Surrey Bend Regional Park

Park Sign

Another great park in Surrey, this one is maintained by MetroVanvouver.
We've been here before, in 2014. At that time, the park was very rough, with one very long trail to a swampy area, and pretty much just a Fraser River flood plain. Now the park has established trails, nature playground, interpretive trail signs, and almost 7 km of walking trails, as well as biking trails. There are also outhouses (fairly clean) and picnic areas

Map of Park

There are 3 separate trails: Spirea Loop (1.7 km), Pacific (3 km), and Parsons (3.2 km). We did the Spirea Trail. The trails are flat, wide, and fine gravel, very easy to walk on, and you could use a walker of wheelchair down the middle pretty easily. The surrounding flood plain is wide and clear of tall trees, so you get great views of the marshes, grass, and mountains in the distance. There are sections where the river is visible, and a couple of bridges over waterways that flow in and out of the park. We went in the winter, so there were no ducks or birds, aside from a lone hawk, but in the spring and summer, the trees, marches, and fields will be full of birds, squirrels, and butterflies ... and mosquitoes, I am sure!

Found It!

There are a few geocaches in the park, including a multi-cache (we solved it!).

This is a shared path park, so there might be bikes on the path with you. Dogs are allow ON A LEASH, and please pick up after your mutt 😀

MetroVancouver has a great website for the park, including a video, a photo gallery, some information about the park, and a Trail Guide/Map and Brochure.

Park and Playground

North Delta Greenway

Saw this Cyber Rock ... interesting

Shared use bike/walking paths are great. They offer us the opportunity to take long walks on a generally level, easy to navigate, surface. The Surrey/North Delta are is full of bike and walking paths, including many going through the various watershed areas, but for a nice easy walk, look for the ones that are along a dike or railway track.

The North Delta Greenway Path runs from Planet Ice just off Nordel Way, to as far south as Cougar Creek, on Westview Drive, just off 72nd Ave. Right across the tracks to the west from the greenway trail is the Delta-South Surrey Regional Greenway, which runs all the way to almost the far west end of Colebrook Road, at the BNSF tracks near Hwy 99. There are a few places to safely cross the railway tracks between the two trails, but it is safer to pick one side and stay on it. Along with the private property of the tracks, there is also a creek that needs to be crossed, which can be very full during the rainier days (of which we get a few!)

Speaking of rain, even with the wet weather we've had the last couple of months, the walkway is pretty decent, with only a few mud holes and puddles to traverse, so rubber boots are certainly not necessary. The trail is up the hill from the railway track level, and well away from the bog. The only real water issue comes from the drainage from the upper streets and properties, so the occasional
mini-creek could run through the trail.

The scenery is great, with the creek running through, the occasional Amtrack zipping by, and the trees are full of birds. The banks are not too overgrown with thorns and brush, so getting the geocaches along the trail is fairly easy. Not much bushwacking is requires, although a quick scamper up the bank might be!

This walk can be rated as easy to moderate, and depending on how much energy you have, can be either a short or long walk. Remember to share the road, as it is a multi-use bike/walking trail. The walkway is wheelchair/walker friendly for the most part, but you might have to clean your wheels off before putting the chair back in the car!

For more information on North Delta trails, visit This website.

Whatcom Falls Park

We were in Bellingham, Washington this weekend for a concert, and wanted to go early to do some ... yup, you guessed it! Geocaching! So we thought we would check out Whatcom Falls Park!

Stefani with one of the geocaches we found

According to the Washington Trail Association website, there are three and a half miles of trails in the park, with loops and trails leading along cliff and ravines, through open meadows, and seemingly huge forests. The parking area is off Electric Ave, just off Lakeway Dr, in south east Bellingham, not far from the I-5. We took the Silver Beach Rd entrance, and drove straight into the parking lot near the end of the road, where there is a park, washrooms, picnic tables, and the beginning of a few trails. Continuing farther down the road would lead you to the hatchery.

1939 Stone Bridge

The falls

A short easy walk down the trail from the parking lot brings you to a stone bridge; actually Chuckanut sandstone, built in 1939 as a Roosevelt Works Progress Administration project, according to Kulshan.com. From there you can go to the right, to the upper falls and Whatcom Creek's higher level, or left, to the loops trails, and off-leash dog area.

Great Photo Ops!

The trails are numerous, and many different types. Where we went, the elevations were okay, not too steep or long. The trails themselves are well-used, for the most part, and even with all the rain we've been having, our footing was stable. Actually, I don't think I slipped once, and I am a klutz! Through the trees, the trails are mostly narrow and rocky, with some close to the edge of the ravine, or just up from the edge, with some good viewpoint pull-outs. There are many photo opportunities of the falls, bridges, and creek. We didn't see a lot of wild life, but there was evidence of woodpecker or flicker activity, and a lot of berry bushes to feed on. I would say that with the off-leash dog area nearby, and a lot of dog walkers in the park, coyotes and rabbit would likely make themselves scarce. Being later in the season, squirrels and such would also be scarce.

1939 Stone Bridge

In 1999, a major fuel leak caused a massive explosion and fire in the park, killing three people, and destroying a large part of the park. Almost twenty years later, some of the park is still closed for rehabilitation. The pipeline runs right through the park, even crossing over the creek in one part. The open access are that the pipeline runs through makes up a large part of the walking and off-leash area.

This park is worth exploring more than once, and I think we'll be back for more!

PDF Map of the park

Wikipedia of Whatcom Falls Park