Forest Trails to Food Stops: Things to Do in Coquitlam

Pack a rain shell and an appetite. In Coquitlam, a morning on the trail earns a serious lunch, and the city makes that trade easy. Trails here range from a notoriously steep power-line climb to marshy forest loops and two trout-stocked lakes. Korean barbecue, French pastry, and a brewery at the bottom of a hill wait in between.

The best walks sit in different corners of the city, so treat each one as its own outing and eat close by afterward. Two or three still fit comfortably into a single day of sightseeing.

The Coquitlam Crunch: A Hard Climb with a Brewery at the Bottom

Few trail names warn you as honestly as the Coquitlam Crunch, so come with fresh legs.

What the Climb Involves

The route follows a BC Hydro power-line corridor for 2.2 kilometres to the top of Westwood Plateau. Along the way, it gains 242 metres, and two sets of stairs add up to 894 steps. Overhead wires crowd the views, which makes this a workout more than a lookout.

• Allow about 90 minutes for the out-and-back.
• Save some energy for the stretch after the first Lansdowne Drive crossing, the steepest part of the route.
• Washrooms and parking are at Eagle Ridge Park near the bottom and Bramble Park on Panorama Drive. For the Lansdowne lot, the City’s website shows real-time availability.

Where to Eat Afterward

• Craft beer: Coquitlam’s first craft brewery, Mariner Brewing, sits mere steps from the lower trailhead. The taproom opens at noon daily, and the brewery’s website lists current kitchen hours.
• Something sweet: a small plaza along Lansdowne Drive holds Pourquoi Pas Patisserie, where a savoury French onion pull-apart ranks among the most popular orders.

Lafarge Lake: An Easy Loop in City Centre

Families with strollers and slower walkers get an easy, level outing here. Lafarge once quarried gravel on this site, and in the mid-1980s the company donated the former pit and its lake to the City.

Walking and Fishing the Lake

• Walkers can circle the five-hectare lake on a flat 1.2-kilometre loop.
• Anglers can cast from the shore or the dock for rainbow trout, which the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC releases each spring and fall. Anyone 16 or older needs a provincial freshwater licence.
• Theatre and rotating gallery exhibitions fill Evergreen Cultural Centre on the southwest corner, a handy fallback when the clouds open.

Korean Stew One Stop Away

For lunch, head a short drive south to Anson Avenue, where Dookbaeki serves bubbling Korean stews in the heavy earthenware bowls behind its name.

Mundy Park, Como Lake, and Koreatown on North Road

Rainforest Trails at Mundy Park

At 178 hectares, Mundy Park (641 Hillcrest Street) brings real coastal rainforest to central Coquitlam.

• A 5.5-kilometre multi-use path circles the perimeter in about an hour.
• Inner trails wind toward Mundy Lake and smaller Lost Lake, where benches face the water.
• Most trails allow off-leash dogs from dawn to 10 a.m., but the community path requires a leash. The trails to Mundy Lake ban dogs entirely.
• Trail maintenance has closed the west side of the Lakeside Loop around Mundy Lake for the fall, and signs mark a detour. Check for park updates before you go.

Como Lake and a Bakery Detour

A short drive west at 700 Gatensbury Street, families circle Como Lake on a one-kilometre path, and anglers try for trout off the dock. The north lot was recently rebuilt with new entrances, signs, and surfacing, so parking there is easy. Nearby, Como Lake Village tempts with the cinnamon buns and focaccia at Mundy Park Bakery.

Eating Your Way Down North Road

Coquitlam’s unofficial Koreatown lines North Road, the border with Burnaby:

• Groceries and takeout: kimchi, snacks, and ready-made kimbap fill the aisles of H Mart at 329 North Road.
• Tabletop grilling: marinated meats and seafood sizzle over the grills at Insadong Korean BBQ, 403 North Road.
• Noodles: black bean jajangmyeon and spicy seafood jjampong lead the Korean Chinese menu at Hee Rae Deung, 435 North Road.

Minnekhada Regional Park: Marsh Views in the Northeast

Solitude seekers should head past Burke Mountain to Coquitlam’s wilder side.

Getting There and Hiking to the High Knoll

• Take Coast Meridian Road north to Victoria Drive, which becomes Quarry Road, and use the signed parking at 4000 Quarry Road.
• Buses serve northeast Coquitlam, but the nearest stop leaves a long walk, so reaching the trailhead by car makes the most sense.
• Gates open at 7 a.m. but may close as early as 5 p.m.
• The route to the High Knoll runs 4.7 kilometres return via the Meadow and Mid-Marsh trails. It gains 180 metres and includes some steep sections, so allow about two hours.
• From the top, the view takes in the marsh, the Pitt River, the Golden Ears, and, in good weather, Mount Baker.
• Pit toilets are the only facilities, and no drinking water is available, so carry what you need. Dogs need a leash and may not enter the marsh.

Brunch in Burke Mountain Village

Afterward, stop in Burke Mountain Village, which remains under development. For now, its main draw is Ibex Café + Kitchen at 3537 Princeton Avenue. Coffee, brunch, beer, and wine come with a patio view of the Pitt River.

Maillardville: Mill-Town Heritage by the River

History lovers and rainy-day wanderers will enjoy this corner most. In 1909, a lumber company recruited French Canadian workers from Quebec and eastern Ontario to Fraser Mills. That recruitment had an ugly side, since anti-Asian sentiment pushed the company to replace Asian labourers. Even so, the 1910 census counted more than 250 Japanese, Chinese, and South Asian workers at the mill.

The new francophone settlement took the name of Father Edmond Maillard, a young Oblate priest from France, and French street names still dot the neighbourhood.

Heritage Stops on Brunette Avenue

• Local history fills Mackin House Museum at 1116 Brunette Avenue, where admission runs by donation. The museum closes on Mondays.
• Ring the doorbell to see the Fraser Mills train station and a CPR caboose, which the Coquitlam Heritage Society opens year-round.
• Each February or March, nearby Mackin Park hosts Festival du Bois, a francophone celebration with folk music, tourtière, and maple taffy poured on snow.

A Café Break on Brunette

Refuel along the same avenue at Caffe Reggio, 930 Brunette, where Nutella and cheddar croissants share the menu with soup, sandwiches, and gelato.

Seasonal Things to Do in Coquitlam

• Fall: chum salmon push up Hoy Creek in October and November, with coho close behind. Park in a Town Centre Park lot or take SkyTrain to Lafarge Lake-Douglas station, then walk to the creekside trail off Guildford Way.
• Winter: Lights at Lafarge turns the lakeside path into a free outdoor light display from late November into February. The opening-night celebration includes food trucks and live entertainment, making it worth planning an evening visit.
• Spring: kids 16 and under can enter a free fish derby at Como Lake each May.
• Summer: Sunday mornings between May and October bring the Coquitlam Farmers Market to the Dogwood Pavilion parking lot, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Whichever month brings you here, lace up first. Everything tastes better after the climb.