen, chair of the Regional Parks Committee, in a statement. “Residents rely on these spaces for exercise and well-being.”
Last year was also a record-setting year for the regional parks. In total, 16.5 million visits were recorded in 2020 – an increase of 38 per cent from 2019 when there were 11.9 million visits.
McEwen said that adding more parks and greenways is a priority for Metro Vancouver.
According to the regional district, more than 200 hectares of protected parkland was added to the regional park system between 2018 and 2020.
Currently, all Metro Vancouver regional parks are open, however backcountry trails on North Shore parks are currently closed due to winter conditions.
