Burrard Inlet lies both west and east of Stanley Park's Prospect Point, where it is spanned by the Lions Gate Bridge at First Narrows. This aging, three-laned structure connects Vancouver with North and West Vancouver. The inlet expands into Coal Harbour, where much of the commercial marine activity is centred. It contracts again at Second Narrows where the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge links Vancouver and Burnaby on the south with North Vancouver on the north. Just beyond Second Narrows, Burrard Inlet divides and branches east to Port Moody and north up Indian Arm, a slender, steep-sided fjord.

Vancouver's outer harbour is composed of English Bay and Burrard Inlet and acts as the holding area for large, oceangoing freighters. You often see as many as 20 ruddy-coloured ones floating high in the water as they await their turn to take on cargoes of prairie grain, lurid yellow sulfur, raw logs, sawdust, and finished lumber. When they come to load, each is guided to the inner harbour by a tugboat that possesses the muscle of a nightclub bouncer combined with the finesse of a ma”tre'd. Their antics are fun to watch from a beach or the Stanley Park Seawall trail. All this heavyweight activity allows very little room for recreation in the inner harbour, other than the rowers, whose sculls venture out at dawn and sunset from the Vancouver Rowing Club in Stanley Park. Strong currents that churn through First Narrows restrict small boats to the calmer waters except at slack tide.

Burrard Inlet does make a concession to recreation - it's called False Creek. (In fact, False Creek is much more like a narrow bay. In England, the word 'creek' applies to a small indentation on the coast. Since it was named by Captain Richards of the Royal Navy in the late 1850s, we'll have to live with it.) The ocean slips in under the Burrard Bridge and balloons past residential housing that in the past two decades has replaced the light industry that once soiled the shoreline. Gone are the battery recyclers with their lead and the barrel makers with their creosote. Ocean Cement is one of the last tenants of its kind here; its lease on Granville Island expired in 1999. The occasional tugboat still makes its way in and out of False Creek with a load of sand for the city works yard, but otherwise this sheltered backwater is the playground of kayakers and canoeists, and provides moorage for fishing boats at the federal dock and sheltered anchorage for sailboats. The Cambie Bridge arches above False Creek's midpoint. The polished stainless-steel dome of Science World marks the creek's eastern perimeter.

It's easy to think that False Creek has always been the watery playground of the inner city. Most evenings, primarily from April to October, the sheltered finger of Burrard Inlet teems with a mix of canoes, dragon boats, kayaks, sculls, sailboats, tugboats, and stinkpots. Until the 1986 World Exposition on Transportation was held on its north shore, however, False Creek had been shabbily treated for decades. Its condition today as one of the cleaner waterways in Vancouver is a testimony to the recuperative powers of nature. Come see for yourself. You can launch your own hand-carried boat from the wharf in front of the False Creek Community Centre, 1318 Cartwright Street, on Granville Island. Head for the loading zone beside the centre's Cartwright Street entrance, then carry your boat past the tennis courts and down the ramp to Alder Bay. From here it's a steady 30-minute paddle to Science Centre at the east end of False Creek. It's an equally long paddle west to Sunset Beach in the West End, though through choppier waters as you cross beneath the Burrard Bridge.

Barnet Marine Park has a paved driveway that can be used to launch canoes, kayaks, or sailboats in Burrard Inlet. No motorized boats can be launched from here. Belcarra Regional Park lies enticingly close across Burrard Inlet to the north. On a calm day, paddle over to explore the area around Belcarra's Admiralty Point. Just be mindful of the occasional large freighter that may be gliding slowly into one of the nearby oil terminals. These big bullies can seriously ruin your day if they sneak up behind you.

If you're looking for a place to begin a paddle on the Fraser River, Vancouver and Burnaby's Fraser River Parks are two good sites to launch out onto the river in a hand-carried boat. If you have a day to spare, consider paddling between the two, a distance of about 7 miles (11 km) one way. In order to pull this off, you should arrange transportation between the two sites in advance. Leave a vehicle at each park or arrange to be picked up once you've completed your journey. The ideal time to run the Fraser is a Sunday morning when commercial traffic on the river's North Arm is light. On weekdays, tugboats and other large vessels create a mishmash of wakes that might swamp an open canoe. Enjoy a few quiet hours on the Fraser, and you'll thrill to the site of blue herons, sandpipers, and dabbling and diving waterfowl going about their business along the shore.

A thrill of a different kind is experienced as you pass beneath all of the major bridges that link Vancouver and Burnaby with Lulu and Sea Islands. If you're fortunate to catch the tide flowing with you, a gentle current will carry you along. Check the tide tables in Vancouver's daily newspapers to determine the optimum time to make this journey. Allow six hours to make the trip one way. Places to go ashore for a break include Vancouver's Riverfront and Gladstone-Elliot Parks. For an abbreviated adventure, you can paddle between one of these parks and Burnaby's Fraser River Park, about 3 miles (5 km) round trip. You'll miss much of the activity around the bridges, but will be spared having to arrange land transportation between sites. You can arrange to rent a canoe on Buntzen Lake - there is a boat launch (nonmotorized only) at the park's South Beach.

One of the best ways to get a feeling for the Fraser Estuary is from a small boat such as a canoe or kayak. Although the Fraser River powers its way through the estuary in three main channels, there are numerous backwaters where the current is not as strong nor the wakes from passing tugboats and freighters as intimidating.

Try launching at Deas Slough and explore the nearby Ladner Marsh area. There are two approaches, one from Deas Island Regional Park and the other from the public boat launch at the north end of Ferry Road on the outskirts of Ladner. (Ladner, together with Tsawwassen to the south, is where the majority of Delta's population resides.) Both approaches are equally well suited to exploring Deas Slough. Deas Island Park lies 1.5 miles (2.5 km) east of the Hwy 99/Hwy 17 interchange. A small causeway links the island with River Road. Car-top boats can be launched at the east end of Deas Slough beside the Delta Rowing Club. From here, the entire length of the slough stretches before you, an open invitation to steal away.

The boat ramp on Ferry Road at the west end of Deas Slough is vehicle accessible. This is where anglers, water-skiers, jet boats, canoes, and kayaks launch. To reach Ferry Road, take the Ladner exit immediately south of the George Massey Tunnel on Hwy 99. Drive west on River Road to Ferry Road. Turn east on Ferry and drive to the launch ramp. From here, Deas Island's rocky-pointed snout is only a quick paddle away. The full girth of the Fraser River's South Arm lies on the far side of Deas Island and should be paddled only at slack tide. During falling tides, currents in the Fraser can reach almost 7 miles (11 km) per hour, although you won't experience these conditions in the backwater on Deas' south side. The heart of the slough is equidistant from either Ferry Road or Deas Island Park. (Note: The gates at Deas Island Park close at 9pm; leave your vehicle outside them if you decide to linger longer than that. The short portage this necessitates is more than rewarded by the delight of drifting in the slough's sleepy backwater as night falls - not to mention being able to drive your car at all.)

If you want to expand your journey beyond the slough, investigate the secluded channels of Ladner Marsh and the South Arm Marshes Wildlife Management Area that begins west of the Ferry Road boat launch and includes all of the delta between Deas and Westham Islands. There's also a private marina beside the public boat launch on Ferry Road that provides private moorage.

There's more to do at Crescent Beach in South Surrey than simply get sand between your toes. Although swimming is the big attraction in summer, you can launch a car-top boat and explore the coastline of Boundary and Mud Bays, as well as the Nicomekl River, which channels into Boundary Bay east of Crescent Beach year-round. For larger boats, there's a ramp just east of the Burlington Northern railway tracks in Crescent Beach. There's also a drive-in boat launch nearby on the Nicomekl at Surrey's Elgin Heritage Park on Crescent Drive near 35th Avenue.

Although there's no boat launch at Semiahmoo Park, if you've arrived with a car-top boat or an inflatable raft, park as close to the end of the parking lot as possible, beside a baseball diamond. Launch in the nearby Campbell River and drift downstream from here. Note: Paddle out onto Semiahmoo Bay underneath a Burlington Northern Railroad bridge and gaze down through the clear water to the golden sand below. This is a dreamy location. Campbell River is intertidal, and thus more shallow at certain times than others.

One of the best ways to explore Surrey Bend Park is in a small boat. Use the boat launch beside the Barnston Island ferry slip at the foot of 104th Avenue and 176th Street in Surrey. Paddle west along Parsons Channel, hugging the south side of the Fraser River. Make your way into the park on Central Creek, which flows into the Fraser River at Surrey Bend a short distance west of the dock. Once in the backwaters of Central Creek, paddlers are guaranteed hours of enjoyment as they investigate its meandering course through shaded second-growth forest. This is a unique, West Coast river environment. As Surrey Bend was only given park status in 1995, there are few visitor services in place. For the moment, visitors are expected to make their own way around the park. What better natural path than a meandering creek?