Larry Berg Flight Path Park at Vancouver Airport

Updated: October 2026 – At Vancouver Airport you don’t have to search long for a spot: the airport authority has put its own park right under the approach path. In Larry Berg Flight Path Park on Sea Island you lie on the lawn while landings on the south runway pass over you at low altitude. Parking, picnic table and playground included.

This page explains which runway you actually see here, when the light is right, how to get there and where to go when traffic runs over the north runway.

A park on the extended centerline of the south runway

Vancouver Airport (YVR) lies on Sea Island, a flat island in the Fraser River delta that belongs to the city of Richmond. It is about twelve kilometers to downtown Vancouver. The airport has two parallel main runways running east-west: 08L/26R in the north, the longer 08R/26L in the south. There is also a shorter crosswind runway, which plays no role for spotters at the park.

Flight Path Park lies at the corner of Russ Baker Way and Airport Road, and so exactly on the extended centerline of the east end of the south runway. For the aircraft this means: those landing on 26L come in from the east over Richmond and cross the park just before touchdown. Those taking off on 08R lift off to the east and climb out over the park. According to the airport authority itself, the park is meant for exactly these two situations: landings on 26L and takeoffs from 08R.

Who was Larry Berg – and what is behind the park?

The park bears the name of Larry Berg, who was president and CEO of the Vancouver Airport Authority for 20 years. During his term, runways were built, the terminals expanded and the airport connected to the Canada Line rapid transit line, which went into service in 2009. The park is run by the airport authority, not by the city.

The place has a long aviation history. According to the Richmond Museum, groups of the Coast Salish lived on Sea Island long before European settlement, and later farms and fish canneries shaped the island. In the 1930s an ice cream parlor opened here that attracted onlookers who wanted to watch the beginning of commercial air traffic – so plane spotting has a tradition on Sea Island. In World War II the Royal Canadian Air Force trained pilots on the island, who practiced in yellow de Havilland Tiger Moths.

Today the park is laid out as a family destination. The airport authority lists a play area, picnic tables, benches shaped like paper airplanes and a repair station for bicycles. In short: here stand not only spotters with telephoto lenses but also families showing their children the aircraft.

Runway direction: when the park works

As at every airport, air traffic control decides in which direction takeoffs and landings happen – mainly according to the wind. In Vancouver, noise-abatement rules come on top, which the airport authority sets out in its noise management. The airport operates around the clock, but the distribution between the two runways changes over the course of the day.

Two situations matter for the park:

Situation	What you see at the park	Viewing direction	Recommendation
Operations to the west, landings on 26L	Approaches low over you, gear down	east (approach) and up	Park is the first choice
Operations to the west, south runway for takeoffs only	Departures at the other end of the runway, hardly any flyovers	–	switch to Templeton Station Road
Operations to the east, takeoffs on 08R	Departures in the climb over the park	west toward the runway	worthwhile, especially for widebodies
Operations to the east, landings on 08L	Approaches to the north runway far away	–	Iona Beach as an alternative

Important to know: according to descriptions from the spotter scene, the south runway is often used mainly for takeoffs and the north runway more for landings, especially long-haul. Landings on 26L still happen, but during the day according to the spotter guide mostly by turboprops and business aircraft; large jets land on the south runway only occasionally. How often exactly varies. A quick look at a flight tracker before you set off spares you disappointment.

Light and photography

The park lies east of the south runway. For photography this means:

• Head-on approaches to 26L: You look east into the approach path. In the late afternoon and evening the sun is in the west and so at your back – that is the time for pictures with landing lights on and gear down. In the morning you shoot into the backlight in this direction.
• Flyovers from below: Directly over the park you see the aircraft from below. Here the sky matters more than the time of day: lightly overcast with a bright background often works better than deep blue with hard shadows under the fuselage.
• Takeoffs from 08R: You look west toward the runway. In the morning the light is favorable for that; from the afternoon backlight comes in.

The airport authority names a lens from 50 mm for the spot – that shows how close the aircraft come. With a standard zoom you get the whole aircraft in the frame on the flyover. For head-on shots farther out on approach or details like landing gear and engines, a telephoto zoom up to about 200 mm is handy. If you like to shoot registrations filling the frame, you have it harder here: from below, the registrations on the fuselage are often only legible at an angle. How to assign every sighting reliably anyway is covered in the article Understanding aircraft registrations.

A particularity of the West Coast is the weather. In fall and winter rain fronts regularly move in from the Pacific, and clouds hang low. That has advantages too: in humid air there are condensation trails at the wings, and with landing lights on, approaches in the haze look especially atmospheric. You will find tips for such days in the article Plane spotting in bad weather.

What you will see in Vancouver

Vancouver is one of the largest airports in Canada and an important gateway across the Pacific. In 2025 the airport counted almost 27 million passengers. That makes the mix in the sky exciting: Canadian domestic traffic, trans-Pacific long-haul, flights to the US and a good share of cargo.

• Air Canada: Air Canada runs a hub in Vancouver and flies from here across Canada, to the US, to Asia and Oceania. Also here are the leisure subsidiary Air Canada Rouge and the regional partner Jazz, which flies under the Air Canada Express brand. Air Canada is a member of Star Alliance.
• WestJet: WestJet also uses Vancouver as a hub, with Boeing 737s on short and medium-haul routes; on long-haul WestJet deploys the Boeing 787-9. Regionally, WestJet Encore adds turboprops.
• Other Canadians: Flair Airlines has a base in Vancouver, Air North connects the city with the Yukon. On the Fraser River south of the airport, floatplanes also take off, including from Harbour Air.
• Asia and Oceania: Long-haul airlines include Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, Air China, Air India and Qantas.
• Europe: Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France fly to Vancouver.
• Cargo: FedEx, UPS, Cargojet and Amazon Air, among others, are represented in Vancouver.

Which of these aircraft you see in the park depends on the runway distribution. Long-haul widebodies like the Boeing 777-300ER or the 787 often land on the north runway but frequently take off from the south runway – with operations to the east you then get them in the climb over the park. Among landings on 26L, turboprops like the Dash 8-400 from De Havilland Canada and business aircraft predominate during the day. Narrowbody jets like the Boeing 737 MAX 8, the Airbus A220-300 or the Airbus A321neo you see here mainly on takeoff from 08R. The differences between the 777 and 787 in flyover are explained in the article Telling the Boeing 777 and 787 apart.

Getting there: car, Canada Line and bicycle

By car the park is easiest to reach. From the main terminal you drive via Grant McConachie Way toward the city, then via Templeton Street and Miller Road to Russ Baker Way. The park lies at the corner of Airport Road, and the parking lot is free according to the airport authority. On sunny weekends it is busy here, so allow some time to find parking.

By bus and rail you use the Canada Line, which has connected downtown Vancouver with the airport since 2009. On Sea Island it stops at the Templeton and Sea Island Centre stations, among others. From there you continue on foot or by bike to Russ Baker Way. The paths on the island are spread out and not made for pedestrians everywhere, so check the route in advance in a map app. An overview of how to plan the trip and the spotting destination sensibly in general is given in the article Getting to the spot.

By bicycle you are most flexible on Sea Island. You can shuttle between Flight Path Park, Templeton Station Road and the South Terminal, depending on which runway is currently active. Handy: the park has a bike repair station.

How a good afternoon at Flight Path Park goes

What else belongs in the camera bag is listed in the Plane spotting gear checklist. If you are brand new, the guide Plane spotting for beginners helps you get started.

Backup spots around Sea Island

Because the park only covers the south runway, it is worth having one or two alternatives in mind. The airport authority itself has published a small spotter guide for this.

Templeton Station Road at the McArthurGlen outlet: The most important backup point lies only a few minutes north. Here aircraft land on 26R of the north runway, according to the airport many overseas widebodies. With the outlet center you have parking, restaurants and restrooms nearby, and with the Canada Line Templeton station also a good connection. A lens from 100 mm makes sense.

Viewing platform at the South Terminal: On Cowley Crescent it shows the regional traffic at the South Terminal and takeoffs on the south runway. Spotter guides reported construction work on the apron in 2026 that restricts the view – check the current status.

Public Observation Area in the main terminal: On the fourth floor above the domestic food court before security, you look onto the apron of the domestic area. You don’t see runways there, but there are info boards, telescopes and seating. Ideal in rain.

Iona Beach Regional Park: Northwest of the airport, landings on 08L come in over the water. Best on summer evenings. According to the airport authority you only get the better angle after a long walk out onto the jetty; a telephoto lens from about 250 mm makes sense there.

If you want even more aviation on a trip through the Northwest, Seattle lies only a few hours’ drive south. There the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field and Boeing Future of Flight in Everett are worthwhile, where you see new-builds from Boeing. In eastern Canada, Toronto Pearson is the country’s biggest hub, and in Ottawa the Canada Aviation and Space Museum awaits.

Rules in the park

Flight Path Park is a public park run by the airport authority. To keep things relaxed, a few simple rules apply.

The park is a place for everyone: families with children, cyclists and walkers share it with you. Set up your tripod so that it doesn’t block paths, take your trash with you and leave picnic tables free when you aren’t using them.

Conclusion

Larry Berg Flight Path Park is a spot that makes a big impression with little effort. You park for free, lie down on the lawn and have the landings on the south runway low over you. For beginners and families there is hardly a better start in Vancouver.

Its limits lie in the geometry: you only see the south runway, and photographically shots from below and head-on shots on approach dominate. If you are looking for classic side views or the long-haul landings on the north runway, add Templeton Station Road to the park. With this duo and a look at the flight tracker, it becomes a full spotting day on the West Coast.