Terra Nova Rural Park

No running water and only portable toilets. The zipline was not working. The water pump was not running. Plenty of nifty structures to climb for all age groups. Lots of open spaces to play ball and run around. Picnic tables and plenty of trees for shade. There were several day camps that were on field trips when we came so huge lineups of kids to climb things and my kids got frustrated and bored because of the crowds of kids.

This park is awesome. I would have given it five stars if it were more transit accessible, but as it is it is about a 25 minute walk from the nearest bus stop.
Getting here still wasn’t so bad, we live downtown, so we took the Canada line to Brighouse, then hopped on the 401 and got off at Westminster and One Rd. There is a little shopping mall there if you want to fuel up on Starbucks before you go. We hit the grocery store for some juice for the walk in.
On the way in my son was complaining that for the walk this long, it better be the best park ever… And on the way out he confirmed, it was worth the walk.
If you have kids, don’t miss the playground here. It’s one of the most unique in greater Vancouver. It features a three storey slide «the slide of my dreams» as my son put it.
The trails are lovely too. We easily killed an entire day here.
They have porta potties near the playground, and apparently plan to install a permanent washroom in the future.

I don’t consider myself too much of a nature gal, given the circumstances but yesterday, I paid a spontaneous trip here and loved it. The playground and sources of recreation were very fun — zipline, swingset, wooden playground, ropes. Enjoyed the cardio to and back. Will pay another visit soon!

Review #15/​30
I have a secret fascination with aeroplanes – I remember watching the planes took off from the terminal balcony when I was a little kid and I loved every second of it. However, that was the 80s though. More airports are located inland nowadays and those scenic balconies simply don’t exist any longer.
Lucky for us, YVR is located on Sea Island and it is clearly visible from the north part of Terra Nova Rural Park. Park your car at the parking lot on River Rd, take a seat on one of the many benches by the water and soak up all the view – YVR in the foreground and the North Shore mountains in the background. Don’t like planes? Jog a little further west and around the park. On a nice evening, you could catch the most amazing sunset in the midst of the distant mountains. There’s also an urban farm nearby where they grow beautiful vegetables and herbs. So stop by and learn about what they do.

LOVE this rural garden! I have never seen such big kale plants and it was totally inspiring! My bro-​in-​law also took lessons from the bee people there and you can simply walk around and check out all the birds, plants, veg gardens. Then maybe followed by a walk on the dykes. Just a great way to spend a sunday… after you come back from picking up piping hot bread from the Romanian Country Bread place in Steveston not to mention some tuna or salmon from the wharf!

If you like nature, then Terra Nova Rural Park is a perfect place for you to go. My partner and I went here with some of his classmates from culinary school and we had a great time learning about the different plants in BC that were editable. From Cattail shoots to Dandelions (flowers and greens) to Stinging Nettles, we learned that the landscape of Vancouver offers a wide variety of editable resources that are not only delicious, but also very health for us. In addition, we were able to see several animals in their natural habitats, such as geese, hawks, otters, ducks, and bees. This is a very respectable place. Foraging is allowed, but only is respectful manners. Only take what you need, leave plenty for others (including the animals), and don’t take from the plots that others planted and take care of as they paid for them.
And as always, Have Fun!!!