We decided to go on a small biking trip with my toddler and one of his best friends today. Since he is just beginning to get comfortable with his balance bike, I want to bring him somewhere that doesn’t have to share the road with cars, preferably a large park that has long and wide pedestrian trails and some good views for the mommies as well. We decided to check out Garry Point Park in Richmond.

Garry Point is a wide park, with a big spacious field in the centre and pedestrian/cyclist trail surrounding the outside which connects to the Dyke trail. The trails consist of flat gravel, perfect for our kids as they like to ride on mild bumpy roads. The large park is mostly under direct sunlight and not much shade can be found, and that’s probably the reason why the grass is mostly yellow and dry this time of year. Due to COVID-19 precaution, currently the park has mandated a one-way walking direction. The small loop that the kids biked today is the perfect length before they grew hungry and wanted to rest.

The view is beautiful! You can see the mountains, the clear waters, and different types of boats zooming by. My toddler loves looking at the boats, and then we started naming the different boats as an extra activity in the park.

Activities

There is no kids playground here but you can do many different types of family friendly activities in this park. If you are serious in cycling, you can start from Garry point park and continue along West Dyke trail which spans about 6 km with beautiful water view.

There is also sandy beach area where kids can play by the water but we didn’t go down this time cause we have our strollers and bikes. There are also some logs by the beach too for some kids adventure walk. Swimming however, is NOT advised, as there is a sewage treatment plant close by.

The wind can be pretty strong at Garry Point, so you can see several kites on a nice windy day. There were also people driving kite buggies around the large field.

Picnic is always a nice and relaxing activity to do in the park. There are a few benches around the park but no picnic tables. However, be aware of seagulls while picnicking here! As soon as our kids took out their rice cracker snacks, about 6 seagulls swooped down beside us and started screeching and attempted at getting hold of their snacks…which did scare the little ones a bit and we had to scramble.

Outdoor Restaurant

Pajos is the only restaurant here by the beach. They are famous for their delicious Oceanwise certified fish and chips (ocean friendly seafood choices). They have wild cod, wild salmon, and Alaskan wild halibut to choose from for the fried fish option, as well as different toes of burgers. As for the price, it’s about $12 for 2 pieces of wild cod and fries, $15 for 2 pieces of wild salmon and fries, and $20 for 2 pcs of Alaskan wild halibut and fries.

As an added bonus, if you are having your birthday here and thinking of eating at Pajos, join their “ Birthday Club” online. Upon showing a coupon you will receive a free meal with 2 pieces of cod and fries when you purchase another meal of equal or more value.

**Due to COVID-19 precaution, only takeout is available at the moment**

Washroom

Public washroom available behind Pajos

Crowd volume

This park can get crowded on the weekend; thus why the one way walking direction is currently in place. However, when we went on Sunday morning, it wasn’t so crowded. There were also 2 police bikes going around continuously checking if everyone is maintaining distancing due to COVID precaution.

Parking

The parking lot became full after around 11am on the Sunday we went. There are still some parking available inside Steveston village, which is about 10 minute walk away. A loading zone is available in the parking lot close by Pajos.