The best traffic-free bike rides in Burnaby Lake Regional Park

Montrose Park sits perched on the steep bluffs of the Burrard Inlet with great views. Some sights you can see are elevated views of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and the Second Narrows Rail Bridge, and the rail bridge will sometimes lift into the air to let large cargo ships pass underneath. This waterway is also a bus shipping lane of the inner Burrard Inlet, dotted with terminals, tugboats, and container ships that fuel Vancouver's port. The Trans Canada Trail cuts through the park as a flat gravel path. This path is open to walking or biking two kilometres east directly into Confederation Park, passing through thick second-growth forests and over small creeks.

From this point in Bates Park is an elevated viewpoint over two bridges, the newer Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing and the older Second Narrows Rail Bridge. The viewpoint is closer to the older bridge that was built in 1925 and once carried both trains and automobiles.

The BC Parkway runs from Trout Lake Park to Westminster Quay. This segment is paved, flat, and very well lit at night by a series of modern lampposts. It is easy to hop on the network of trails that winds through Central Park if you are looking to a shaded or more natural walk.

Central Park is a 90-hectare park located on the border of Vancouver and Burnaby. The park’s most popular attraction is its well-preserved temperate rainforest, but it also offers outdoor swimming pools, sports fields, picnic areas, playgrounds, tennis courts, and a handful of small ponds.

This statue honours the 36 soldiers from British Columbia that died in the Korean War. Each year, the Korean War Veterans Ceremony in Burnaby is held at this location to commemorate their memory and sacrifice.

Byrne Creek Ravine Park is a pristine 50-acre sliver of forest deep in the urban Vancouver, with a network of trails around Byrne Creek.

The City of Burnaby Heritage Site memorial at Central Park includes the Central Park Entrance Gate, a ceremonial entrance off Kingsway featuring two massive stone pillars built to commemorate the park's historical connection to the British Columbia Electric Railway. Established in 1891, Central Park was once a naval reserve, and the gate, designed by Robert Lyon, reflects its early transportation significance. The park itself, spanning 90 hectares, preserves a temperate rainforest ecosystem and was named in honor of Sarah Oppenheimer, wife of Vancouver's second mayor.

THE CENTRAL PARK STORY The establishment of this lake area stemmed from the efforts of citizens who, in 1891, petitioned the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to create a public park. In response to their request, the City Council purchased 121 acres of land in 1894, and in 1903, an additional 87 acres were acquired. This land was originally owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1910, the City Council decided to develop this area into a park and established a lake fed by a natural spring. However, in 1912, the Council decided to drain the lake and fill it with soil from the excavation of the Georgia Viaduct. The drained lake bed was then converted into a baseball field. In 1929, the Vancouver Parks Board decided to recreate the lake, using water pumped from artesian wells. The lake was restored and remains a central feature of the park to this day.