Burnaby Mountain hike

Some time back, a friend and I climbed the five hundred steps up Burnaby Mountain to the park perched above. A view of Burrard Inlet, Belcarra’s Admiralty Point and North Vancouver’s Deep Cove peeked through the trees. 

Rocky Point Trail

Sometimes I forget the treasures right under my nose. One gem, is five minutes drive from my home — Port Moody’s Rocky Point Trail.

Faces the wind park

Cates Park was located at the mouth of Indian Arm, a thirty kilometre fiord. Across Burrard Inlet from its stony beach was Burnaby Mountain to the south, and Belcarra Park to the east. With over five hundred fires burning in the province, on the day I visited, the outlook was hazy from smoke drifting in from the interior.

North Shore mudflats

I have a thing for mangroves and mud. Perhaps it’s because of the days I followed in my father’s footsteps as he traipsed through mud catching crabs, sinking into the depths of the smooth, squelching ooze.

Maplewood Flats hiking trail

Located on Vancouver’s north shore, I followed this easy trail, keeping track of the direction I headed because there were no signs to direct walkers back to the exit.

Birdwatchers on patrol

In spite of living only half an hour’s drive from Maplewood Flats Wild Bird Sanctuary, I had only ever driven past heading further a field. This quiet corner of North Vancouver offered excellent views of Burrard Inlet, and I was keen to explore the reserve even though I was no bird watcher.

Art in the woods

Replicas of squatters’ cabins were sculptured along Maplewood Flats off the Burrard Inlet in the exact location where they  originally stood during the 1940s. Hovering over the tidal mud flats, the cabins on stilts housed a community of squatters who, by the 1960s, were hippies, artists and displaced loggers who craved nature and self-sufficiency.

Point Atkinson Lighthouse

On a perfect summer day, we hiked through Point Atkinson Park to the lighthouse. Usually, the lighthouse was closed off to the public, but on this and about four other days that summer, this locked off area was open to those who registered with the guides to celebrate Canada’s 150^th.

A Downtown hike

I took to the water’s edge of Burrard Inlet and circled around Canada Place. Across the inlet, behind Stanley Park, snow covered the North Shore mountains.

Drummond’s Walk

Barnett Marine Park hiking trail snaked from Port Moody to Burnaby. Along the stretch, was a section dedicated to a past Burnaby Mayor who once used the location for daily exercise.