Quick Facts:
- AllTrails link: Boundary Bay, 3.7km with 11m elevation
- Difficulty: very easy, stroller friendly
- Traffic: heavy on a sunny weekend afternoon
- Facilities: flush toilet, big playground, accessible path on sandy beach
- View: sandy beaches of Boundary Bay, flat and exposed sandy dunes
- Overall score: 7/10
Boundary Bay Regional Park features a sandy Centennial Beach and tidal flats, smaller in size but otherwise similar to Spanish Banks Beach in Vancouver. Without the topless sweaty beach volleyball players and speedy cyclists on the Sea Wall, Boundary Bay Regional Park has a more mellow, family-friendly vibe. Instead of looking at the container ships and North Shore Mountains across Burrard Inlet, the park looks east across Boundary Bay at the flatter and somewhat featureless plains of Surrey and White Rock.
What it lacks in dramatic views of mountains meeting the ocean, Boundary Bay Regional Park makes up for it in a more interesting network of trails that goes as far as Mud Bay some 34km away.
The parking lot is large, but anticipating the crowd on a sunny long weekend, we arrived at 11am to found the lot about 50% full. An hour or two later after we finished our walk, the lot was completely full and cars were doing the parking vulture circles.
The washroom and concession building is brand new and very well maintained.
There is also a big playground to keep kids busy.
An accessible beach mat was thoughtfully installed at the beach, which allows for wheelchair users, buggies, strollers, and Junior’s “super duper bike” to access the beach.
No pet, no fires, and somewhat surprising, propane BBQ’s are not allowed on the beach.
Have a brief look at the beach, we headed for the super easy 12th Ave Dyke Trail and Raptor Trail loop.
The trails are very flat and exposed, as to be expected in this fairly dry environment. The vegetations are limited to low bushes and dry grass. I read that this is a popular bird watching location but I’d imagine one would have to come at the right time to catch the migratory birds. On a hot sunny afternoon, there were no birds to be seen or heard.
Observation Tower. 
We turned away from the beach side 12th Ave Dyke Trail onto the Raptor Trail, which had a little bit more vegetation but basically equally exposed. Tina appreciated the change in scenery. I agreed; all else being equal, I tend to prefer a loop trail over an out-and-back trail just for the variety.
To note, the Raptor Trail is pedestrian only, but we figured since Junior is on a toddler’s balance bike tethered to me by a leash, his usage of the trail is more similar to that of a pet dog than a cyclist at that point.
This is a great destination for a family to enjoy a sandy beach while being close to a washroom, parking, and playground, with a toddler-friendly gravel trail for biking. At high tide, this may even be a good destination for paddleboarding. Let’s add that onto my to-do list…
Follow us as we explore all 23 Regional Parks in Metro Vancouver!