In Vancouver, we take our play time seriously. In addition to being a great walking city and winner of Walking Magazine’s Walkable Community Award, Vancouver runs the full gamut in outdoor and indoor recreational options. In just minutes you can escape the city to float a river, boat, hike, bike, or golf. In town we have plenty of options to blow off steam too, like reaching for the top of the wall at a climbing gym or jumping into the pool at a community center. Vancouver is also a hub for sports fans. We’re home to the Vancouver Volcanoes, the 2011 International Basketball League Champions, and the Vancouver Victory Hockey Club, a junior-tier hockey team
Make a Play Date!
Indoor Fun
Sure, it rains here. Probably less than you would think, though. Did you know it rains more in Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C., Cincinnati, Eureka, and Olympia? Still, the rain doesn’t interrupt our fun.
Vancouver has plenty of indoor recreational options including the Source Climbing Center, which has a 36-foot-tall wall with 25 top rope anchors and 50 routes up to the top. There is over 1,200 square feet of bouldering terrain with 60 boulder problems, and you can take lessons to learn the basics of climbing. Big Al’s offers a full spectrum of bowling options with their powerhouse lanes and Slider Alley, for the adults. The complex has a sports bar and grill, an arcade, and galaxy bowling on the weekends. Mt. View Ice Arena has been entertaining families for generations. They have public sessions daily, hockey programs, and offer instruction. Firstenburg Community Center, which is open to the public and has drop-in rates, has a pool, multiple gymnasiums for pick up sports, a climbing wall, a teen zone, and offers child care services.
Crosley Lanes offers offer 42 high quality lanes with easy automatic scoring for family, friends, and league bowling.
Battle Ground Lake Park is a beautiful park with a crystal-clear lake formed by volcanic upliftings and depressions in the earth. The park has 50 campsites. Day visitors can enjoy swimming, trout fishing, picnicking, hiking,and boating.…more
This primitive, four-foot wide shared-use trail serves hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians.
Voted as Clark County’s best family fun value in 2008 and 2009, Big Al’s is more than just your typical bowling alley. With its woodsy, Northwestern motif and open beam ceilings, the huge entertainment complex offers 30 traditional lanes of bowling and another 12 lanes in an intimate lounge style setting. For the kids, there are over 100 player positions at the latest and …more
This hard-surfaced, shared-use trail offers excellent opportunities for walking, biking, jogging, commuting, and viewing the Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway. The trail passes through a variety of landscapes, including open grasslands and heavily wooded areas. Most of this trail is flat, providing for an easy trail experience, with the exception of steep slopes at the Bernie Rd. …more
The award winning Camas Meadows Golf Club is Southwest Washington's premiere public golf course and site for golf tournaments, banquets (indoor and outdoor), weddings and meetings. The par-72, 18-hole championships course combines incredible scenery with a unique challenging design that satisfies both the beginner and accomplished golfer. The public facility is open year-round …more
This hard-surfaced, shared-use trail for hiking/biking extends from Steamboat Landing in East Vancouver to the east end of the United States Fish and Wildlife Refuge at Steigerwald Lake. The trail offers outstanding views of the Columbia River along with access to Cottonwood Beach.…more
Clark County built the first segment of the Chelatchie Prairie Rail-with-Trail in 2011. Primary access to this multi-purpose trail is from Battle Ground Lake State Park and NE Palmer Road. The trail currently ends inside public property owned by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The county’s long-term plan is to provide a trail along the entire 33-mile-long …more
The trail is a 5-mile, 14-foot-wide paved waterfront trail that follows the Columbia River. Passes Waterfront Park, the Renaissance Promenade, and the Ilchee Plaza.
