Experience UBC Point Grey: A Family-Friendly Oasis

Imagine a neighbourhood with everything you could want for your children: big open spaces to play, a splash pad for hot summer days, close proximity to trails and nature, a vibrant and diverse community, and access to locally grown, sustainable produce. That neighbourhood is UBC Point Grey.

Neighbourhoods

UBC Point Grey is so expansive that there are six unique neighbourhoods perfectly suited for families to live, work and play on. Even your furry friends will love living and playing in the pet-friendly neighbourhoods of UBC Point Grey! U Boulevard has plenty of amenities, and Chancellor Place is a landmark location at UBC Point Grey. If you’re looking for a warm and welcoming neighbourhood where families gather then Hawthorn Place is the place to be. Families that love to bike and explore trails will adore the East Campus neighbourhood. Hampton Place is also a great spot for young athletes and families that love being active, and close to the largest neighbourhood at UBC Point Grey: Wesbrook Place.

Wesbrook Place is a one-stop shop for families! With over 6000 homes, a secondary school, a community centre, and a sprawling restaurant and retail centre at Wesbrook Village, the Wesbrook Place neighbourhood offers a true community-living feel. In Wesbrook Village, kids will love spending their afternoons and weekends honing their artistic eye at 4Cats Art Studio or taking music classes at Mastery School of Music. The long summer evenings can be spent enjoying a picnic at one of the many parks and outdoor spaces or running through the water at the community splash pad. Wesbrook Place has greenways woven throughout the neighbourhood, making this a sustainable and extremely accessible area for cycling and walking. In fact, sustainability is a top priority at Wesbrook Place. In addition to the greenways, there are plenty of EV charging stations located throughout Wesbrook Village, and most of the private buildings in this area. When you need to charge your EV, you can be sure there is a charging station nearby. Wesbrook Village also exhibits an impressive rainwater management system that can sustain itself through the warmer months without drawing on additional water systems.

Nature

Bordering on this neighbourhood is the popular Pacific Spirit Park, boasting 73km of trails with 50km designed for hiking, biking, horse riding, and dog walking. Popular family programs such as the Night Quest and ECOWalk run throughout the year and there are picnic tables and washrooms throughout the park to rest and relax as your take in the incredible flora and wildlife species within the park.

While Pacific Spirit Park is a well-known Metro Vancouver location, there are other incredible outdoor spaces at UBC Point Grey that your family will love. UBC Point Grey has some of the most beautiful gardens, including UBC Botanical Gardens, where you can wander through their different types of gardens,  Greenheart Tree Walk, a 310m long and 20m high treetop canopy walk that takes visitors through 100-year-old cedars, grand firs, and Douglas Firs, and Nitobe Memorial Garden, a traditional Japanese garden that offers a tea ceremony.

UBC Farm

Sustainability and sourcing local food is easy while living at UBC Point Grey, thanks to the UBC Farm, a working farm located at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. This teaching and research centre is committed to finding solutions to local and global food system challenges for a more sustainable, food-secure future. There’s nothing better than farm-fresh fruit and veggies, and the seasonal berry U-Picks mean you can have fresh fruit all summer long while teaching your kids about the growing and harvesting process involved. UBC Farm runs markets three times a week and a Saturday multi-vendor market, meaning that easily-accessible, locally-grown food is at your fingertips when you live at UBC Point Grey!

Museums and Art

UBC Point Grey is so much more than beautiful outdoor spaces and sprawling community living; plenty of world-class museums and concert halls are at your fingertips. Take in a show at the Frederic Wood Theatre, the Old Auditorium, or the renowned Chan Centre, which brings some of the best international, national and local musicians and performers to the stage. Kids and teens will love exploring the many museums at UBC Point Grey where they can learn about history and the world around them through immersive, hands-on experiences. Check out Canada’s largest blue whale skeleton at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, which also offers a monthly Nature Kids Club with a different theme each month, or the Pacific Museum of Earth to learn about geography, oceanography, atmospherical science, and more!

Recreation

There is no shortage of activities to keep kids and families busy at UBC Point Grey! At the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, families can catch a multitude of sporting events from football to hockey, soccer to basketball; not to mention several concerts that use this venue for performances. There are also plenty of community amenities that offer exceptional family programming, such as the Wesbrook Community Centre, the Old Barn Community Centre, the War Memorial Gymnasium, the UBC Aquatic Centre, a tennis court, and a popular indoor training centre for baseball! Families will love the Spring and Summer Camp offerings located at UBC Point Grey. Gymnastics, Physics, STEM, Dance, Soccer, and Music are just a few of the exceptional camps you will find to keep your children active and engaged during school breaks.

Arts and culture, sports and recreation facilities, camps for kids, locally-grown and sustainable food, and vast areas of outdoor space including parks and trails await your family at UBC Point Grey. It is an idyllic, family-friendly oasis to live, work and play.

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