Port Coquitlam has an extensive trail system that can be accessed from the downtown area and from many neighbourhoods. Our favourite section follows  the Coquitlam River. We simply go over one block to Kelly Avenue, then down two blocks and we’re at Gates Park. This park has many soccer and ball fields and provides paved access to the trail. 

The part of the trail in the downtown area is on a raised bed. It’s quite wide and there are benches here and there for sitting. There are also several outdoor gym spots, where you can use metal equipment. There are signs up on how to use each piece. We often see people of all ages using them, what a great idea! On the river side of the path there are signposts that trace the history of Port Coquitlam. It’s a lovely city walk, easy to use and easy to access. There are paths carved through the brush down to the river and people venture down there to cool off. The river is quite low right now but it moves well. There are wider, quieter places where you can stand to ease your hot, swollen feet or where dogs and kids can romp and splash.  

If you continue along, you’ll go under the road by Lions Park and then you’ll be on the trail. Most of it is paved but as you get further from downtown, it becomes hard-packed dirt. It follows the river through a shady forest and it is absolutely beautiful! 

We followed the the trail north, on the east side of the river. I was excited because Dale had put a carrier for my phone on my bike and I had activated the cycling portion of the Health app on my iPhone. It works perfectly when I walk. I just put the phone in my pocket or in my purse and I go. It records the distance, the number of steps I’ve taken and the number of flights of stairs I’ve climbed.   We cycled past the first bridge that crosses the river. We wanted to go further so we continued on, hoping there would be another. A couple of times the path went steeply up, into neighbourhoods, but it was easy to find the trail again. Eventually we came across a highway bridge. We didn’t recognize the road, but we could see the trail on the other side of the river under the bridge. This part of the trail was clearly new, as was the neighbourhood. There were many houses in various stages of construction. The trail was covered in fresh, white gravel. It soon joined up to the older trail and we were off.  Eventually we crossed the river again, near Lions Park.

We passed a lot of people on the trip. There were walkers, dog walkers, joggers and bikers. We also passed a few camps; this time of year the homeless people in the area live down by the river. These camps were on downtown portion of the  trail, and there were more people on the trails the closer we were to downtown PoCo.  

When we got home I checked my phone to see how far we had gone. I opened the app and there was no data recorded. I played with it for a while, then I grabbed my IPad to goggle why there was no data. Everything I found said the cycling portion of the Health app, which is standard on most new iPhones, doesn’t work. So I downloaded a new biking app. I hope this one works! Dale remembered the seeing the name of the highway bridge so we looked that up. An aerial photo of it identified the road it was on and some of the neighbourhood streets. Using my map app, we discovered we had ridden about 10 km, round trip. 

This a ride we could do most evenings. It is cooler by the river and most of the trail is shaded by the overhanging trees. It is an easy ride but not boring. The trail curves and dips, and there are exits to neighbourhoods we could explore. The scenery is amazing and the views have already changed from the first time we were on it, in late April. Then the greenery was fresh and new and parts of the trail were damp. Now all the plants and leaves are mature and established and everything is covered in cottony pollen. The trail is hard-packed and almost dusty. The river is lower and more quiet spots have been revealed. I’m sure there will be more changes as the seasons progress, and I am looking toward to seeing all of them, over the handlebars of my bike.