If our beaches are the crown jewels of  Vancouver’s beauty then our North Shore parks are the tiara. Our constant accolades awarded by the likes of Outside Magazine (Best Weekend Escape 2012) and Travel + Leisure Magazine (Top 10 Canadian City to visit 2013) can definitely be attributed to our evergreen-fringed North Shore parks.

Whether you like a lazy picnic at Panorama Park in Deep Cove or a half day hike at Lynn Canyon Park, there’s a huge variety of recreational destinations just across the Burrard Inlet.

The District of North Vancouver manages over 100 parks and facilities including 140 kilometers of trails, 39 Baseball Diamonds, 43 Tennis Courts, five Sport Courts, three Skate Parks and 53 playgrounds. To help visitors navigate this plethora of parks, the District of North Vancouver launched a DNV Parks App in September.

Compatible with Androids and iPhones, the DNV Parks App includes information on park size, hours of operation, amenities available and my favourite feature: whether or not dogs are permitted off leash or on.

The interface is pretty easy to use and includes the ability to browse parks in an alphabetized list, by a map, or proximity to your current location. You can even narrow down what kinds of amenities you’re looking using filters.

So for example, if you want to go for a game of tennis, a picnic and bring your dog then the app suggests you visit Cates Park/Whey-Ah-Wichen, Murdo Frazer Park or Princess Park, each open from 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

The best part: the App is free and available for download from the Apple App store or Google Play. Happy Exploring!