# Coquitlam

Coquitlam is a suburb of Vancouver. There aren't any must-see attractions for the traveller, but there are a number of nice parks for walking or relaxing.

## Get in

See Vancouver for options to get in the Vancouver area by plane, by bus, and by train, and by boat.
Coquitlam borders Burnaby, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and New Westminster. It is easily accessible from the Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway), Lougheed Highway, Barnett Highway and North Road.

## Get around

Car access is easy and parking is free most places. Taxis are easy to get locally and walking and cycling are options with several designated bike routes in the city.

### By public transit

TransLink, ☏ +1-604-953-3333. The main public transit network in the Vancouver area, including: Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, Lions Bay, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, West Vancouver, and White Rock. Its network includes buses, SkyTrain (rail rapid transit), SeaBus (ferries), West Coast Express (commuter rail), and HandyDART (door-to-door shared-ride service for those who cannot ride public transit without assistance). (updated Mar 2022)
Passengers can pay for fares using Compass Cards ($6 refundable deposit), Compass Tickets, or tap-to-pay using contactless credit cards (only American Express, Mastercard or Visa) or mobile wallets. Passengers using Compass Cards and Compass Tickets pay discounted fares. Passengers can transfer for up to 90 minutes, except if taking West Coast Express, in which case they can transfer for up to 120 minutes. On bus and HandyDART, passengers can also pay in cash, but in that case will not receive change and are not eligible for transfers. Zone based fares apply between Monday and Friday for trips starting before 6:30PM, if travel involves SkyTrain or SeaBus. Outside of those hours or for travel on only bus or HandyDART, a single zone rate applies. If travelling by West Coast Express, a higher cost zone based fare system applies regardless of time of travel. Children 12 and under can ride for free. People aged 13 to 18, and 65 and older pay discounted concession fares.
Public transit from Vancouver to Coquitlam is $6.35 on weekdays and $3.20 on weekends and evenings after 6:30PM.
Park and Ride lots at the Coquitlam Central and Douglas Lafarge stations offer inexpensive all day parking. Parking is otherwise restricted close to SkyTrain stations to prevent unauthorized park and ride.

#### By train

SkyTrain's Millennium Line connects Coquitlam with Vancouver's neighbourhood of East Van, stopping along the way in Port Moody and Burnaby. It operates daily throughout the day.
The West Coast Express operates Monday to Friday with trains heading westbound in the morning and eastbound in the afternoon. The trains stop from furthest west to furthest east in Vancouver, Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows. Maple Ridge, and Mission.

#### By bus

Most Coquitlam bus routes connect with the SkyTrain's Millennium Line at either Coquitlam Central station or Lougheed Town Centre station. Notable bus routes serving Port Coquitlam include the following, which all operate daily, unless otherwise noted:
* R3 - Rapid bus between Haney Place Exchange and Coquitlam Central station (SkyTrain Millennium Line), connecting Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, and Coquitlam.
* 159 - Between Braid station (SkyTrain Expo Line) in New Westminster and Coquitlam Central station (SkyTrain Millenium Line) with stops in Port Coquitlam.
* 160 - Betweeen Port Coquitlam station (West Coast Express) and Kootenay Loop in Vancouver, stopping along the way in Coquitlam and Port Moody.
* 701 - Between eastern Maple Ridge and Coquitlam Central Station (SkyTrain Millennium Line) via Haney Place Exchange and Maple Meadows Station (West Coast Express), connecting Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, and Coquitlam.
* 791 - Between Haney Place Exchange and Braid station (SkyTrain Expo Line) via Meadows Station (West Coast Express), connecting Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, and New Westminster. Operates Monday to Friday.

### By taxi

* Bel-Air Taxi, ☏ +1 604-433-6666. (updated Feb 2022)
* Coquitlam Taxi, ☏ +1 604-524-1111. (updated Feb 2022)

### By ride hailing

* Kabu. (updated Jul 2022)
* Lyft. (updated Jul 2022)
* Uber. (updated Jul 2022)

### See

* 49.234994-122.8129061 ƛ̓éxətəm (tla-hut-um) Regional Park (formerly known as Colony Farm Regional Park), Colony Farm Rd (main entrance and parking is at the end of Colony Farm Rd), ☏ +1 604-520-6442. Open during the day, closes at dusk. Popular spot with 8.5 km of trails and opportunities for birdwatching. An estimated 150 species of birds are in the park. The park is in both Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam. (updated Aug 2023)
* 49.2604-122.85832 Como Lake Park, 700 Gatensbury Street (just south of Como Lake Ave). A small, man-made lake and park in the centre of residential Coquitlam. Exactly one kilometre in circumference, the lake is a popular attraction for morning walks, joggers, schoolchildren and occasionally fishermen, though the latter will frequently go home empty-handed.
* 49.327321-122.7599043 Minnekhada Regional Park, Quarry Rd, ☏ +1 604-520-6442. Open during daylight hours. Gates close at dusk. A more-than-200-acre park with 10 km of trails through forests and wetlands. Minnekhada Lodge, a heritage building where Queen Elizabeth once stayed, is open the first Sunday of each month from 1-4PM (except Jan).
* 49.334835-122.7085244 Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, at the end of Quarry Rd. Large park along Pitt Lake and Burke Mountain with hiking, camping, swimming and boating opportunities. Day-use parking fee of $1/hour to a max of $3.
* 49.254638-122.8295915 Mundy Park, 641 Hillcrest Street. A large urban forest which allows off-leash dog use until 10AM every morning. The park is often host to swim meets and soccer, baseball and lacrosse tournaments. (updated Mar 2020)
* 49.27315-122.8387556 Town Centre Park, 1299 Pinetree Way. It hosts a large tournament site, public ping pong tables, basketball and tennis courts, and a band stand. It is also home to the Evergreen Cultural Centre which hosts gallery exhibits and live performances. (updated Mar 2020)
* 49.286448-122.8164537 The Coquitlam Crunch. The Coquitlam Crunch urban outdoor 'stairmaster' is primarily a fitness challenge. (updated Mar 2020)
* 49.239078-122.8703798 Maillardville. Maillardville is a small community founded by French migrants sent to work in the local forest industry during the 19th century. It is recognized as Western Canada's largest French-Canadian community outside of Manitoba, though the French population continues to decline. There is the Place des Arts which hosts exhibitions and performances, and the Makin House Museum. (updated Mar 2020)

## Do

* 49.270042-122.8545741 City Centre Aquatic Complex, 1210 Pinetree Way, ☏ +1 604 927-6999. A large public, indoor swimming pool. Appealing to both children and adults alike, it houses two distinct pools, one Olympic-sized, the other smaller and decorated with a jungle theme. The smaller pool also features an elaborate water slide that twists outside of the building. Adults can make use of a full gym as well. $5.35.
* 49.270231-122.9600652 Planet Ice, 2300 Rocket Way, ☏ +1 604 941-9911. Public skate: M F Su 1:45-3:45PM. A large, state-of-the-art skating arena. It is used mostly for amateur hockey teams, but the arena is open for public skating Monday, Fridays, and Sundays. $3.75-4.50 plus the cost of skate rentals, if you do not own.
* 49.235515-122.8562443 Silver City Coquitlam, 170 Schoolhouse St (one block north of Lougheed Highway), ☏ +1 604 523-2911. The largest movie theatre in Western Canada, with over 20 screens. The complex contains a number of fast-food dining options, but as these are quite expensive hungry visitors may be wiser to eat before the show at one of the surrounding restaurants in the area.
* 49.3694-122.63334 Widgeon Valley National Wildlife Area (NWA). 125 ha near Pitt Lake. (updated May 2020)

## Learn

* 49.28821-122.792311 Douglas College - Coquitlam campus, 1250 Pinetree, ☏ +1-604-527-5400. This institution is publicly funded. It is possible to complete some degrees at this institution and it is possible to transfer course credits from this institution into many public universities within Canada. (updated Feb 2022)

## Buy

Coquitlam is home to a variety of shopping options and features a large shopping mall.
* Coquitlam Centre49.27714-122.799161 Coquitlam Centre, 2929 Barnet Hwy, ☏ +1-604-464-1414, coquitlamcentre@morguard.com. Coquitlam's main mall, located in Coquitlam's commercial district. It has over 200 stores including a Bay, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, London Drugs, and T&T Asian supermarket. There is a large food court and several connected sit-down restaurants. (updated Feb 2022)
* Surrounding the Coquitlam Centre area are a variety of large chain stores in Pinetree Village and Sunwood Square, including Chapters, Save-On-Foods, and Superstore.
* The City of Lougheed (Lougheed Mall) is a mall across the street from Coquitlam's western city limits. See "Buy" under Burnaby for details.
* 49.234681-122.8688972 Ikea, 1000 Lougheed Hwy, ☏ +1 866-866-4532. 10AM-9PM. The largest Ikea in North America. (updated Mar 2020)

## Eat

* 49.233248-122.8525341 Cactus Club Cafe, 110-101 Schoolhouse St, ☏ +1 604-777-0440. Trendy casual restaurant with a varied menu. Starters: $7-14, mains: $10-32.
* 49.242727-122.8891132 Joey, 550 Lougheed Highway, ☏ +1 604 939-3077. Starters: $6-13, mains: $11-36.
* 49.275247-122.7937053 Haan Korean BBQ, 3025 Lougheed Hwy, ☏ +1 604 944-7188. Daily noon-9PM. A restaurant offering Korean main courses and barbecue. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.282034-122.7985294 Legend House, 140-1169 Pacific Street, ☏ +1 604 475-5222. 11AM to 9:30PM. A restaurant offering Northern Chinese cuisine. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.281382-122.7957955 Dae-Ji Cutlet House, 1153 The High Street, ☏ +1 604-474-4251. 11:30AM–10:30PM. Korean-style fusion - cutlets and hamburger steaks. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.277917-122.7967956 C-Lovers Fish & Chips, 2991 Lougheed Hwy #108, ☏ +1 604-464-3611. 11AM-8PM. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.249285-122.8627547 Me-n-Ed's Pizza Parlors, 1121 Austin Ave, toll-free: +1 604-931-2468. 11AM-11PM. (updated Mar 2020)
* 49.237079-122.8714888 My Greek Taverna, 946 Brunette Ave, toll-free: +1 604-525-5351. 11:30AM-10PM. Very busy, reserve at least 2 weeks in advance. (updated Mar 2020)

## Drink

* 49.245133-122.8921851 Wings, 345 North Rd, ☏ +1 604-931-5500. Has a huge menu of different flavours of chicken wings, with a decent drink menu. It is often quite busy during hockey games.

## Sleep

* 49.24674-122.891441 Executive Plaza Hotel, 405 North Rd, ☏ +1 604-936-9399, toll-free: +1-888-433-3932, reservationsc@executivehotels.net. (updated Aug 2022)
* 49.24216-122.884682 Ramada by Wyndham Coquitlam, 631 Lougheed Hwy, ☏ +1 604-931-4433. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. (updated Aug 2022)

## Cope
### Newspaper

* Tri-City News, ☏ +1 604-525-6397. (updated May 2023)

### Hospitals

The nearest hospitals are in New Westminster and Port Moody.

## Go next

The other cities in the "Tri-Cities" area -- Port Coquitlam and Port Moody -- are all very accessible. To the west, along Highway 1, is the North Shore with many outdoor recreation options, while to the east, along Highway 1 or Highway 7, is the Fraser Valley, which also offers more outdoor pursuits and some local wineries.