Metro Vancouver expands popular Minnekhada park in Coquitlam

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Metro Vancouver has bought four private properties on Quarry Road just north of Minnekhada Regional Park to expand the key habitat for birds, bears and plant life. Photo by Metro Vancouver

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Metro Vancouver has bought four private properties next to Minnekhada Regional Park, expanding the popular Coquitlam park by over 25 per cent and drawing it closer to neighbouring park ecosystems.

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The properties, which were purchased for $14.5 million, are directly north of the park, east of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, west of Pitt Addington Wildlife Management Area, and south of Widgeon Marsh Regional Park.

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“Our goal is to create a connected network of resilient parks and greenways that protects the few remaining regionally important sensitive ecosystems and connects people to nature,” said Mike Hurley, chairperson of the Metro Vancouver board of directors and mayor of Burnaby. “This new acquisition is yet another step in that direction, and I’m excited to see the good work we’ve been doing in regional parks for nearly 60 years continue.”

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Quarry Road runs through the four formerly private properties. One side features forested slopes and several fish-bearing streams, while the other has wetlands with Sitka spruce, western red cedar and other plant species.

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Metro Vancouver has bought four private properties on Quarry Road just north of Minnekhada Regional Park to expand the key habitat for birds, bears and plant life. Photo by Metro Vancouver

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This purchase protects a broad range of sensitive ecological areas, including habitat for species at risk like the western painted turtle and Oregon forest snail. Pacific water shrews have also been spotted in the area.

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“This area is a conservation hot spot,” said John McEwen, Metro’s vice-chairperson and head of the parks committee. “We are fortunate that we were in a position to buy these properties when they became available and preserve them for generations to come.”

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The public will not have access to the new section but it feeds Metro’s long-term goal of joining up Minnekhada and Widgeon Marsh regional parks as vital and connected habitat, and preserving sensitive ecosystems. It also allows hikers and cyclists to easily travel between the two parks.

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The money came from Metro’s regional parks land acquisition fund, which aims to buy up natural areas as land prices escalate and development pressure heats up.

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Minnekhada park was visited by nearly 200,000 people last year and has hiking trails, lookouts, a large marsh and the Minnekhada Lodge. It’s key habitat for birds, bears, cougars and coyotes.

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Minnekhada first opened in 1981. A section roughly the size of 28 football fields in the park, which lies on the northeast corner of Coquitlam, was closed through the winter of 2022-23 after a late-season wildfire hit the High Knoll area.

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Metro has 24 regional parks, five greenways, two ecological conservancies and two park reserves covering about 140 square kilometres.

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