Pacific Spirit Regional Park, Nature reserve in University Endowment Lands, Canada
Pacific Spirit Regional Park is a protected woodland with beaches, cliffs, and bogs on the Point Grey peninsula. The area spans about 860 hectares with natural transitions between different ecosystems.
The park's land was owned by the British Columbia government until 1989, when it was transferred to Metro Vancouver to operate as a regional park. In 1975, BC Parks had already set aside ninety hectares within the area as the UBC Endowment Lands Ecological Reserve for forest research.
Wreck Beach, the clothing-optional shoreline within the park, lies on land that is not part of any organized local government, unlike the University Endowment Lands portion. The park's trails and shore are used today by nudists, dog walkers and students from the adjacent UBC campus.
The park holds over 55 km of walking and hiking trails, 34 km of them designated multi-use for cycling and horseback riding. The Park Centre sits on W 16th Avenue. Free parking lots serve Acadia, Spanish Banks and Jericho beaches and the 16th Avenue centre; pay lots sit near Gate 7, the Museum of Anthropology and the Botanical Gardens. Dogs must stay under control, on-leash or in leash-optional areas.
A section of the park remains closed to the public and is used for research to study questions about coastal forest ecosystems. These protected zones allow scientists to track long-term changes in nature.
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