Abbotsford

Walks In Your Backyard

A Guide to the

Parks, Playgrounds and

Green Spaces

In Abbotsford, British Columbia

copy right 2014 R. V. Eckard

With a population of over 133 497, Abbotsford, British Columbia, has many parks, playgrounds and green spaces. This is the ‘city in the country’ as a large portion of the city is agricultural land or parkland. Located on the south bank and flood plain for the Fraser River, Abbotsford has three thousand three hundred and ninety two hectares of land that is allocated to outdoor and recreation activities. The city was named by John Charles Mcclure in eighteen eighty nine when the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks were built along the banks of the Fraser River. Maclure Road runs east to west on the north side, of the Trans Canada Highway, of town. Abbotsford might have been named after Mcclure’s friend, Henry Braithwaite Abbott, or perhaps after a Scottish mansion, Abbotsford. Located 75 kilometers from Vancouver, the Langley Township forms the western border of the City of Abbotsford. Abbotsford borders on the Fraser River and the District of Mission to the north while to the southern border is on the Washington State in the United States of America to the south. The City of Chilliwack is to the east with the Vedder Canal forming part of the border.

The parks, playgrounds and green spaces in Abbotsford are described in quarter sections with the community divided by the Trans Canada Highway (Hwy #1) and the Abbotsford Mission Highway (Hwy #11). Abbotsford is an agricultural community originally based on the nutrient rich flood plain of the Fraser River, the longest river of British Columbia, about one thousand three hundred and seventy five kilometers with a drainage of twenty two thousand square kilometers. The terrain in Abbotsford is dominated by the Sumas Mountain with a quartz dorite rock composition from the cretaceous period. The dykes along Sumas River and formation of the Vedder Canal have allowed farming on the Sumas Prairie. The prairie was formed from controlling the water levels of a shallow lake to the south of the mountain.

I share these parks, playgrounds and green spaces to encourage you to explore each place neighborhood by foot. Most places take less than an hour to explore the pathways and enjoy the outdoors.  Exploring your community by foot is wonderful and healthy way to experience the areas around your backyard with the added bonus of frequent rest stops for young and old.  The parks, playgrounds and green spaces are described from north to south.  A brief description of the nature of each town park is provided with directions.