PoCo Trail along Pitt River—C.Helbig
Today was a great day and once again made me appreciate the treasures that I have close to home. Mike and I recently traded in our clunky old mountain bikes for a pair of sleek hybrids. We’re on a mission to explore Vancouver area bike trails and we discovered a beauty—the Traboulay PoCo Trail in Port Coquitlam. PoCo, for short, is a bustling community surrounded by busy highways and massive bridges. But, you’d never know it biking the 25+ km PoCo loop trail. The gentle, mostly hardpacked gravel trail passes through peaceful farmland, forests, and wetlands. A large portion travels along dykes with beautiful river and mountain views. And, there’s plenty of opportunity for wildlife viewing…
Lets get to the day’s highlight.
Mama bear and cubs in blueberry field near DeBoville Slough—C.Helbig
Bears are common in this area as they love feasting on the berries that are grown on the massive blueberry farms. I have great respect for bears and don’t usually stick around to take photos. Today was different. We assessed the situation: we were on a dyke separated from the bears by a thick tangle of thorny blackberries, a stream, and an electric fence (I have no idea how they got through the fence). They heard us, looked up, and then casually sauntered away. It was a rare and special treat.
Bears in the blueberry farm near DeBoville Slough—C.Helbig
The photo above shows our actual distance from the bears, the other photos were taken with a telephoto lens. All the bushes in the middle distance are blueberries.
Heron at the DeBoville Slough—C.Helbig
Nothing matched the excitement of the bears, but we found lots of other wonderful distractions. There are herons in abundance, bald eagles, and all kinds of sea birds. If you’re lucky, you might see (or hear) owls, river otters, beavers and turtles.
Along North Pitt River section of the PoCo Trail—C.Helbig
The landscapes are wonderful too. From the mighty Fraser and Pitt rivers to the meandering Coquitlam River, the trail never veers far from water.
Along Minnekhada Loop, an add-on to the PoCo Trail—C.Helbig
Coquitlam River along PoCo Trail—C.Helbig
On a hot day like today the Coquitlam River is very inviting. There are several short turn-offs from the trail that take you to the water’s edge.
Riding through Wellington Park along PoCo Trail—C.Helbig
There are lovely forested sections of the trail around Hyde Creek Nature Reserve and Wellington Park.
Colony Farm section of PoCo Trail—C.Helbig
Colony Farm Regional Park is another beautiful section of the PoCo Trail. Its marshes are home to lots of birds and it has a great display of wildflowers.
We’ll be back to ride it again in fall!
Facts and Maps
The map below shows parking options and suggested route, but you can start anywhere and go either direction. We started at #4 on the map and rode counterclockwise. We also added on the Minnekhada Loop, which can be seen on the upper right-hand side of the map (this loop is gorgeous and your best bet for spotting bears). Adding the 10 km Minnekhada Loop makes the outing 35 km. At a leisurely pace with photo stops and a long lunch, it took us about 4 hours.
Speaking of lunch, a picnic is a great option, but we weren’t organized. We had lunch in downtown PoCo at the Kebob House (yummy), which is easily accessed from Lions Park (#1 on map). Next time we’d like to try the Gillnetter Pub, between #4 and #5. It’s right on the river and apparently has a great patio.
Taken from Let’s Go Biking website
Writes of Passage 
nice place and lovely photos……
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Thank you! It is a wonderful place. Thanks for stopping by.
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Very nice post!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.
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You are most welcome dear!
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So beautiful and you even saw bears!! Are there places to pick blueberries there? Yum!
Peta
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The bears kept me smiling for days. Yes, there are pick-your-own blueberry farms around there. I totally OD on them in season.
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Oh that sounds like such a wonderful day. We don’t have bikes anymore 😦 but perhaps we can walk some of it. We’re off to housesit in Maple Ridge in a few days – that gets us pretty close to it so I think we’ll go exploring.
Alisob
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Walking it is great too. The sections around DeBoville Slough and along Coquitlam River are really nice…there were lots of people wading and playing in the river. I’d still love to get together with you. My next week schedule is a bit up in the air but will send you an email when I have things sorted out (hopefully tomorrow).
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Yes, looking forward to it.
A.
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Makes for an interesting day.
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Not your average day. It was nice doing something different but close to home. Hope you’re enjoying the summer.
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This is where I teach! Lovely trails around…we do the Terry Fox Run on some of the trail:)
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I had no idea that PoCo is such a nice spot. Looks like a great community. I might be able to live there?!? So…fill me in later.
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It’s a very peaceful spot and it’s nice doing a flat trail for a change. All the hiking and biking closer to our house have hills.
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Looks lovely, Reminds me of our river trail in a way. No mountains, just hills. No bears, of course.
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