British Columbia Travel Guide
The unofficial BC Travel & Tourism Guide
Home to its official flower "Pride of the PoCo" Azalea, Port Coquitlam, is a fast growing city which prides itself on being a warm and friendly community. The colourful city gardens, decorative lamps and streets lined with maple trees give the city soft edge to the nature of every city live. The pace here can be as slow or as intense as visitors like when it comes to activities.

Explore the cities shops and boutiques, walk the the PoCo trail around the cities edge for a more remote wildlife experience, charter a boat for a day fishing, play a few rounds of golf, or do a short hike and get in a little camping.

During the summer, Port Coquiltam offers music in the park and there are lots of outdoor events for families. In the fall, visitors will experience the bold colours of the deciduous trees against the dark evergreens surrounding the mountains and city scape. When visitors come in the winter they will mostly discover that they can in a day or two on the manicured greens of the golf courses or enjoy the day on a long bike ride. The city's weather is mild and occasional rains maybe experienced, however with all the recreational facilities it is easy to find something to do in Port Coquitlam.

Population: 57,563

Highlights:
Boat Launches
Golf Courses
Shopping
Terry Fox Theatre
Traboulay PoCo Trail
Heritage Display Centre
Leigh Square Bandshell summer outdoor music in the park
Parks and Recreation:
Colony Farm Regional Park is wildlife marsh and bird sanctuary with trails.
White Pine Beach.
Minnekhada Regional Park trails run through a wildlife and bird sanctuary of multiple species.
Belcarra Regional Park includes beach and a pier, light trails, a playground, picnic areas, fishing and crabbing.
Buntzen Lake beach area, offers picnic tables, trails, swimming, and canoeing.
Golden Ears Provincial Park –trails of all levels, beach front on Alouette Lake with campground.
Pinecone Burke Provincial Park – hiking trails and world-class mountain biking.

History:
Derived from the aboriginal word for "salmon", Coquitlam was an area along the Sunshine Coast which was used by the First Nation Salish tribes (including the Kwikwetl'em people) up until the mid-1800's. It is known that a tribe village existed at the mouth of the Coquitlam River, an abundant source of wild salmon.
Various tribes staked claim to parts of the mainland and surrounding Islands. Their lives were rich in culture and consisted primarily of survival, hunting, fishing, log carving (long houses, totem poles, tools, bowls) and potluck celebrations. Their social system and skills were very sophisticated for their time.

With the arrival of white settlers trade also became part of their daily lives.

The area was first developed around 1859 as farmland, however Port Coquitlam played its own role in the mainland's history around the time that the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived(now housing a large rail yard that bisects the city) and the boom of trade, the gold rush, farming and fishing brought traffic to its shores in British Columbia's earlier years.

Climate:
Summer average 19 degrees Celsius
Winter average 5 degrees Celsius

 

Port Coquitlam Accommodations


Port Coquitlam Things to Do