Nearby Cities: Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody
 These communities (often called
the Tri-Cities") grew up alongside Highway 7, the Lougheed Highway. Vancouver's
Hastings Street changes to become the Barnett Highway (7A) as it winds on the
Burrard Inlet side of Coquaby Mountain, passes through Port Moody until it joins
the Lougheed Highway in Coquitlam.
Port Moody was named for Colonel Moody, the commanding officer of the Royal
Engineers, stationed in BC between 1858 and 1863. The Burrard Inlet at Port
Moody is famous for its birdwatching and its fishing. Foreshore Park offers
a four kilometre shoreline trail, with Noon's Creek Fish Hatchery close to the
Civic Recreation Centre. On the north shore of the Burrard Inlet, locals enjoy
the scenic splendour of Belcarra Regional Park, with its picnicking and forest
trails. Buntzen Lake offers scenic shoreline and mountain trails with picnic
sites, canoe rentals and sailing Nearby Sasamat Lake offers swimming, sandy
beach and trails.
The City of Coquitlam and the District Municipality of Coquitlam is named for
"the little red fish" or landlocked salmon in the Coast Salish Indian language.
Visit Mundy Park, southwest Coquitlam's large forest park with 435 acres, walking
trails and two pretty little lakes. The area includes Minnehada and Burke Mountain
regional parks with views of the Pitt River, and several popular lakes, including
Como and Buntzen. Coquitlam includes the French-speaking community of Maillardville,
where French-Canadians settled in 1909 to work in the Fraser Valley saw mills.
Port Coquitlam is the small community between the Coquitlam and Pitt Rivers.
This is a major industrial area, including CP Rail marshalling yards, for east-bound
traffic. There is easy access to Vancouver via Highways 7 & 1 and the West Coast
Express. The Pitt River flows from Pitt Lake, which at 7,700 hectares is the
world's largest freshwater tidal lake. You can hike the Port Coquitlam Trail,
with its wilderness views. The newly-renovated Hyde Creek Centre offers many
activities: swimming pool, water park, courts, gymnasium, teen centre, pro shop
and a restaurant.
History of Port Moody & Coquitlam
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The area's early European settlement goes back to 1853, when the McLean family
established themselves along the Pitt River near the present location of the
bridge. The area grew quickly from a large number of Americans arriving for
the Fraser River Gold Rush.
Port Moody was established from the end of a trail cut by Royal Engineers, now
known as North Road to connect New Westminster with Burrard Inlet. It was developed
to defend New Westminster from potential attack from the south.. The town grew
rapidly after 1859, following land grants to the Royal Engineers who then settled
there.
Port Moody was the Canadian Pacific Railway's original western terminus. The
first trans-continental train arrived from Montreal on July 4, 1886 with about
150 passengers. In 1887, however, the line was extended 20 km to downtown Vancouver.
Since then, Port Moody's industrial significance has diminished, but it is an
important residential community in the Lower Mainland. The availability of level
land around Port Coquitlam for workshops and yards attracted the Canadian Pacific
Railway, which in 1911 moved its freight operations there from Vancouver.
Port Moody's first industry was a cedar sawmill in 1905, followed in 1915 with
a large Imperial Oil Company oil refinery just west of the Port Moody boundary.
The area was named after the company: Ioco, and many refinery workers lived
in a shack village near the refinery until 1920 before the current Ioco townsite
was built.
1913 saw Port Moody incorporated as a city. Port Moody continued to be primarily
a mill town. With the outbreak of World War II, people of the community found
steady employment. With the end of the war, the town began to spread out and
Port Moody met the surrounding suburbs of Coquiltam and Burnaby. Over the decades
develop continued with Andrés Wines, Gulf Oil, Weldwood, Interprovincial Steel,
Reichold Chemicals and Pacific Coast Terminals opening up plants in the City.
Port Moody takes its name from Colonel Richard Moody of the Royal Engineers
Maillardville Festival du Bois (Festival of
the Woods, early March), Port Moody's Golden Spike Day Fest (Canada Day, July),
Port Coquitlam Greek Days (Late July), Coquitlam Festival (all summer)
Here are other communities nearby:
[ Whistler |
West Van |
North Van |
Vancouver |
Richmond |
Delta |
Burnaby |
New West |
Port Moody, Coquitlam |
Surrey |
Langley ]
Community Map
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