Offers a variety of activities including aquatic exercise, camps, community gardening, exercise classes and activities, public parks, recreation centers, senior centers, summer meal programs, swimming facilities, and youth centers. The website offers a park and trail finder, special events list, and Vancouver Culture, Arts and Heritage information.

Parks and Recreation Programs offered at City of Vancouver

Offers a variety of activities including aquatic exercise, camps, community gardening, exercise classes and activities, public parks, recreation centers, senior centers, summer meal programs, swimming facilities, and youth centers.

Centers, often operated by the local community department of parks and recreation, that offer, at a single location, a variety of recreational facilities such as athletic fields and courts, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and locker facilities. Recreation centers usually offer an organized program of activities for community residents of all ages and provide all necessary equipment.

Recreation Centers

Programs that provide plots of land on which groups of people living in a neighborhood can grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. Community gardens provide access to fresh produce and plants; may be located in parks, schools, hospital grounds or other open areas; and may be nurtured communally and the bounty shared, have individual plots for personal use, or be dedicated to "urban agriculture" where produce is grown for a market. Some have raised beds that are accessible to people with disabilities. The gardens provide an opportunity for participants to savor the freshness, flavor and wholesomeness of home-grown produce; save money on their food bills; grow traditional foods not available in the supermarket; or simply get some exercise and enjoy the benefits of being outdoors. They also support a community's food security, contribute to the preservation of open space, strengthen community bonds, provide a sense of connection to the environment and offer opportunities for community education.

Community Gardening

Programs that provide opportunities for people of all ages to learn, become competitive in and enjoy the organized recreational activity, sport or game of their choice. These programs may be offered by local clubs devoted to a particular activity or sport; may provide individual or team coaching assistance or instruction, access to equipment and facilities, and uniforms, if necessary; and may sponsor or make arrangements for athletes to participate in amateur competitions, usually at the local, regional or state level, and provide officials for games. These events are generally for the enjoyment of the athletes and are not at a high enough competitive level to be considered spectator sports.

Recreational Activities/Sports

Open spaces within town, city, county or regional boundaries that are acquired, developed and maintained by local or regional governments and made available to the public as venues for recreational and leisure programs.

City/County Parks

Programs that operate during the summer when school is not in session and provide nutritional meals (breakfasts, snacks, lunches and/or dinners) or supplemental EBT benefits for children and youth. Summer food service programs are generally available to youth age 18 and younger who live in designated low-income areas; and may be federally-funded or funded by other entities.

Summer Food Service Programs

Multipurpose centers that serve as a focal point for youth in the community and which offer, at a single location, a wide variety of services and activities that are needed by and of interest to this population.

Youth Centers

Residential or day camp facilities where care and recreational activities are provided for children during the summer vacation period.

Summer Camps

Multipurpose centers that serve as focal points for older adults in the community and which offer, at a single location, a wide variety of services and activities that are needed by and of interest to this population.

Senior Centers

Programs that develop, maintain and make available to the public, swimming pools which may be equipped with diving boards of various heights, slides and other equipment.

Swimming Facilities

Programs that offer a wide variety of activities including arts and crafts, academic programs, sports, reading clubs, workshops and other recreational, leisure, cultural, social and civic activities for school-age children and youth in out-of-school hours. The objective of youth enrichment programs is to promote healthy social interaction and help participants maximize their social, emotional, physical and academic potential.

Youth Enrichment Programs

Programs that provide creative recreational experiences in cooperative indoor and/or outdoor group living for children, usually age four to 13, or adults who are transported to the site each morning and who return to their homes at the end of each day. Transportation may be provided by the program or may be the responsibility of the family.

Day Camps

Programs that offer guided or self-guided walks or drives through parks, beach areas, wildlife preserves and other natural settings to acquaint participants with particular aspects of their environment and to increase their understanding of and appreciation for ecological balance.