Outdoors in Coquitlam · parks, protected land & trails
The The Trans Canada Trail runs by Coquitlam
Count 130 protected areas within 10 km of town. The protected share within 10 km is 25%, where a typical Canadian town has 2.3%. For a swim, Buntzen Lake South Beach is the nearest of 69 beaches within 5 km.
Out of doors, Coquitlam leads with the The Trans Canada Trail, with protected land around it close behind.
Against other towns
Coquitlam against other Canadian towns
Each figure against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (not city hubs or reserves), with the town marked and the typical one’s line. Canada’s grades don’t include the outdoors, so this page compares the figures rather than grading them.
Protected within 10 km25%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town28%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas105Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes5Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches69Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Among 40 towns its size, Coquitlam ranks 2nd for protected land within 10 km
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (105,925 to 243,107 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Coquitlam 25%
Thunder Bay
014%28%
Protected within 10 km
Coquitlam25%
Towns its size3.7%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Coquitlam105
Towns its size15
Towns in British Columbia14
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Coquitlam5
Towns its size2
Towns in British Columbia1
Typical Canadian town0
Coquitlam beats most towns its size for public protected areas; 3 of 39 do better.
A park is within a short walk for 9 in 10 in Coquitlam
Residents of each 2021 dissemination area, at a point inside it, within 400 m (about a 5-minute walk) of a park or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap.
Within 400 m (90%)Further (9.7%)
Coquitlam90%
Towns in British Columbia72%
Typical Canadian town83%
For about 17,000 people, the nearest park is over 400 m away. It is above the typical Canadian town (83%).
Protected areas
Protected areas cover 25% of the land near Coquitlam
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Coquitlam28%
Within 10 km25%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public bodies own 105 of the 130; land trusts and private owners hold the others. Pinecone Burke Park is the biggest, 38,000 ha. 21 more areas within 10 km are private land, held by landowners or conservation groups: counted here, not named.
Pinecone Burke ParkProvincial park · 38,000 ha · reaches Coquitlam
Pitt-Addington Marsh Wildlife Management AreaWildlife area · 2,972 ha · reaches Coquitlam
Minnekhada Regional ParkNature reserve · 208 ha · reaches Coquitlam
Coquitlam River Wildlife Management AreaWildlife area · 17 ha · reaches Coquitlam
Widgeon EdwardsNature reserve · 10 ha · reaches Coquitlam
Say Nuth Khaw Yum Park [A.K.A. Indian Arm Park]Provincial park · 6,689 ha · reaches Coquitlam
Invergarry ParkMunicipal park · 33 ha · 0.6 km from the edge of town
Victoria ParkMunicipal park · 5.0 ha · 0.7 km from the edge of town
Pitt Polder Ecological ReserveNature reserve · 88 ha · 0.8 km from the edge of town
8 more named areas within 10 km are in the figures.
1 area recorded only by its type (a provincial layer such as wildlife habitat areas) is counted, not listed.
Source: Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) 2.9.0, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
National & provincial parks
48 km to Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
National parks (Parks Canada) and provincial or territorial parks by direction and distance from the town’s edge: every one within 10 km, and the nearest of each within 100 km.
National parkProvincial park
Provincial park
Pinecone Burke Park
At the edge380 km²since 1995
Provincial park
Say Nuth Khaw Yum Park [A.K.A. Indian Arm Park]
At the edge · north67 km²since 1995
National park reserve
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
48 km south67 km²since 2010
Within 10 km are 2 provincial parks.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
634 km of paths in and around Coquitlam
OpenStreetMap footpaths, paths, bridleways and steps, and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it; woods as mapped (landuse=forest, natural=wood).
Footpaths
634 km
in and around the town (200.6 km²)
Woodland
44%
about 87.6 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
CoquitlamTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths3.2
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CoquitlamTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Woodland44%
0%50%100%
Woods cover more of it than in 81% of Canadian towns. Few places match it for paths: more than 73% of Canadian towns have fewer.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Pitt Meadows (12 km), and daylight at the town’s latitude. Good months: 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15–30 °C, little rain.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Daylight (h)
8.6
10.1
11.7
13.7
15.3
16.2
15.8
14.4
12.5
10.7
9.0
8.2
High (°C)
7
9
11
15
19
21
25
25
22
15
10
6
Rain & snow (mm)
252
134
173
105
95
69
48
36
94
180
249
214
Winter brings about 37 cm of snow. The warmest days come in August (25 °C highs), the coldest in December (6 °C). Most rain and snow falls in January, 252 mm; August sees 36 mm. The climate in Coquitlam →
Beaches
69 beaches within 5 km of Coquitlam
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
OpenStreetMap maps 32 km of coastline within 5 km. 63 more are mapped without a name. 3 are mapped as sand. No national or provincial register of beach water quality is published as open data, so check the local health unit before swimming.
None of the places nearby has twice as much protected land around it as Coquitlam.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Beaches. The count includes unnamed stretches mapped as beach, which can make a lakeside town’s figure large.
•
Protected land. CPCAD maps each protected area; the page counts how much of the 10 km around the town they cover, lakes and sea included.
•
National and provincial parks. National parks are Parks Canada’s; provincial parks are the province’s or territory’s, Québec’s parcs nationaux among them.
•
Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
•
Walking routes. Routes are what OpenStreetMap’s volunteers have mapped as named walking or hiking routes; many good trails aren’t mapped that way.
Questions about the outdoors in Coquitlam
How much land around Coquitlam is protected?
Protected areas cover 25% of the land within 10 km.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Coquitlam?
Pinecone Burke Park touches the town.
Where can you swim near Coquitlam?
The nearest is Buntzen Lake South Beach, 2.6 km from town.
Where can you walk near Coquitlam?
Try the The Trans Canada Trail, Halvor Lunden (Eagle Ridge) Trail and Central Valley Greenway; more are on the map.
When should you visit Coquitlam for the outdoors?
May to September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
What is the largest protected area near Coquitlam?
Pinecone Burke Park, a provincial park of 38,000 ha.
Is Coquitlam near a national park?
The nearest is Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, 48 km away.
Sources
Where Coquitlam’s outdoors figures come from
Protected areas: Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) 2.9.0, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2026: every area within 10 km and the nearest national and provincial parks, measured outline to outline.
Walking routes and beaches: OpenStreetMap, November 2026: named hiking, foot and walking route relations within 2 km and beaches within 5 km.
Towns: Statistics Canada 2021 Census boundaries and populations; the comparison is the Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, not city hubs or reserves.
When to go: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020, from the nearest station that publishes them.
Green space, paths, woods, things to do: OpenStreetMap (Geofabrik’s Canada extract), November 2026: parks, gardens, playing fields, woods, footpaths, the coastline and things to do in and around each town.
Residents: Statistics Canada 2021 Census dissemination areas (population, boundaries), each at a point inside it.
Photo: John Shorten · CC BY 4.0