Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/810732
tourismvancouver.com 37 Eoin Finn LOCAL INTEL e yogi, surfer and blissologist has been practising yoga since 1989. Marrying his love for athletics with yoga, Finn has also trained more than 100 Olympians and pro athletes. Here are Finn's fave places to find solitude in nature: • THE TOP OF GROUSE MOUNTAIN: Sure, lots of people check their time at the top after the long walk up, but I like to lose track of time and meditate alone up there taking in the beauty of the ocean, mountains, forests and our great city. • MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT UBC: These cliffs are magical. To do yoga around such huge totem poles and nature really reconnects us to our source. • KITS BEACH LAWN: Finding my stillness amidst the joy of volleyball players, swimmers and sunbathers, along with a view of the sun setting over Vancouver Island, is sheer bliss. • LIGHTHOUSE PARK, WEST VANCOUVER: It feels like worlds away from the city. I love doing yoga watching our beautiful city skyline and Mount Baker while curious seals swim by and check out my poses. RQ WHISTLER/FLICKR, COURTESY EOIN FINN, TVAN/COAST MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY, TVAN//GROUSE MOUNTAIN INTO THE WOODS Easy: Stanley Park, Vancouver's 405-hectare backyard since 1888, is the third-largest urban park in North America. This rainforest oasis includes Lost Lagoon, Beaver Lake, an 18-hole pitch-and-putt golf course and more than 27 km of forest trails. Or take a nature tour with Rockwood Adventures to see virgin rainforest in Lighthouse Park. WALK ON WATER: The Capilano Suspension Bridge lets you tread 137 metres across and 70 metres above what the Squamish Nation call Kia'palano, or "beautiful river." Explore more of the canyon on the Cliffwalk. SNOW SCENE: In winter, ski, snowboard or snowshoe those summer bike trails at Cypress Mountain. From 1,440 metres, at the top of Mt. Strachan, you'll have the diorama-like city and Strait of Georgia spread before you. Whistler Blackcomb Mountain Harder: The North Shore is known worldwide as a mecca for year- round mountain biking, with a vast network of trails on Cypress Mountain (5th Horseman, Trunk Monkey, Shore Play) and Fromme Mountain (Pipeline, Expresso, 7th Secret) – and killer views while blazing downhill. Go beyond: For bike clinics and lift access to spectacular terrain at one of the world's best mountain bike parks, go to Whistler Blackcomb Mountain. For flatter terrain, take a guided cycle tour with Into the Wild and hit the Trans Canada Trail on two wheels.