Fun with kids in Steveston: walking the waterfront

Hugging the baby orca in Steveston Village.

As I've said before on this blog: I love being outdoors with my kids, and they love it too. This weekend we went for a great walk in one of our favorite places around Vancouver: Steveston Village, in the city of Richmond.

Boats in the marina near Steveston's Britannia Heritage Shipyard.

The weather was a little gray and a little windy, but it didn't matter: walking in Steveston is always fun. Sometimes we'll go for a walk around Garry Point Park, but this day we walked from the parking lot at Garry Point, past the Georgia Cannery, to the docks in Steveston village where the fishing boats sell their catch, and then kept on walking the waterfront past the historic buildings in the area around the Britannia Heritage Shipyard.

On the boardwalk near the Britannia Heritage Shipyard.

Throughout Steveston there are nice trails and streets and boardwalk to wander. The kids love the scenery: the water, the boats, the dogs going for walkies, the birds (herons, ducks, and geese on this particular day), and the old buildings.

The marshy waterfront. You can see how the old buildings were built on stilts.

Scattered along the waterfront are remnants of old Steveston: wooden row boats and a ship's anchor placed in the grass, pieces of machinery from the cannery and shipyards on the boardwalk, and of course the many historic buildings. Some of the old buildings are falling into disrepair, but some, like the Murakami house, have been fixed up and can be visited.

The Murakami house, built in 1885.

If you're looking for a place where  you can go for a nice, easy, long walk with kids no matter what the weather, then Steveston is a great destination. The walk is easy with a stroller, and you can even bring along bikes and ride around a bit with your kids.

Stilt houses built in the late 1800s as residences for local fishermen.

The boardwalk with the Murakami house in the distance to the right.

There are lots of coffee shops, restaurants, souvenir shops and boutiques if you're into that kind of thing, or you can just sit down on a bench and take in the scenery. Bring a snack or pack a lunch if the weather is nice: there are lots of places to sit down and have an easy picnic along the water, or treat yourself to an ice cream from an ice-cream parlour!