Coquitlam
Coquitlam is a suburb of Vancouver. There aren't any must-see attractions for the traveller, but there are a number of nice parks for walking or relaxing.
Get in
See Vancouver for options to get in the Vancouver area by plane, by bus, and by train, and by boat.
Coquitlam borders Burnaby, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and New Westminster. It is easily accessible from the Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway), Lougheed Highway, Barnett Highway and North Road.
Get around
Car access is easy and parking is free most places. Taxis are easy to get locally and walking and cycling are options with several designated bike routes in the city.
By public transit
TransLink, ☏ +1-604-953-3333. The main public transit network in the Vancouver area, including: Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, Lions Bay, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, West Vancouver, and White Rock. Its network includes buses, SkyTrain (rail rapid transit), SeaBus (ferries), West Coast Express (commuter rail), and HandyDART (door-to-door shared-ride service for those who cannot ride public transit without assistance).
Passengers can pay for fares using Compass Cards ($6 refundable deposit), Compass Tickets, or tap-to-pay using contactless credit cards (only American Express, Mastercard or Visa) or mobile wallets. Passengers using Compass Cards and Compass Tickets pay discounted fares. Passengers can transfer for up to 90 minutes, except if taking West Coast Express, in which case they can transfer for up to 120 minutes. On bus and HandyDART, passengers can also pay in cash, but in that case will not receive change and are not eligible for transfers. Zone based fares apply between Monday and Friday for trips starting before 6:30PM, if travel involves SkyTrain or SeaBus. Outside of those hours or for travel on only bus or HandyDART, a single zone rate applies. If travelling by West Coast Express, a higher cost zone based fare system applies regardless of time of travel. Children 12 and under can ride for free. People aged 13 to 18, and 65 and older pay discounted concession fares.
In Coquitlam, travellers can ride buses, SkyTrain and the West Coast Express. SkyTrain's Millennium Line connects Coquitlam directly to Vancouver's neighbourhood of East Van, and beyond Vancouver to Burnaby and Port Moody. Public transit from Vancouver to Coquitlam is $6.20 on weekdays and $3.15 on weekends and evenings after 6:30PM.
Park and Ride lots at the Coquitlam Central and Douglas Lafarge stations offer inexpensive all day parking. Parking is otherwise restricted close to SkyTrain stations to prevent unauthorized park and ride.
By taxi
See
- 🌍 ƛ̓éxətəm (tla-hut-um) Regional Park (formerly known as Colony Farm Regional Park), Colony Farm Rd (main entrance and parking is at the end of Colony Farm Rd), ☏ +1 604-520-6442. Open during the day, closes at dusk. Popular spot with 8.5 km of trails and opportunities for birdwatching. An estimated 150 species of birds are in the park. The park is in both Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam.
- 🌍 Como Lake Park, 700 Gatensbury Street (just south of Como Lake Ave). A small, man-made lake and park in the centre of residential Coquitlam. Exactly one kilometre in circumference, the lake is a popular attraction for morning walks, joggers, schoolchildren and occasionally fishermen, though the latter will frequently go home empty-handed.
- 🌍 Minnekhada Regional Park, Quarry Rd, ☏ +1 604-520-6442. Open during daylight hours. Gates close at dusk. A more-than-200-acre park with 10 km of trails through forests and wetlands. Minnekhada Lodge, a heritage building where Queen Elizabeth once stayed, is open the first Sunday of each month from 1-4PM (except Jan).
- 🌍 Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, at the end of Quarry Rd. Large park along Pitt Lake and Burke Mountain with hiking, camping, swimming and boating opportunities. Day-use parking fee of $1/hour to a max of $3.
- 🌍 Mundy Park, 641 Hillcrest Street. A large urban forest which allows off-leash dog use until 10AM every morning. The park is often host to swim meets and soccer, baseball and lacrosse tournaments.
- 🌍 Town Centre Park, 1299 Pinetree Way. It hosts a large tournament site, public ping pong tables, basketball and tennis courts, and a band stand. It is also home to the Evergreen Cultural Centre which hosts gallery exhibits and live performances.
- 🌍 The Coquitlam Crunch. The Coquitlam Crunch urban outdoor 'stairmaster' is primarily a fitness challenge.
- 🌍 Maillardville. Maillardville is a small community founded by French migrants sent to work in the local forest industry during the 19th century. It is recognized as Western Canada's largest French-Canadian community outside of Manitoba, though the French population continues to decline. There is the Place des Arts which hosts exhibitions and performances, and the Makin House Museum.
Do
- 🌍 City Centre Aquatic Complex, 1210 Pinetree Way, ☏ +1 604 927-6999. A large public, indoor swimming pool. Appealing to both children and adults alike, it houses two distinct pools, one Olympic-sized, the other smaller and decorated with a jungle theme. The smaller pool also features an elaborate water slide that twists outside of the building. Adults can make use of a full gym as well. $5.35.
- 🌍 Planet Ice, 2300 Rocket Way, ☏ +1 604 941-9911. Public skate: M F Su 1:45-3:45PM. A large, state-of-the-art skating arena. It is used mostly for amateur hockey teams, but the arena is open for public skating Monday, Fridays, and Sundays. $3.75-4.50 plus the cost of skate rentals, if you do not own.
- 🌍 Silver City Coquitlam, 170 Schoolhouse St (one block north of Lougheed Highway), ☏ +1 604 523-2911. The largest movie theatre in Western Canada, with over 20 screens. The complex contains a number of fast-food dining options, but as these are quite expensive hungry visitors may be wiser to eat before the show at one of the surrounding restaurants in the area.
- 🌍 Widgeon Valley National Wildlife Area (NWA). 125 ha near Pitt Lake.
Learn
- 🌍 Douglas College - Coquitlam campus, 1250 Pinetree, ☏ +1-604-527-5400. This institution is publicly funded. It is possible to complete some degrees at this institution and it is possible to transfer course credits from this institution into many public universities within Canada.
Buy
Coquitlam is home to a variety of shopping options and features a large shopping mall.
- 🌍 Coquitlam Centre, 2929 Barnet Hwy, ☏ +1-604-464-1414, coquitlamcentre@morguard.com. Coquitlam's main mall, located in Coquitlam's commercial district. It has over 200 stores including a Bay, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, London Drugs, and T&T Asian supermarket. There is a large food court and several connected sit-down restaurants.
- Surrounding the Coquitlam Centre area are a variety of large chain stores in Pinetree Village and Sunwood Square, including Chapters, Save-On-Foods, and Superstore.
- The City of Lougheed (Lougheed Mall) is a mall across the street from Coquitlam's western city limits. See "Buy" under Burnaby for details.
- 🌍 Ikea, 1000 Lougheed Hwy, ☏ +1 866-866-4532. 10AM-9PM. The largest Ikea in North America.
Eat
- 🌍 Cactus Club Cafe, 110-101 Schoolhouse St, ☏ +1 604-777-0440. Trendy casual restaurant with a varied menu. Starters: $7-14, mains: $10-32.
- 🌍 Joey, 550 Lougheed Highway, ☏ +1 604 939-3077. Starters: $6-13, mains: $11-36.
- 🌍 Haan Korean BBQ, 3025 Lougheed Hwy, ☏ +1 604 944-7188. Daily noon-9PM. A restaurant offering Korean main courses and barbecue.
- 🌍 Legend House, 140-1169 Pacific Street, ☏ +1 604 475-5222. 11AM to 9:30PM. A restaurant offering Northern Chinese cuisine.
- 🌍 Dae-Ji Cutlet House, 1153 The High Street, ☏ +1 604-474-4251. 11:30AM–10:30PM. Korean-style fusion - cutlets and hamburger steaks.
- 🌍 C-Lovers Fish & Chips, 2991 Lougheed Hwy #108, ☏ +1 604-464-3611. 11AM-8PM.
- 🌍 Me-n-Ed's Pizza Parlors, 1121 Austin Ave, toll-free: +1 604-931-2468. 11AM-11PM.
- 🌍 My Greek Taverna, 946 Brunette Ave, toll-free: +1 604-525-5351. 11:30AM-10PM. Very busy, reserve at least 2 weeks in advance.
Drink
- 🌍 Wings, 345 North Rd, ☏ +1 604-931-5500. Has a huge menu of different flavours of chicken wings, with a decent drink menu. It is often quite busy during hockey games.
Sleep
- 🌍 Executive Plaza Hotel, 405 North Rd, ☏ +1 604-936-9399, toll-free: +1-888-433-3932, reservationsc@executivehotels.net.
- 🌍 Ramada by Wyndham Coquitlam, 631 Lougheed Hwy, ☏ +1 604-931-4433. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM.
Go next
The other cities in the "Tri-Cities" area -- Port Coquitlam and Port Moody -- are all very accessible. To the west, along Highway 1, is the North Shore with many outdoor recreation options, while to the east, along Highway 1 or Highway 7, is the Fraser Valley, which also offers more outdoor pursuits and some local wineries.
| Routes through Coquitlam |
| Vancouver ← New Westminster ← | W E | → Surrey → Hope |
| Vancouver ← Burnaby ← | W E | → Port Coquitlam → Hope |
| Commercial Dr-Hastings Park, Vancouver ← Port Moody ← | W E | → END |
| Vancouver ← Port Moody ← | W E | → Port Coquitlam → Mission |