Stair workouts are a great way to get some cardio while strengthening your body and working on balance. But skip the treadmill and do stair intervals outside. Here are the best places to do a stair workout around Vancouver.
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Stair Workout Tips
- Be considerate of others and share the stairs. Plan your workouts for times when public staircases won’t be busy.
- Watch your footing, especially as you start to get tired. You don’t want to wipe out!
- If you have a history of knee pain or injuries, check with your doctor or physio first.
- Some of the stair workouts on this list are hiking trails. AdventureSmart recommends bringing a backpack with essential safety and first aid gear on every hike. Check the forecast and pack extra clothing for the weather. Leave a trip plan so someone knows where you are going and when you will be back.
Third Beach
Add some challenging interval training into a Stanley Park seawall circuit with some sprints up the Third Beach stairs. They lead from the beach to the concession stand. If you want a more gentle descent, loop around to the nearby sloped path to get back down.
Robson Square
If you’re looking to do stair repeats in the heart of Vancouver, head to Robson Square. The wide staircases on the courthouse side are a great spot for intervals. It can get busy at lunchtime and on weekends, so plan to workout elsewhere during those times.
Stairs at Robson Square in Downtown Vancouver. Photo: Tourism Vancouver / Nelson Mouellic
Rogers Arena
The wide stairs on the south side of Rogers Arena provide a good workout as you climb from street level up to the viaducts. Find them near the intersection of Pacific Boulevard and Pat Quinn Way.
BC Place
The exterior of BC Place has several big staircases where you can challenge yourself with sprints. There’s a long wide set of stairs on the east side near Griffiths Way. If you run laps on the concourse around the perimeter of the building, you’ll find lots more.
Keefer Place
In Chinatown, a set of terraced plazas and a long staircase leads from Beatty Street near the Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain down to Keefer Place. It’s busy with commuters at rush hour, but otherwise, it’s empty enough to get a workout in.
Cambie Street Bridge
If you’re running along the south side of the False Creek Seawall, add a few stair repeats into your workout. A steep set of stairs rises from the seawall up to the deck of the Cambie Street Bridge.
City Hall
The wide staircase on the north side of Vancouver’s City Hall is short, but if you do enough laps you will get your heart rate up. There’s also another staircase on the west side of the building off Cambie Street that sees a bit less foot traffic.
Grouse Grind
Any list of Vancouver’s stair workouts would be incomplete without including the Grouse Grind. This challenging trail climbs 2,830 stairs over 2.9km as you ascend 853m up to the summit of Grouse Mountain. Downhill travel is prohibited so you will need to take the gondola back to the start. Note: The Grouse Grind is only open in the summer when it is snow-free.
Hikers on the Grouse Grind. Photo: Mike Seehagel
Wreck Beach
The steep trail to Wreck Beach near UBC is one big staircase, so it’s a popular spot for a stair workout. You’ll gain nearly 90 metres between the sand and the pavement of Northwest Marine Drive.
Tower Beach
Also located at UBC, Trail 4 behind the Museum of Anthropology head down the bluff to Tower Beach. It doesn’t have quite as many stairs as the trail to Wreck Beach, but it’s a lot quieter.
Trail 7
Trail 7 in Pacific Spirit Regional Park near UBC is a bit off the beaten path. Stairs lead steeply down the bank from Old Marine Drive to the ocean around the corner from Wreck Beach
Velodrome Trail
This challenging trail uses over 500 stairs to climb up the steep north side of Burnaby Mountain. You’ll gain 260m meters as you make your way to the top. Use our Velodrome Trail guide to plan your trip.
Stairs on the Velodrome Trail. Photo: Taryn Eyton
Coquitlam Crunch
Tri-Cities residents love to challenge themselves on the Coquitlam Crunch. The 2.2km trail gains over 250m of elevation as it climbs stairs and steep paths from Eagle Ridge Park up to the top of Westwood Plateau.
