After our good friends Alison and Johnny introduced us to this park, it immediately become one of our favourite places to go in Metro Vancouver. This is one of the best family friendly park situated in the heart of Port Moody. Since it was just a 15 minute drive away from Crystal Falls, we decided to relax here after our Crystal Falls hike.

The Park

This is a beautiful park overlooking the very tip of Burrard Inlet. The view is beautiful and there are also enough trees that provide some shade while relaxing on the field. A long jetty takes you to a nice lookout. For social distancing, the jetty had a central divider.

After a nice breezy stroll on the jetty, you can also follow the path down to the beach area where you can do several paddling sports here. There is also a boat launch site by the jetty used for motorized boats. For more on paddling here, check out Billy’s post here.

One characteristic feature of the park is a big performance stage in the centre of the grassy field. There might be performances in the past (pre-COVID); however, I don’t think it’s used much now. To our surprise, there was a guitarist performing right on the field when we got there. Picnicking with live music always make the whole experience so much more romantic.

This place is usually heavily trafficked especially during weekends, but it was surprisingly quiet when we went on a Sunday afternoon. The past few months, the paths surrounding the grassy field used to be one way due to COVID; however, the restriction is currently lifted. The paths are a part of the Shoreline Trail with the trail head starting at the jetty.

Shoreline Trail

We followed the Shoreline Trail marking and Junior rode his balance bike down the paved trail. The whole Shoreline Trail spans about 6km, starting from Rocky Point Park to Old Orchard Park. Due to time constraint, and the fact that we already did the Crystal Falls hike in the morning, we didn’t do the whole trail this time.

After crossing a small bridge the trail splits into two, a paved road mainly for cyclists and the tree branch covered trail (also the trail with the best view of the waters) for hikers. The sign at the trailhead indicated that strollers and wheelchairs should also use the paved road. We also saw many people walking along the paved trail as well. We went on the paved side since Junior wants to ride “really fast”.

The trail is very wide and continues into a forested area. It is heavily trafficked here, but because the trail is wide, it is easy to maintain 2M apart.

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At the 1Km mark, it opens up onto a major road and continues for a section. Junior got tired here so we had to head back. We came back a month later and finished the Shoreline Trail.

Activities

Kids have lots to do in Rocky Point Park. First off, the playground… it is beautiful and well maintained. This pirate ship-shaped playground with swings and slides is often very popular among kids and always quite crowded.

A big spray park is right next to the playground. When we came last year, Junior loves going through the rainbow bridge structure in the spray park. During the COVID pandemic, we avoid crowded playgrounds and just watch at the side.

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If you continue further down, you’ll see a very well designed skate park that’s mostly populated with kids on bicycles and scooters. It’s so interesting to see a skatepark minus the usuals skate boarders but instead with kids.

Picnic is very popular here. There are several picnic tables and chairs available throughout the whole park.

And if you don’t have enough food, Pajos and Boathouse is just around the corner inside the park. The famous Rocky Point Ice Cream shop is also here as well (be aware of long line ups).

Pets Traffic

Most dogs here are leashed in the park. There is a small off leash section for dogs.

Washroom

A spacious washroom and change room can be found by the spray park area.

Breastfeeding

There are several benches along the way ideal for feeding.

Parking

Parking can be tricky when this park gets crowded. There are two main parking lots (one in front of the ice cream shop and the other in front of Boathouse). Paid electric vehicle charging station also available (the spots in front of the washroom). If both lots are full, as they often are on a weekend, you can drive a bit further east on Murray St. to try your luck there. You would just need to walk the Shoreline Trail to get back to the park.

We love this park and would definitely come back many more times. Junior kept on saying he wants to bike the whole Shoreline Trail one day, so we did a month later.

• Facilities: Excellent
• Traffic: Heavy
• View: Beautiful ocean view
• Overall Score: 9/10