02 The story
A village at the end of the seawalk
Dundarave has long been one of West Vancouver’s small commercial centres, growing up along Marine Drive in the early twentieth century as homes spread west from Ambleside. It has kept the scale of a seaside village: a few blocks of low buildings with cafés, restaurants, bakeries and boutiques, and residential streets that slope down to the water.
The centre of village life is Dundarave Park and Dundarave Pier at the foot of 25th Street. The pier is a favourite spot for an evening walk, with views across the water to Stanley Park, the city and Point Grey. The beach below has sand and logs to sit on, and it fills up with families on warm days.
Walking the waterfront
Dundarave marks the western end of the Centennial Seawalk, which runs east along the shoreline toward Ambleside. It is an easy, flat walk, and a popular routine is to start in one village, walk the seawalk and finish with a coffee or meal in the other. The path is shared with plenty of dogs on leashes, so expect company.
Above Marine Drive, the streets climb steeply into residential areas with views back over the water. Hollyburn Mountain and Cypress Provincial Park are a short drive uphill for hiking and winter sports.
Dundarave suits people who like a small, walkable village with a beach and do not need the services of a larger centre close by. It has some apartments and townhouses near Marine Drive, with houses higher up. For visitors, it is best on a clear evening, when the light over the water turns gold and the pier is busy with walkers.
