Coquitlam travel guide
Millennium Line links, forest parks and Korean food on North Road
A suburb at the end of the Millennium Line, east of Vancouver, with large forest and riverside parks. Come between May and September when the trails are drier. Half a day is plenty, perhaps with a Korean barbecue dinner. Visa-exempt air travellers need an eTA before flying to Canada.
Coquitlam is the largest of Metro Vancouver's Tri-Cities, a suburb east of Burnaby with forested slopes climbing behind it. It has no grand sights. What it does have is fast SkyTrain links, big parks and a cluster of Korean restaurants along North Road and the Lougheed Highway, which together make it worth a half day from Vancouver.
The Millennium Line runs out to Lafarge Lake-Douglas, the last station, beside Town Centre Park and its lake loop. Coquitlam Central is also a stop on the West Coast Express commuter train. Near the town centre, the City Centre Aquatic Complex on Pinetree Way has an Olympic-size pool and a waterslide that twists outside the building, a good rainy-day plan for families.
For walks, Mundy Park has forest trails close to the centre. Colony Farm Regional Park draws birdwatchers to its open fields by the Coquitlam River, while Minnekhada Regional Park in the north-east has longer trails through the woods. The wet months run from October to March, so pack a rain jacket.
Explore Coquitlam by theme
Find your kind of trip: 24 travel themes, each with the packages in Coquitlam.
Coquitlam at a glance
The essentials first-time visitors ask about, in one place.
Explore more of Canada
Pick a place by travel style: beaches, nature, cities, heritage, hills.
Nothing in that category yet.
Top things to do in Coquitlam
Forest parks, a lake loop, a big pool complex and a strip of Korean restaurants.
No things to do in Coquitlam are listed yet. Browse all things to do
Best time to visit Coquitlam
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
July and August reach about 24 C with only 60 to 70 mm of rain a month, the one stretch when Minnekhada and Mundy Park paths stay firm.
November is the wettest month at over 300 mm, but days stay around 6 to 9 C; move indoors to the aquatic complex or Planet Ice.
Packages in Demand
A Journey to Remember
Tours, activities and day trips in and around this destination, with the details you need before booking.
No packages in Coquitlam are listed yet. Browse all packages
Create Your Custom-Made Trip to Coquitlam
Traveling to Coquitlam? Chat with a Local Travel Specialist in Coquitlam Who Can Help Organize Your Trip.
START HEREOur Travel Experts are Recommended by
Plan your trip
Practical answers before you go. Pick a topic.
Getting there
Canada Line to Millennium Line, or the West Coast Express
Reach Coquitlam through Vancouver, since it has no airport or intercity station. From Vancouver International Airport (YVR), ride the Canada Line into the city, change to the Expo Line east and then to the Millennium Line, or take the West Coast Express commuter train from Waterfront on weekdays. From YVR, SkyTrain is the cheapest route: ride the Canada Line into the city, change to the Expo Line heading east and then to the Millennium Line, which climbs through Burquitlam and Port Moody to Coquitlam Central and ends at Lafarge Lake-Douglas. Allow well over an hour with the changes. A taxi or rideshare from the airport is quicker outside rush hour. On weekdays, the West Coast Express commuter train runs from Waterfront station downtown to Coquitlam Central, in the morning towards the city and in the evening back out. Drivers arrive on Highway 1, the Lougheed Highway, the Barnett Highway or North Road.
- Millennium Line
- Burquitlam, Coquitlam Central, Lincoln and Lafarge Lake-Douglas stations
- West Coast Express
- Weekday rush-hour trains from Waterfront to Coquitlam Central
- Taxi or rideshare from YVR
- Usually under an hour by Highway 1 outside peak times
- By road
- Highway 1, Lougheed Highway, Barnett Highway and North Road
- Arriving by train from the rest of Canada or the US, use Pacific Central station and the Expo Line at Main Street-Science World.
Where to stay
Burquitlam on North Road or the City Centre lake
Coquitlam has only a handful of hotels, so many visitors sleep in Vancouver and ride the SkyTrain out. If you stay, pick by transit access: Burquitlam on North Road sits beside the Korean restaurants and a Millennium Line station, and the City Centre hotels are near Lafarge Lake.
- North Road and Burquitlam
- The Executive Plaza beside Burquitlam station and the Korean restaurants; busy traffic, but best connected
- Lougheed Highway
- The Ramada and fast road links east and west; little to walk to
- City Centre
- Lafarge Lake, Coquitlam Centre and the Evergreen Cultural Centre; mostly apartment towers, few rooms
- Port Moody next door
- Rocky Point Park and the breweries on Murray Street, two stops back down the line
Getting around
Compass taps, Evergreen stations and free parking at the trailheads
Use TransLink's Millennium Line SkyTrain, buses and the West Coast Express in Coquitlam, paying with a Compass Card, Compass Ticket or contactless bank card. The Evergreen extension stations serve Burquitlam and City Centre, and the trailheads for parks such as Buntzen Lake have free parking for drivers. Pay by tapping a Compass Card, a Compass Ticket or a contactless Visa, Mastercard or American Express card; Compass Cards carry lower fares, and a fare covers transfers for 90 minutes. The northern part of the city, built along the Evergreen extension, is the easiest without a car, with Coquitlam Central, Lincoln and Lafarge Lake-Douglas all within walking distance of Town Centre Park and the mall. Parking is free at most places, which makes driving the simple choice for Colony Farm, Minnekhada and Burke Mountain. Cyclists have marked bike routes through town and flat paths on the Coquitlam River dykes.
- SkyTrain
- Millennium Line, frequent all day; tap in and out
- Bus
- TransLink routes connect the stations with Maillardville and the parks
- Car
- Free parking almost everywhere; best for Minnekhada
- Taxi
- Easy to book locally
Know before you go
What makes Coquitlam worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Korean barbecue on the Lougheed Highway, at places such as Haan, after an afternoon in the parks.
- Colony Farm Regional Park on the Coquitlam River, flat, open and good for birds.
- The outdoor twist of the waterslide at the City Centre Aquatic Complex, a rainy-day favourite with children.
Good to know
- Pay by tapping a Visa, Mastercard or American Express card on SkyTrain, or buy a Compass Card for cheaper fares.
- Sights are spread out, and the bigger parks are a long walk from any station.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Coquitlam, month by month
Under the Coast Mountains, rain is heavy from autumn to spring and summers are dry.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Coquitlam (Environment and Climate Change Canada, via Wikipedia).
Lafarge Lake, the Coquitlam Crunch and Burquitlam barbecue by SkyTrain
The Millennium Line threads a Coquitlam day together. Ride to Lafarge Lake-Douglas and walk the flat loop around the lake in Town Centre Park, check the programme at the Evergreen Cultural Centre, climb the steep Coquitlam Crunch stairs for the view, and finish with Korean barbecue around Burquitlam station.
Take the Millennium Line to its last stop, Lafarge Lake-Douglas, and start with a lap of the lake in Town Centre Park, a flat walk of well under an hour with the mountains rising to the north. The Evergreen Cultural Centre, the city's theatre and gallery, sits at the edge of the park; check what is showing. Families can trade the lake for the City Centre Aquatic Complex on Pinetree Way, where the slide loops outside the building and back in.
Fit walkers should tackle the Coquitlam Crunch, a steep trail that climbs the Westwood Plateau under the power lines; locals use it as a free stair workout, and the view south from the top is the reward. A gentler afternoon is Mundy Park, a big patch of second-growth forest with two small lakes in the middle of the suburbs.
With a car, swap either for Colony Farm Regional Park, flat meadows and dykes on the Coquitlam River that birdwatchers favour, or for Minnekhada in the north-east, where trails lead to rocky knolls above the marsh. Head back down to North Road for dinner in Burquitlam, the Korean corner of the city.
Korean barbecue on North Road and northern Chinese on Pacific Street
Coquitlam's best eating reflects who lives there. North Road around Burquitlam station is lined with Korean restaurants, grocers and bakeries, a strip that continues east along the Lougheed Highway, where Haan Korean BBQ grills at the table. On Pacific Street, Legend House cooks northern Chinese noodles and dumplings.
North Road, where Coquitlam meets Burnaby around Burquitlam station, is lined with Korean restaurants, grocers and bakeries, and the strip continues east along the Lougheed Highway. Haan Korean BBQ on the Lougheed Highway does Korean barbecue alongside soups and rice dishes, open from noon every day. Dae-Ji Cutlet House on The High Street does the Korean take on breaded pork cutlets and hamburger steak, served with rice and salad; it opens only from Thursday to Sunday.
For something different, Legend House on Pacific Street cooks northern Chinese dishes, the wheat-based cooking of noodles and dumplings. C-Lovers on the Lougheed Highway fries fish and chips for a quick lunch.
The big Canadian chains are here too. Cactus Club Cafe on Schoolhouse Street and Joey on the Lougheed Highway are dependable for a sit-down meal with a drink. To watch the Canucks, go to Wings on North Road, where the wing flavours run into dozens and the room fills on game nights. Anyone after craft beer can ride two stops back to Port Moody, whose brewery row on Murray Street sits beside Rocky Point Park.
Travelers are asking
No questions yet about Coquitlam. Ask the community or our travel team, and the answer will show here once it is published.
Our travel desk answers questions about Coquitlam
How we research our Coquitlam travel guide
Coquitlam details are checked against the City of Coquitlam, TransLink and Destination Canada, with entry rules from the eTA page.
Last updated . Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of CoquitlamGovernment of CanadaDestination Canada
See all 3 sources
Before You Go...
Discover Trips & Info
A Travel Network Connection Travelers and locals
Incredible Event & Festival, Don't Miss!
Most Popular Event & Festival of Coquitlam
Festivals and events in this destination, with dates, venues and ticket details where available.
No upcoming festivals or events in Coquitlam are listed right now. Browse all events
Memorable Experiences
Where to Go (& NOT Go) In Coquitlam!
Roaming the World one Adventure at a Time: Travel Tales, Tips, and Inspiration for wanderlusters.
Subscriber
Popular car hire destinations
Explore more options to hire a car for cheap
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Coquitlam.
General
Lafarge Lake-Douglas, the eastern end of the Millennium Line. Town Centre Park and the lake loop are a short walk from the platform.
Yes, on weekdays only, with trains into downtown Vancouver in the morning and back out in the evening. At other times use the Millennium Line.
Short but steep. It climbs the Westwood Plateau along the power line corridor and is used by locals as a stair workout; allow time to get your breath back at the top.
July and August are the driest, with about 60 to 70 mm of rain. From October to April the paths are often muddy.
Yes. Its open meadows, hedgerows and river dykes along the Coquitlam River attract birders year round.
Coquitlam's historic francophone neighbourhood, settled by French Canadian mill workers. Its Festival du Bois, held in Mackin Park over a weekend in early March (5 to 7 March in 2027), celebrates that heritage with fiddle music, tourtière and maple taffy on snow.
Use TransLink's Millennium Line SkyTrain, buses and the West Coast Express in Coquitlam, paying with a Compass Card, Compass Ticket or contactless bank card. The Evergreen extension stations serve Burquitlam and City Centre, and the trailheads for parks such as Buntzen Lake have free parking for drivers. Pay by tapping a Compass Card, a Compass Ticket or a contactless Visa, Mastercard or American Express card; Compass Cards carry lower fares, and a fare covers transfers for 90 minutes.
Getting there
Yes. Take the Canada Line, then the Expo Line east and the Millennium Line to Coquitlam. Expect over an hour with the changes.
At most places, yes, which makes a car the easy way to reach Colony Farm, Minnekhada and Burke Mountain.
Reach Coquitlam through Vancouver, since it has no airport or intercity station. From Vancouver International Airport (YVR), ride the Canada Line into the city, change to the Expo Line east and then to the Millennium Line, or take the West Coast Express commuter train from Waterfront on weekdays. From YVR, SkyTrain is the cheapest route: ride the Canada Line into the city, change to the Expo Line heading east and then to the Millennium Line, which climbs through Burquitlam and Port Moody to Coquitlam Central and ends at Lafarge Lake-Douglas.
Stay & facilities
On North Road at the Coquitlam-Burnaby line, near Burquitlam station, continuing along the Lougheed Highway. Haan Korean BBQ is one of the better-known tables.
Timing & weather
Sessions at the rink on Rocket Way, near the Port Mann Bridge, change from week to week, so check the programs calendar on the Planet Ice website before you go.
The best time to visit Coquitlam is May to Sep. Drier trails at Mundy Park, Colony Farm and Minnekhada.
- Trail months: May - September (July and August reach about 24 C with only 60 to 70 mm of rain a month, the one stretch when Minnekhada and Mundy Park paths stay firm)
- Rain coast winter: October - April (November is the wettest month at over 300 mm, but days stay around 6 to 9 C; move indoors to the aquatic complex or Planet Ice)
Visa & documents
Visa-exempt travelers, including citizens of the UK, the EU and Australia, need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to fly to or through Canada. US citizens need only a passport. Other nationalities need a visitor visa.
Health & safety
Canada's main risks are natural: wildlife, summer wildfires and extreme winter cold. Store food properly in bear country, check wildfire and road conditions before summer drives, and carry winter gear when driving in snow. Call 911 for police, fire or ambulance anywhere in the country.
