Burnaby

Burnaby

Burnaby is a city in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland region just 15 minutes away from downtown Vancouver. It borders the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver to the north, and Port Moody and Coquitlam to the east. It is the province’s third-largest city with a population of 261,955 in 2021.

History

Halkomelem and Squamish-speaking members of the Central Coast Salish Nations were the first recorded settlers in Burnaby. The first foreign settler arrived in the 1850s. It became a colony of British Columbia in 1856 led by Colonel Richard Moody with his secretary Robert Burnaby. It was later on named after Robert Burnaby when he discovered a freshwater lake in 1859.

In 1891, an interurban tram connecting Burnaby to Vancouver and New Westminster via a new route had begun constructing. After the construction of the new railway line, Burnaby was officially established in 1892. It helped Burnaby grow and the city’s massive growth was aided by the construction of the Expo ’86 Skytrain, which made the city even more accessible.

And in 1992, Burnaby became a city.

Downtown Area

Living, working and playing in Burnaby is an enjoyable experience. It is easy for residents to get around the four town centers on foot or by bike. There are retail and professional services in each of the four town centers for residents to take advantage of.

Burnaby’s downtown and the regional city center is the Metrotown. Among the municipalities, there are three main urban centers: Brentwood, Lougheed, and Edmonds.

Burnaby has five shopping districts, so there’s something for everyone. Shoppers in the city and tourists alike can enjoy a full day of exploration in the city’s malls, which house a diverse selection of stores, and boutiques. Metropolis at Metrotown is the largest shopping center in British Columbia.

  • Metropolis (largest shopping Centre in British Columbia)
  • City of Lougheed
  • The Heights
  • The Amazing Brentwood
  • Crystal Mall
Burnaby

Parks and Trails

If you’re in the mood for a day of exploration in the great outdoors, come to one of many city parks and take advantage of all the city has to offer. Burnaby City has more than 100 fantastic parks and trails. The city residents and visitors alike have access to an abundance of outdoor activities without ever having to leave the confines of the city.

Parks

  • Alta Vista Reservoir (McKee Street 5192)
  • Avondale Park (Smith Avenue 3602)
  • Beecher Park (Springer Avenue 1255)
  • Bell Park (Bell Avenue 3551)
  • Braemar Park (Buckingham Drive 6310)
  • Brantford School Park (Empress Avenue 6307)
  • Brentwood Park (Lane Allowance 4688)
  • Broadway Woolwich Park (Woolwich Avenue 2250)
  • Broadview Park (Canada Way 3955)
  • Buckingham Park (Buckingham Drive 6089)
  • Buller-Beresford Park (Buller Avenue 7320)
  • Burnaby Heights Park (Eton Street 3877)
  • Burnaby South Memorial Park (Southoaks Crescent 6650)
  • Burns Street Walkway (Lakeview Avenue 6065)
  • Cafferky Park (Ramsay Avenue 7077)
  • Camrose Park (Phillips Avenue 2766)
  • Capital Hill Reservoir Park (Hythe Avenue 229)
  • Cariboo Park (Cariboo Road 7735)
  • Charles Rummel Park (Piper Avenue 3325)
  • Cottonwood Park (Lougheed Highway 8876)
  • Cumberland Park (Cumberland Street 7850)
  • David Gray Park (McKay Avenue 7480)
  • Dawson-Delta Park (Dawson Street 4900)
  • Delta-Halifax Park (Woodway Place 1841)
  • Duthie-Union School Park (Burnaby Mountain Parkway 699)
  • East Grove Park (Ash Grove Crescent 9251)
  • Eastburn Park (Thirteenth Avenue 7944)
  • Eastlake Park (Eastlake Drive 9041)
  • Edmonds School Park (Canada Way 7355)
  • Maywood Park (McKay Avenue 6480)
  • McGill Park (McGill Street 4203)
  • McKay Park (McKay Avenue 7785)
  • Meadowood Park (Meadowood Park 2192)
  • Millview Park (Sapperton Avenue 7463)
  • Montecito Park (Augusta Avenue 2040)
  • Old Orchard Park (Lane Allowance 4455)
  • Parkcrest School Park (Sherban Court 5890)
  • Poplar Park (Eighteenth Avenue 7117)
  • Powerhouse Park (Beresford Street 6970)
  • Rene Memorial Park (Sperling Avenue 6961)
  • Richard Bolton Park (University Crescent 9181)
  • Riverway West School Park (Carson Street 4390)
  • Royal Oakland Park (Oakmount Crescent 5220)
  • Seventh & Graham Tot Lot Park (Graham Avenue 7793)
  • Simon Fraser Hills Park (Centaurus Circle 9025)
  • Sperling Avenue School-Park (Adair Street 6840)
  • Springer Park (Ridgelawn Drive 5050)
  • Stoney Creek School-Park (Beaverbrook Crescent 2942)
  • Stride Avenue Park (Stride Avenue 7054)
  • Sumas Park (Kensington Avenue 2088)
  • Suncrest School-Park (Rumble Street 3883)
  • Taylor Park (Mission Avenue 7599)
  • Village Square Park (Lane Street 5401)
  • Wesburn Park (Parkwood Avenue 4781)
  • West Sells Park (Georgia Street 3995)
  • Westridge Park (Cliff Avenue 320)
  • Westridge School Park (Lane Allowance 6929)
  • Willard Park (Twelfth Avenue 6280)
  • Willingdon Heights Park (Carleton Avenue 1491)
  • Wilton Avenue Park (Wilton Avenue 5215)
  • Bonsor Park (Bonsor Avenue 6550)
  • Cameron Park (Cameron Street 9523)
  • Kaymar Creek Ravine Park (Carson Street 3905)
  • Second Narrows Park (formerly Montrose) (Montrose Street 3751)
  • Scenic Park (Scenic Highway 5321)
  • Stratford Park (Penzance Drive 5866)
  • Ernie Winch Park (Fifteenth Street 7680)
  • Forest Glen Park (Bond Street 4855)
  • George Green Park (Holdom Avenue 350)
  • George H. Leaf Park (Twelfth Avenue 8405)
  • George McLean Park (Patterson Avenue 5477)
  • Gilpin School Park (Eglington Street 5622)
  • Graham Park (Graham Avenue 7957)
  • Greentree Village Park (Wayburne Drive 4540)
  • Greystone Park (Augusta Avenue 1590)
  • Halifax Park (Halifax Street 6925)
  • Harbourview Park (Grosvenor Crescent 5351)
  • Harwood Park (Hardwick Street 5251)
  • Heights Fountain Square (MacDonald Avenue 405)
  • Hilda Avenue Park (Fourteenth Avenue 7591)
  • Jim Lorimer Park (Gilmore Avenue 2338)
  • Keswick Park (Cardston Court 9452)
  • Kinnee Park (Willingdon Avenue 6267)
  • Kisbey Park (Dufferin Avenue 6348)
  • Lakeview School Park (Berkley Street 7856)
  • Ledingham Park (Road Allowance 7298)
  • Lobley Park (Marlborough Avenue 6511)
  • Lochdale School Park (Aubrey Street 6990)
  • Lou Moro Park (Cliff Avenue 320)
  • Lubbock’s Wood Park (Burris Street 7803)
  • Lyndale Park (Phillips Avenue South 3155)
  • Lyndhurst Park (Casewell Street 9681)
  • Macey Park (Canada Way 4906)
  • Malvern Park (Morley Drive 7410)
  • Maple Grove Park (Forest Grove Drive 9150)
  • Mary Avenue Park (Twelfth Avenue 7598)
  • Cariboo Hill School-Park (Sixteenth Avenue 8670)
  • Confederation Park (Willingdon Avenue 250)
  • Edmonds Park (Edmonds Street 7433)
  • Forest Grove Park (Forest Grove Drive 8505)
  • Kensington Park (Curtis Street 6159)
  • McPherson Park (Rumble Street 5485)
  • Riverway Sports Complex (Nelson Avenue 8605)
  • Robert Burnaby Park (Wedgewood Street 8155)
  • Ron McLean Park (Hedley Avenue 7820)
  • Squint Lake Park (Greystone Drive 1541)
  • Warner Loat Park (Piper Avenue 4252)
  • Barnet Marine Park (Barnet Road 8181)
  • Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park (Fraser Park Drive 7751)
  • Burnaby Lake Regional Nature Park (Piper Avenue 4519)
  • Burnaby Lake Park (Municipal-next 3) (Kensington Avenue 3676)
  • Burnaby Lake Sports Complex – East (Kensington Avenue 3676)
  • Burnaby Lake Sports Complex – West (Kensington Avenue 3677)
  • Burnaby Lake Equestrian Centre (Avalon Avenue 9080)
  • Central Park (Imperial Street 3883)
  • Deer Lake Park (Deer Lake Avenue 6450)
  • Boundary Creek Ravine Park (Boundary Road 8190)
  • Byrne Creek Ravine Park (Byrne Park Drive 6555)
  • Eagle Creek Ravine Park (Broadway 7740)
  • Fourteenth Avenue Ravine Park (Fenwick Street 7700)
  • Froggers Creek Ravine Park (Carson Street 4994)
  • Glen Abbey Creek Ravine (Glen Abby Drive 1542)
  • Gray Creek Ravine Park (Portland Street 4704)
  • John Matthews Creek Ravine Park (Marine Drive 5746)
  • Stride Avenue Ravine Park (Eighteenth Avenue 7090)
  • Sussex Creek Ravine Park (New Haven Close 8488)
  • Wesburn Ravine Park (Barker Crescent 4840)
Burnaby

Off-Leash Areas
All of Burnaby’s parks are dog-friendly (on-leash). However, if you prefer to let your dog run free, Burnaby has several locations where you can do so.

  • Barnet Marine Park (Barnet Road 8181)
  • Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park (Mountbatten Street 7255)
  • Burnaby Heights Park (Eton Street 3877)
  • Confederation Park (Willingdon Avenue 250)
  • David Gray Park (McKay Avenue 7480)
  • Malvern Park (Morley Drive 7410)
  • Robert Burnaby Park (Wedgewood Street 8155)
  • Taylor Park (Mission Avenue 7599)
  • Warner Loat Park (Piper Avenue 4252)

Trails

  • Haszard Street Trail (Whelen Court)
  • Big Bend Trail (Marshland Avenue)
  • Chevron Buffer Area (Eton Street)
  • Henry Welsh Park (Sixth Street)
  • Deer Lake Brook Parkway (Sperling Avenue)
  • Highland Parkline (Beresford Street)
  • Lake City Linear Park (East Lake Drive)
  • Rochester Walkway (Rochester Street)
  • Sample’s Walkway (Beresford Street)
  • Still Creek Trail (Still Creek Drive)
  • Stoney Creek Trail System (Beaverbrook Drive)
  • Trans Canada Trail (Hastings Street)
  • Willingdon Linear Park (Charles Street)

 

Events

Hat’s Off day is probably the biggest event in the city. It’s a one-day event at Hastings Street full of entertainment, food and live music. Free concert series during summer on Burnaby’s Sounds like Summer and free movie treats in Summer Cinema. There are just many events happening in the city every season.

Burnaby’s farmers market features locally grown fresh produce and a wide selection of delicious foods – Nikkei Garden Farmers Market at Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre that starts from November until Holidays ends and Burnaby Artisan Farmers’ Market that happens every weekend of May to November.

During Holidays, many organizations and establishments in Burnaby participate in making the city full of fun and family-friendly activities.

There will be establishments filled with horror displays, lighting decorations, sounds and special effects for a more frightening and exciting Halloween. The Eerie Illusions of Burnaby Village Museum, the new BOO-rnbay event, and the Garden of Horror in Metropolis of Metrotown are just some of them.

On Christmas season, Burnaby’s Christmas Light Display brings magical holiday nights to the city as trees in the parks, and public areas are decorated. The Burnaby Village Museum also doesn’t just let the locals and visitors experience the history but the city’s Christmas tradition as well with its Heritage Christmas.

Other Interesting Places

  • Burnaby Village Museum (within Deer Lake Park)
  • Burnaby Mountain Golf Course (Halifax Street)
  • Riverway Golf Course (Bill Fox Way)
  • Brunette River Conservation Area (Wood Street 9245)
  • Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area (Burnaby Mountain Parkway 800)
  • Burnaby 200 Conservation Area (Broadway 8401)
  • Burrard Inlet Conservation Area (Cliff Ave 151)
  • Capitol Hill Conservation Area (Bessborough Drive 4937)
  • Discovery Place Conservation Area (Mathissi Place 4293)
  • George Derby Conservation Area (Hill Avenue 7108)
  • Marshland Avenue Bog Forest (Wiggins Street 7500)
  • Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre (6688 Southoaks Crescent)

Burnaby is well-known for its beautiful natural surroundings and rich culture. Make the most of your time in the city by checking out everything the city has to offer. The city has a variety of options for everyone, making it a desirable place to visit or stay.