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Top 10 summer hotspots in New Westminster

We round up our favourite places for outdoor fun in the city this season. Is your favourite on the list?
Queen's Park, petting farm
Mellow Friesen and three-year-old Jaden visit one of the petting farm's residents. Queen's Park takes top spot on our list of summer hotspots in New West.

It always seems like such a great idea to write a “best places for outdoor fun” column when the sun’s shining and the mercury rising. But, Mother Nature being what she is, it seems inevitable the skies will have clouded over and the rain will have begun to fall by the time you get around to actually doing it.

Nevertheless, I shall take it on faith that Mother Nature will return our summer to us, and I hereby present to you our list of the Top 10 Summer Hotspots for Families in New Westminster. Pack a snack, slap on the sunscreen, throw a beach towel in a bag and get out to enjoy these slices of the great outdoors, right here at home.

Got a different favourite spot? If you have a new idea to share, shoot me an email – jmaclellan@newwestrecord.ca – and I’ll be happy to share it in a future column.

 

Queen's Park, petting farm

 

1. Queen’s Park

It’s just a gimme that this popular central destination has to make the list. Let’s face it, Queen’s Park has something for everyone of all ages. There is, of course, the wonderful petting farm for the small set (which even offers a farm hands program for teens), and right next door to it, the improved and upgraded splash park. (On a personal note, this splash park is one of my favourites because, being surrounded by trees, you can actually still find some shade on a hot day.) Rainbow Playground offers equipment for kids small and big, and throw in the rest of the amenities – the picnic tables, bandshell, picnic shelters, trails, art gallery, rose garden – and you’ve got the perfect spot to while away an hour, an afternoon or a day.

 

Royal City Farmers Market

 

2. Royal City Farmers' Market

The market runs Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. in Tipperary Park. On a nice summer day, you just can’t beat it. Head to the market with your shopping bags and peruse an excellent selection of produce, prepared foods and other goodies, stop and buy some supper from one of the on-site food trucks, take in some entertainment, and send the kids to have some fun in the kids mini-market area. Bring along your picnic blanket and spread out on the grass to eat your dinner and make an evening of it. Check out www.rcfm.ca each week for a list of the featured vendors and entertainment at that week’s market. While you’re there, make time for the stroll into neighbouring Friendship Gardens.

 

Moody Park

 

3. Moody Park

The new Moody Park playground has opened to great fanfare, and it’s getting plenty of enthusiastic reviews from local families. Now, it’s not a traditional playground like in other New West parks, so it may not be for everyone, but there are things to climb, things to slide down, water to play in and plenty of places to get dirty, which pretty much makes it heaven on earth for the going-on-four-year-old in my house. And, just across the park, don’t forget about the Moody Park Outdoor Pool, which has space for lane swimming, a one-metre springboard and a large deck to take in the sunshine. See www.newwestpcr.ca for the full swimming schedule and details.

 

Westminster Pier Park

 

4. Westminster Pier Park, River Market and the Quay boardwalk

This is really sort of a three-for-one destination, but the entire waterfront stretch is such a wonderful one that you’re bound to find something to appeal to your family. At Pier Park, your kids can enjoy two playgrounds (one toddler-sized, one for all ages), and your whole family can hit the urban beach with its sand volleyball courts, beach umbrellas, hammocks and misters. You can get eats at the concession stand, have a picnic overlooking the river, ride your bicycles along the waterfront path, check out the WOW New Westminster art, or just sit in a lounge chair and enjoy the view. You can take a stroll down to River Market for food (can anyone say gelato?) and special events (see www.rivermarket.ca to find out what’s happening on any given day), and stop to visit the Tin Soldier and play in the tugboat while you’re there. Then keep on walking the length of the Quayside boardwalk. Along the way you’ll find more playground space, public art and a host of gorgeous gardens.

 

Hume Park

 

5. Hume Park

Hume is another wildly popular spot for families – and no wonder. It’s a large and glorious greenspace with both lower and upper parks. Whether you want a quiet spot to sit in the sun, a shelter for a picnic or a place for kids to play, you’re in the right place. On hot days, the newly refurbished spray park and the outdoor pool are guaranteed beat-the-heat favourites. The pool is particularly friendly for small people, with its huge shallow end and toddler slide. It’s set to open June 29; check www.newwestpcr.ca for the full schedule.

 

Glenbrook Ravine

 

6. Glenbrook Ravine

I really shouldn’t write about this one, because I like to think of the ravine as our personal little hidden gem. But since plenty of people know about it already, it can’t do any harm to remind you of what a pleasant walking spot it offers. There’s the manicured, beautifully tended garden end, with beautiful displays around the pond (home to ducks, turtles and an abundance of fish, much to the delight of the small human in my house), plus the less-developed walk along the old roadway through the ravine. There are paths and stairs up to both Blackberry Drive in Victoria Hill and Glenbrook Drive at the northwest end.

 

Sapperton Landing

 

7. Sapperton Landing

This is another somewhat hidden little gem of a park that’s a great spot for a stroll or a short bicycle ride. If you have a small person in a stroller or one just learning to use a trike or bike, it’s a gentle and quiet place to stretch your legs. There’s some picnic space, but the park is primarily appealing simply for the chance to get up close to the river and watch the workings of the Fraser. If you’re lucky, you may spot bird life or wildlife.

 

Westminster Pier Park

 

8. Pop-Up Museum in the Park

I love this idea – if you haven’t taken your kids to the New Westminster Museum, never fear, they’re bringing the museum to you. Each Thursday through the summer, the museum will be on hand at a different local park from 12:30 to 3 p.m., with artifacts, activities, crafts and games. They’re set for Moody Park on July 7, Queen’s Park July 14, Ryall Park July 21, Sapperton Park July 28, Hume Park Aug. 4, Westminster Pier Park (pictured above) Aug. 11 and Grimston Park Aug. 18. It’s all by donation.

 

Queensborough, all-wheel park

 

9. Queensborough

Yes, mainlanders, there is another part of New Westminster, and you should venture over the bridge to explore it one of these days. Although I’ve listed it as one location for the purposes of this column, it’s really many. Enjoy the Port Royal riverfront walk, pay a call on Queensborough’s small but popular beachfront, or stop in to Ryall Park to enjoy everything from an all-wheel park (pictured above) and spray park to trails, playgrounds and tennis courts. Queensborough Community Centre is right there, too, so be sure to watch for special events happening on any given day. Note there’s a special Summer Sizzle program on Wednesdays in Ryall Park. From July 8 to Aug. 26, running 1 to 3 p.m., you can enjoy local musicians, crafts, treats and a variety of activities – all for free (just bring some cash to buy cookies and ice cream bars).

 

Richard McBride, playground

 

10. Create your own adventure

Yes, I could have chosen another of New West’s amazing parks (Grimston and Sapperton come to mind), but I figured it’s time to turn the reins over to you. We live in such a walkable city that it would be a shame not to take advantage of it – so why not head out for an adventure in your own ’hood? Pick a destination – a park, a school playground, a coffee shop, a restaurant, a favourite shop – and head out on foot to find what you can see along the way. (That's the Richard McBride school playground above, by the way - one of the stops on my family's neighbourhood circuit.) All of the city’s neighbourhoods have their own delightful little pockets of green and some unexpected treasures – whether it’s a free neighbourhood pop-up library, a hidden park, a fish pond (the one at the Justice Institute of B.C. is a favourite with my own small fry) or a unique front garden, you’re bound to find something to make the walk worth your while.

Do you have an idea for Family Ties? Do you have a favourite outdoor spot to share? Send your ideas to Julie, jmaclellan@newwestrecord.ca, or find her on Twitter @juliemaclellan.