Almost
all of the parks and beaches in the Fraser Estuary are
ideally suited for picnicking. Some simply provide picnic
tables while others have covered shelters, barbeques,
and playing fields. There are many things to experience
on and around the Fraser River, but bathing isn't high
on the list. The river rarely warms up to a comfortable
temperature, even in summer. Due to fast-flowing currents
in spring, and the fact that industries still find the
river a convenient place to dump waste, swimming in
Big Muddy is not recommended. There are exceptions,
such as at Deas Island or Iona Beach Regional Parks,
where wading in the river is a refreshing way to cool
off. Water-skiers in Deas Slough and Ladner Marsh, for
example, are willing to brave the chill waters, though
many of them wear wet suits.
Fortunately,
a trio of bays on the Pacific - Boundary, Mud, and Semiahmoo
- provide miles of shoreline beaches to explore, almost
all of which lie within parkland, and they offer saltwater
swimming, too! There is such a diversity of wild, natural
rhythms at play at each beach year-round that there
is no reason to wait for warm, sun-filled weather to
visit them. Their moods change with the season. The
skies out here are brighter than in nearby Vancouver
and provide more expansive views than in the city.
There aren't many places in the world where
you can swim between two countries with such ease as
at Boundary Bay. A metal-scaffolded tower marks
the place where the 49th parallel slices across the
sandy beach. In summer, when the bay is a bathtub of
sun-warmed seawater, you can make like a dolphin as
you skip back and forth between Canada and the United
States. When you're ready to dry off, stroll the beach
and experience the same thrill.
Visitors can't venture far into the United States. From
the town of Point Roberts, Washington State's portion
of the beach - known locally as Maple Beach - peters
out to rock and cobblestone as it nears an escarpment.
(Note: Although there is public access to Maple Beach,
almost the entire beach is privately owned.) In summer,
many swimmers gather near the border tower. The swimming
is better here, especially at high tide when the bay
fills to a greater depth than elsewhere. (In 1792, the
Spanish explorer Galiano named this Ensenada del Engano,
Mistake Bay, since he made the mistake of thinking
there was a way inland from the end of the bay.)
When
a low tide drains Boundary Bay, its sandy bottom is
as mottled as the moon. Little pools of seawater are
trapped in sandy depressions and reflect the sky in
an endless array of mirrors. Walk out and explore the
expanse but be sure to keep an eye on the shoreline
where you may have left your picnic basket. It's easy
to lose track of your spot unless you have a landmark
such as a large umbrella or a distinctive piece of driftwood.
The temptation is to stroll far out at low tide into
the middle of the bay, where some of the most interesting
wildlife features are revealed, either in the pools,
beneath the sand, or on the shoreline. Thousands of
birds - dunlin and sandpipers, herons and brants - follow
the twice-daily rise and fall of the ocean as it rinses
the bay.
You can walk so far out into Boundary Bay that the vapour
rising off the sand obscures the horizon and you feel
very remote from land indeed. If you are here later
in the day, sit back and watch the setting sun colour
Mount Baker's snow cone to the southeast, the most visible
landmark on the horizon. Plan to be here in the days
leading up to and immediately following the full moon,
to watch it rise from behind the semi-dormant volcano.
After dark, Boundary Bay Park is a great place to count
stars. Although the park remains open throughout the
night, if you plan to linger, make sure that you leave
your vehicle outside the nearby park gates that close
at dusk.
To reach Boundary Bay, follow Hwy 17 south from Hwy
99 in Delta and head in the direction of the BC Ferries
terminal. Turn left at 56th St (also called Point Roberts
Rd) where signs point to Tsawwassen's town centre. Drive
into Tsawwassen, turn left on 12th Avenue and continue
to Boundary Bay Rd, which leads south around the bay
to the park entrance. Beach amenities, including changing
facilities, showers, and restrooms are located here.
Crescent Beach lies on the east side of Boundary
Bay in Surrey, directly across the water from Boundary
Bay Regional Park. Although the bay almost empties at
low tide, don't expect to be able to walk between the
two. The distance is so great that, as seen from Crescent
Beach on a sunny day, the western and northern shorelines
of Boundary Bay appear to be just a thin strip of land.
The contrast between the two beaches is best highlighted
by the proximity of nearby housing. Except at its extreme
south end, a buffer zone of fallow agricultural land
separates Boundary Bay Regional Park from the surrounding
Tsawwassen neighbourhoods. At Crescent Beach, summer
homes overlook the water along O'Hara Lane, which parallels
the beach. A walkway separates the homes from the beach
and is a popular promenade.
Stores
and restaurants are clustered around the entrance to
the beach on Beecher Street, Crescent Beach's main drag.
Even on rainy days it's hard to get much of a head start
on the crowds that throng the walkways here. The fish-and-chip
stands on Beecher St do brisk business year-round, as
do the ice cream vendors. (So plentiful are dogs at
this South Surrey beach that it seems as if there's
an unwritten bylaw that you must be accompanied by one.)
Parking is scarce near the beach on hot summer days,
but at other times there is plenty of room. Even if
you do end up parking a few blocks away, part of the
fun of visiting Crescent Beach is walking the back streets,
along which you'll find some lovely permanent residences
as well as a sprinkling of well-kept summer homes.
Once
on the beach, turn your back on the thin veneer of commerce
and enjoy the broad, sandy expanse. Find a piece of
driftwood to use as a backrest. Swimming is best on
sunny summer days when the hot sand warms the incoming
tide. Offshore you'll spy sailboats, windsurfers, and
water-skiers, while in the sky above, ultralight airplanes
move along at improbably slow speeds as they battle
the wind currents. All of this activity may seem a trifle
hectic when all you plan to do is relax. Crescent Beach
is located at the western end of Crescent Rd in South
Surrey. Take Hwy 99 to the Crescent Beach-White Rock
exit and follow Crescent Rd west from its intersection
with King George Hwy (Hwy 99A.)
Semiahmoo
Park is located in White Rock, a residential community
that clings to the slopes above Semiahmoo Bay's expansive
beach. White Rock shares the bay with the nearby border
town of Blaine, Washington. (There is also a small Semiahmoo
Park on the Washington side of the bay, although you'll
have to drive or cycle 20 miles (32 km) around Blaine's
Drayton Harbour to reach it.)
To
find Semiahmoo Park, take the 8th Avenue exit west from
Hwy 99 and drive into White Rock. Marine Road takes
over from 8th Avenue as it passes the intersection with
Stayte Road. The well-marked entrance to Semiahmoo Park
is located on the south side of Marine Drive. If the
parking lot is full, don't be discouraged; someone is
always leaving. A raised railway bed shields the bay's
wide expanse of beach from view. Walk up the embankment
with your barbeque, your beach toys, and even your dog
- they're welcome here. There is room for everyone on
this broad beach, even on the hottest summer days, and
the reason they all come is to wade a long way out into
the warm water of the shallow, sandy-bottomed bay.
As you walk the beach east of Semiahmoo Park you soon
reach White Rock Beach. A boardwalk runs almost
the entire length of the beach in front of Marine Dr.
Near the train station a long pier marches out into
Semiahmoo Bay. From here you can look back to shore
and identify the famous white boulder from which the
town takes its name. Native legend has it that the rock
marks the spot where the Transformers, emissaries of
the Sagalie Tyee, the Creator, once passed. Another
legend holds that the white rock marks the landing spot
of a stone that was hurled across the Strait of Georgia
by a young Indian chief. It was said that he and his
bride moved there from Vancouver Island to make a home
together. If this was the case, they started a migratory
trend that continues to this day, albeit among retirees
moving to the west coast from cooler parts of the country.
(White Rock is also called Wrinkle Rock by some
of its residents, a reference to the fact that the majority
of its citizens are of retirement age.)
White
Rock has a reputation as one of the sunniest locales
in the Lower Mainland, a fact borne out by meteorological
statistics that show it receives 20 percent more sunshine
than does Vancouver. Small wonder that the beach here
is so popular with swimmers, windsurfers, anglers, and
joggers. Visitors in search of picnic tables should
head to the west end of the beach, where there are a
number of them grouped together on a grassy hillside
overlooking the bay, each with its own small barbeque.
The Fraser River's constant flow is responsible for
filling in the shoreline of the Strait of Georgia with
silt. Two expansive tracts of tidal marshland front
the delta - Sturgeon and Roberts Banks - without providing
much in the way of beaches. Instead, the shoreline is
characterized by tall stands of bulrushes and lies strewn
with driftwood. Iona Island's 12 miles (20 km) of sandy
shoreline beside Sea Island is an exception.
Finding your way to Iona Beach Regional Park
involves first crossing Sea Island, which can be tricky.
Sea Island is the home of the Vancouver International
Airport; follow the street signs in Richmond (or Vancouver)
as if you're headed there. The Arthur Laing Bridge in
Vancouver, and the Moray, Dinsmore, and No. 2 Rd Bridges
in Richmond, all link with Sea Island. If you cross
the Arthur Laing, take the Richmond exit to the right
as soon as you reach the south end of the bridge. Follow
the off-ramp towards Miller Road, staying in the left-hand
lane as you approach the stop sign. From there, a green
Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) sign points
left to Iona Park. In Richmond, head west along Sea
Island Way, cross the Moray Bridge, and turn north onto
Grauer Road. Follow the signs from here. The Dinsmore
and No. 2 Road Bridges both connect with Russ Baker
Way on Sea Island, which in turn connects with Miller
Road. Turn east on Miller, then immediately north on
Grauer, and follow the signs for Iona Beach Park from
here.
As
the backroads lead to Iona, you pass the somewhat misnamed
McDonald Beach. At low tide a small beach is
revealed here but it is hardly the place you'd want
to spread out a towel (the wake put up by passing marine
traffic on the Fraser River would soon send you running
for higher ground). Iona Beach Park is really where
you want to head if you are looking for a place to stretch
out beside some driftwood. There is a wildness here
on the western perimeter of the delta that defines Iona's
unique personality. Two lengthy jetties shelter the
beach as they stretch out into the Strait of Georgia.
The banks of Iona Jetty are lined with concrete riprap,
while North Arm Jetty is much sandier.
If you're looking for an ideal spot to do some stargazing,
Iona Beach Park is it. The park is far away from the
lights of nearby Richmond or Vancouver, and out here
the night sky is as black as bean sauce. Just make sure
that you leave your vehicle outside the nearby gates
if you plan to be in the park after closing time, unless
you're attending one of the special stargazing evenings
offered throughout the year by GVRD Parks. (Note: Although
the gates to the park close at dusk, visitors may still
enter on foot.)
In
Delta, Deas Island Regional Park has two picnic
areas, one near the park entrance at the Riverside picnic
area and the other at the west end of the park access
road at Fisher's Field picnic area. A large picnic shelter
is located at Fisher's Field and is available for rent
to groups of up to 100 people. Several picnic tables
are located at the entrance to the George C. Reifel
Migratory Bird Sanctuary. You're bound to have ducks
waddling up for handouts, so hold onto your sandwiches.
(Do not feed bread to birds. Instead, bring birdfood.
Small bags of grain may be purchased at the entrance
for a modest fee.)
In Surrey, a large picnic shelter is located on both
sides of the border at Peace Arch Provincial Park. On
the Canadian side, the dining area has room for 150
people. The kitchen has five double hot plates and sinks
with hot and cold running water. The shelter in the
state park has similar equipment. In addition, 41 picnic
tables are scattered throughout the park. Note: The
picnic shelter on the Canadian side of the park, with
its natural wood finish and picturesque setting, is
quite popular. It's open from 8am to 9:45pm daily. No
reservations for its use are accepted and no group has
exclusive use of the shelter. However, it is advisable
for groups of 20 or more to notify the park office in
advance.
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