VANCOUVER - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 133

CAMPING
Adjacent to Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby Cariboo RV Park (8765 Cariboo Pl.,
Burnaby, 604/420-1722, www.bcrvpark.com , tents $40-45, hookups $59-68) offers a wide
range of facilities, including a large indoor heated pool, fitness room, whirlpool tub, sun-
deck, playground, lounge, barbecue area, grocery store, and laundry facility. The park is 17
kilometers (10.6 miles) east of downtown. To get there, take Exit 37 (Gaglardi) from the
Trans-Canada Highway, turn right at the first traffic light, and take the first left and then the
first right into Cariboo Place. The Production Way SkyTrain station is an eight-minute walk
from this campground.
If you're traveling the Trans-Canada Highway, the closest provincial park campground
is at Cultus Lake (519/826-6850 or 800/689-9025, www.discovercamping.ca , late March-
mid-Oct., $30), 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of downtown and seven kilometers (4.3
miles) south of downtown Chilliwack (Exit 119). This park has four campgrounds, each
with showers and access to a long, sandy beach.
Of the provincial parks immediately north of the city, the only one with a campground is
Golden Ears (519/826-6850 or 800/689-9025, www.discovercamping.ca , mid-June-Aug.,
$28), 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast from downtown, near the suburb of Maple Ridge.
To get there, take Highway 7 from downtown through Coquitlam and Pitt Meadows to
Maple Ridge and follow the signs north on 232nd Street. The park holds almost 400 sites in
two campgrounds near Alouette Lake. The campgrounds are linked by hiking trails. Facil-
ities include hot showers, flush toilets, and a picnic table and fire ring at each site.
NEW WESTMINSTER
“New West,” as it's best known, is a densely populated residential area 15 kilometers (9.3
miles) southeast of downtown. Due to its strategic location, where the Fraser River divides,
it was declared the capital of the mainland colony in 1859 and then the provincial capit-
al in the years 1866-1868. Only a few historic buildings remain, and the old port area has
been totally overtaken by modern developments. River Market (810 Quayside Dr., 604/
520-3881), along the riverfront and below the old main street, is open for very unmarket-
like hours (not until 9:30am each day), but it holds an interesting selection of fresh produce,
take-out food stalls, and specialty shops. Out front is the Samson V, built in 1937 and the
last remaining paddle wheeler left on the river when it was retired in 1980. It's now open
for public inspection (noon-5pm daily July-Aug., weekends only in spring and fall, dona-
tion); call the local museum at 604/527-4640 for details. Beside the market is the Fraser
River Discovery Centre (788 Quayside Dr., 604/521-8401, 10am-4pm daily June-Aug.,