You don't have to travel far to find somewhere worth drawing. Some of the best sketching spots aren't landmarks at all, they're quiet riverbanks, forest trails, working waterfronts and neighbourhoods you've probably driven past dozens of times. Every landscape has a story waiting to be noticed, whether it's told through weathered railway tracks, towering cedar forests, tidal flats or winding rivers. Sketching has a wonderful way of slowing us down, encouraging us to look beyond first impressions and discover the histories, ecosystems and communities that continue to shape these places today.

Looking for where to sketch in Vancouver and BC this summer? These eight destinations are all within easy reach of an Opus location, making them ideal for spontaneous urban sketching sessions, plein air painting and creative staycations around British Columbia.

If you're new to sketching outdoors, our guide to Plein Air Painting Tips for Canada's West Coast is a great place to start before you head out.

All of the places in this guide are located on the traditional territories of First Nations who have cared for these landscapes for countless generations. As you sketch, take a moment to appreciate not only the beauty of these places, but the histories and ongoing relationships that continue to shape them.

Vancouver is often thought of as a city of glass towers, but False Creek East tells an older story.

Long before Expo 86 and the creation of Olympic Village, this shoreline was one of the city's industrial heartlands. Sawmills, rail yards, machine shops and small port operations lined the water's edge, helping build Vancouver into a working harbour. As shipping and industry gradually moved to larger facilities around Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River during the 1960s and '70s, the waterfront entered a new chapter. Expo 86 accelerated its transformation, followed two decades later by the creation of the Olympic Village for the 2010 Winter Games.

Today, traces of those earlier chapters still sit alongside contemporary architecture. Science World rises above the inlet, Engine 374, the first transcontinental passenger locomotive to arrive in Vancouver in 1887, stands preserved nearby, while marinas, public art and the downtown skyline create endless opportunities for sketching.

Sketching tip: Look for contrasts rather than panoramas. An old rail line against a glass condominium, a tugboat passing modern apartments, or the geodesic dome of Science World framed by the remnants of Vancouver's industrial waterfront often tells a more compelling story than trying to capture everything at once.

Nearest Opus: Downtown Vancouver

It's easy to think of Granville Island as a place of cafés, galleries and market stalls, but its story begins as something very different.

Originally little more than sandbars and tidal flats, the area was reclaimed in the early 1900s to create industrial land along False Creek. Sawmills, machine shops, boat builders and warehouses once occupied these shores, supplying Vancouver as it grew into a bustling port city. By the 1970s, many of those industries had declined, and the area faced an uncertain future. Instead of being cleared for redevelopment, Granville Island was reimagined as a vibrant public space where artists, makers, food producers and craftspeople could work side by side—a legacy that continues today.

From the Public Market, follow the seawall toward Charleson Park. The crowds gradually thin, giving way to floating homes, marinas, public art and wide views across False Creek. Looking back toward downtown, you'll see a city that's constantly changing, while reminders of its working waterfront remain moored along the shoreline.

Sketching tip: Try making three quick sketches as you walk, perhaps a market stall, a moored boat and the skyline from Charleson Park. Together they'll tell a richer story of the neighbourhood than a single finished drawing.

Nearest Opus: Granville Island

If you'd like to explore observational drawing further, Vancouver urban sketcher Zandro Tumaliuan shares how slowing down with a sketchbook helped him rediscover the city.

Some sketching days are about collecting a series of impressions rather than settling in one place. Around UBC, you can move through three very different landscapes in a single afternoon, each offering its own way of seeing the West Coast.

Begin at the Museum of Anthropology, designed by renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The building's soaring concrete forms and expansive glazing are striking subjects in themselves, but don't miss the path behind the museum. Here you'll find monumental poles overlooking the Strait of Georgia and reconstructions of traditional Northwest Coast houses, including the Haida House, built by 'Namgis artist Doug Cranmer and Haida artist Bill Reid, who oversaw the project. Framed by forest and ocean beyond, it's a place where architecture, art and landscape come together in remarkable ways.

From there, wander into Pacific Spirit Regional Park, where towering cedars and Douglas firs quickly replace concrete with birdsong. These second-growth forests reward a looser approach. Think broad gestures rather than careful detail, capturing shafts of light filtering through the canopy or the gentle curve of a winding trail.

Finish your day at Spanish Banks, where the tide transforms the landscape almost hourly. At low tide, the shoreline stretches far into English Bay, creating vast reflective sandflats with sweeping views towards the North Shore mountains. As the sun begins to drop, the changing light softens everything into broad washes of colour, a perfect place to end the day with a few quick watercolour studies.

Sketching tip: Rather than trying to produce one finished drawing, fill a page with small studies; the geometry of Erickson's architecture, the silhouette of a monumental pole, the texture of cedar bark or figures crossing the tidal flats. Together they'll become a visual diary of one of Vancouver's most varied landscapes.

Nearest Opus: UBC Bookstore

Long before suspension bridges and hiking trails brought visitors to Lynn Canyon, this valley was shaped by the logging industry that helped build early Vancouver. Today, second-growth cedars, rushing water and moss-covered boulders have reclaimed much of that landscape, creating one of the North Shore's most inspiring places to sketch.

In the early twentieth century, nearby Lynn Valley also became known as "Shaketown", a loose community of writers, artists and free spirits who built simple homes among the trees and embraced a creative life close to nature. That spirit still feels surprisingly present. Spend an afternoon here with a sketchbook and it's easy to understand why so many people came looking for inspiration.

Suspension bridges, textured bark, ferns and tumbling water encourage a looser style of drawing. Rather than chasing detail, concentrate on rhythm, atmosphere and the way light filters through the canopy.

Sketching tip: Try working with waterproof ink first, then add loose washes afterwards to capture the shifting greens of the forest.

Nearest Opus: North Vancouver

If you're looking for inspiration before heading out, watch our video with Elena Markelova, whose expressive plein air paintings capture the changing light, forests and wildlife of British Columbia.

At first glance, Mundy Park feels like a quiet pocket of forest tucked into the middle of the city. But this landscape has a much deeper story.

Situated within the traditional territory of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nation, whose name in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language means "red fish up the river," the park was once part of the vast Coquitlam River watershed. Before neighbourhoods and roads surrounded it, these forests were connected to the Fraser River through an intricate network of streams and wetlands, supporting the unique sockeye salmon runs that gave the Nation its name. Sketching has a way of revealing these hidden connections. The longer you sit and observe, the easier it becomes to imagine the forests, waterways and salmon runs that once linked this landscape to the Fraser River.

Today, towering Douglas firs, peaceful ponds and winding forest trails make Mundy Park an ideal place to slow down and draw. Rather than searching for a dramatic vista, spend time observing the smaller details; the twist of a cedar root, the reflections on the water or the patterns of light filtering through the canopy.

Sketching tip: Challenge yourself to fill a page with textures instead of landscapes. Bark, ferns, leaves and fallen branches all make wonderful studies and encourage you to really look.

Nearest Opus: Coquitlam

The Fraser River has been a place of travel, trade and gathering for thousands of years. The Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Langley here in 1827, adding a new chapter to a landscape already shaped by Indigenous peoples, including the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), Se'mya'me' (Semiahmoo) and Máthxwi (Matsqui), whose relationships with these lands and waters continue today.

Much of the village still reflects its nineteenth-century roots, with heritage storefronts, wooden boardwalks, railway tracks and views towards the Fraser River offering endless inspiration for urban sketchers. It's a place where layers of history sit comfortably alongside independent cafés, galleries and everyday life.

Once you've wandered the streets, follow the path down to the river. The broad Fraser, with its shifting sandbars, driftwood and passing tugboats, offers a completely different rhythm from the village above.

Sketching tip: Historic buildings can feel intimidating at first, but begin with the largest shapes before adding porches, windows and signs. Then contrast those crisp lines with the softer forms of the riverbank.

Nearest Opus: Langley

After the cool greens of the coast, the Okanagan offers artists an entirely different palette.

Mission Creek Greenway winds through the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) people, following one of the valley's most important waterways. Here, cottonwoods lean over the creek, birds dart through the canopy and, in autumn, kokanee salmon return upstream to spawn, a reminder of how water continues to shape life in this dry interior landscape.

The light feels different here too. Warm earth tones replace the blue-greys of the coast, while sun-bleached grasses, weathered rocks and open skies invite a softer, more restrained use of colour. It's the perfect place to slow down and really observe the subtle shifts in temperature and tone that make the Okanagan so distinctive.

Sketching tip: Before you begin, spend a few minutes creating a colour swatch inspired by your surroundings. You might be surprised how many ochres, olives, dusty greens and soft violets you discover ... and how much warmer the shadows feel than those along BC's coast.

Nearest Opus: Kelowna

Victoria has a habit of drawing your eyes towards the Inner Harbour, but some of its most inspiring sketching spots lie along the coastline just beyond it.

Stretching west from Beacon Hill Park, Dallas Road follows the dramatic shoreline of the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) people, today represented by the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. Here, driftwood beaches, wildflowers and windswept bluffs open onto sweeping views across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Washington's Olympic Mountains. Depending on the day, you might sketch sailboats, kite flyers, seabirds or a bank of fog rolling in from the Pacific.

It's a landscape that has inspired generations of artists, including Emily Carr, who returned again and again to the meeting of land, sea and sky along British Columbia's coast. Spend an hour here with a sketchbook and it's easy to understand why; light and weather are constantly reshaping the view, meaning no two visits are ever quite the same.

It's also just a short walk from the annual Moss Street Paint-In, where hundreds of artists gather each summer to celebrate making art outdoors.

Sketching tip: Don't chase the changing light. Start with the horizon and the largest shapes, then let the weather become part of the drawing.

Nearest Opus: Victoria

The best sketch kit is the one you'll actually carry. Resist the temptation to pack every brush and colour you own. A lightweight setup means you're far more likely to stop for ten minutes beside a river or spend an unexpected hour sketching in a park.

• a pocket sketchbook or Buzz pre-stretched canvas

• one pencil

• one waterproof pen

• a small travel watercolour palette or a few Opus Essential colours

• a water brush

• a small cloth

• a hat

• a foldable stool (optional) 

If you're not sure where to start, visit your nearest Opus store. We'd be happy to help you build a lightweight sketching kit that fits your practice and your budget.

A sketchbook has a remarkable way of changing how we experience a place. What begins as a quick stop beside a creek or harbour often becomes an hour spent noticing shifting light, listening to birdsong or uncovering the stories woven into the landscape. Whether you're exploring a familiar neighbourhood or discovering somewhere new, every page becomes a reminder that some of the best adventures begin simply by slowing down and looking a little closer.