Enjoy a range of activities like bird-watching, wildlife viewing, trail hiking, miniature train rides, picnicking, and admiring exotic trees and public art. There truly is a park for every taste in this diverse city. Best of all, just about everything is free.
Bear Creek Park
Bear Creek Park (13750-88 Ave) attracts families with children thanks to the famous Bear Creek Miniature Train, which offers special themed events at Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. Check out the garden's horticultural treasures or the two salmon-bearing creeks, hike the trails, play mini-golf, or cool down in summer at the water playground and outdoor pool. The Surrey Arts Centre, located in the park, brings in fans of contemporary art and theatre.
Encompassing 260ha/640ac, Tynehead Regional Park (16600 block of 96 Ave) has a butterfly garden, fish hatchery, and salmon fry pond.
Bird Watching around Surrey
Bring along binoculars to Surrey's parks to get the most out of bird-watching.
The oceanside Mud Bay Park (13030 48 Ave) is a great place to spot migratory birds, such as ducks, cormorants and loons, particularly from August to mid-May. Blackie Spit Park (3136 McBride Ave) is another sanctuary where close to 200 bird species have been sighted in one year, and Serpentine Fen (4600 block of King George Hwy) offers three covered viewing towers for bird-watching.
For those who prefer long walks on the beach, the Ocean Park shoreline walk at Crescent Beach in South Surrey stretches about 6.5km/4mi round-trip. Tidal pools shelter hermit crabs and sea stars, and sometimes killer whales and harbour seals can be spotted swimming in Boundary Bay. Crescent Beach is also a magnet for kayakers.
Green Timbers Urban Forest
The 226ha/560ac Green Timbers Urban Forest (14400 block of 100 Ave) offers a lake teeming with rainbow trout for fishing enthusiasts, nearly 20 trails and pathways to hike, and nature programs at the new Surrey Nature Centre. In 1930, Green Timbers was the site of pioneering reforestation work in British Columbia. Coyotes, raccoons, and squirrels inhabit the park today.
Redwood Park
Redwood Park (17900-20 Ave) is a genuine curiosity – an 80-acre estate where two eccentric pioneer brothers lived in a tree house (now reconstructed) and planted 30-plus species of exotic trees. The park's name comes from having Canada's largest stand of giant redwood cedars.
For more information about parks in Surrey, pop into the Visitor Centre, pick up Tourism Surrey's Official Visitors Guide, or log on to the City of Surrey's web site.
Read Less