Experience Passports

Hidden Gems Itinerary

Curious to indulge in a range of dumpling styles? Delight in a leisurely afternoon sampling some of the best. Let us know what you think. 

1:00PM—Szechuan House

Hop on the Canada Line and disembark at Aberdeen Station. Visit the food court at Aberdeen Centre for a delectable serving of flavorful and spicy Sichuanese dumplings. 

4151 Hazelbridge Way, Aberdeen Centre

2:30PM—R&H Chinese Food

Board the Canada Line at Aberdeen Station. Disembark at Lansdowne Station and head to the food court for fantastic xiao long bao.

5300 No. 3 Road, Lansdowne Centre

4:00PM – 4 Stones Vegetarian Restaurant 

Hop back on to the Canada Line, and disembark terminus station, Richmond-Brighouse. Take a short 5 min walk to 4 Stone Vegetarian Restaurant, which specializes in delicious Taiwanese style vegan and vegetarian dishes.  

160-7771 Westminster Hwy

Experience Steveston’s Past Itinerary

Authentic Chinese Dining Itinerary

With North America’s best Chinese cuisine, Richmond is packed with delectable dumplings. From dim sum to potstickers to wontons, dive in and sample Chinese comfort food classics.

 11:00am—Silkway Halal Cuisine

Just a few steps from the Richmond Public Market, you can indulge in some of the finest traditional Halal dishes in Richmond, featuring delectable lamb, beef, and dumplings. 

110 – 8188 Saba Rd

12:30pm—Suhang Restaurant

A short walk or drive from Empire, you’ll find excellent Shanghainese dumplings here. Their intricately pleated xiao long bao are stunning and irresistible.

#100 – 8291 Ackroyd Road

2:00pm—Szechuan House

Tucked away in Aberdeen Centre, Szechuan House is a food court stall that serves authentic spicy Szechuan style wontons and boiled dumplings.

4151 Hazelbridge Way, Aberdeen Centre

Outdoor Activities

With over 80 kilometres of trails that are generally flat and easy to access, Richmond is a place where natural beauty and wildlife are only a few steps away. Here are a few of our favourites to explore.

• Terra Nova Rural Park. This must-visit park features views of the Strait of Georgia, Fraser River, and North Shore Mountains. Here, enjoy excellent bird-watching, scenery, and the observation platform. It’s also home to the Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment, a million-dollar playground with sustainable design practices designed to mimic nature. It features a tandem zipline and a 10-metre (about 33 ft.) tall treehouse.
• Whale Watching. The majesty of watching these giants of the sea in all their glory while your boat skips along BC’s coastal waters, it’s an unmatched experience. While Orcas are often the main attraction, humpback, gray, and minke whales can be seen depending on the time of year. Keep an eye out for the Orcas of the Salish Sea, three pods (families) of resident Orcas that live and play in the waters off the BC and Washington coast. Steveston Seabreeze Adventures and Vancouver Whale Watch both offer incredible and informative tours. Tours depart daily from Steveston (April to October). Keep an eye out for seals, otters, eagles, and other birds along the way!
• West Dyke Trail. This 6km (3.7 mile) trail runs between Steveston’s Garry Point Park in the south and Terra Nova Rural Park in the north. Popular with walkers, joggers, and cyclists, the trail’s flat terrain fringes the lush green marshlands of Sturgeon Banks, itself lapped by the Strait of Georgia and framed by the looming North Shore mountains and distant Gulf Islands peaks.
• Larry Berg Flight Path Park. One of the city’s most unique parks, Larry Berg Flight Path Park is found just beyond the perimeter fence at the end of Vancouver International Airport‘s south runway. It’s the perfect place to watch planes, and there are plenty of kid-friendly features such as paved mini-runways, a dome-shaped globe to climb on, and benches shaped like paper airplanes.

Click here to see more outdoor activities Richmond has to offer.

Nature & Trails

Geocaching: seek, clamber, find treasure, repeat.

For an exciting, inexpensive, and satisfying family-friendly day out, it’s hard to beat geocaching. Use a smartphone or other GPS device to find hidden treasures around the city in caches (usually a small waterproof container with a logbook and writing tool, sometimes a couple of trinkets). Under its dedicated GeoTour program, Richmond has 2 separate geocache series: the Geo-Quest series of 30 caches and the Canada 150 series of 20 caches. Caches are located in parks, on trails and at community facilities across the city. Download a digital GeoTour passport or pick up a printed copy from the Richmond Nature Park’s Nature House. Use this to record your progress. For more information on Richmond’s popular GeoTour program, click here. For more handy tips, here’s a link on Geocaching.

Trails

Iona Beach Regional Park
This beautiful natural setting lies just northwest of Vancouver International Airport. It overlooks Vancouver Island to the west and Vancouver to the north. Trails here are beachside, or are sandy and unmarked. The beach is long, rugged, and sits amid the Pacific Flyway, making it a hub for thousands of migratory birds. There’s also a 4-kilometre (2.5 mile) jetty with a walkway extending out into the Strait of Georgia—a wonderful place to watch planes.

Richmond Nature Park
Four walking trails totaling over 5 kilometres wind their way through 200 acres of raised peat bog, allowing good opportunities to view a spectrum of plants and animals in their natural habitat. Each season brings with it something new, like owls in the autumn and hummingbirds in the spring. The park’s Nature House is open daily and has an interpretive centre featuring displays, a working beehive, and a gift shop.

Garden City Community Park
Here, you’ll find the Arboretum, a collection of over 100 species of trees from around the Pacific Rim planted within a 2-acre area. Aside from the walking trails through this beautiful canopy, you’ll find a popular playground that was partially designed and built by kids aged 5 to 16.

The West Dyke Recreational Hiking Trail
12km round-trip 2 hours to walk
Running from Steveston to the Middle Arm of the Fraser River, this walking and cycling trail is a popular sunrise and sunset-watching destination. It also offers handsome views of the regional mountains to the north. Click here for additional trail information; click here for a route map.

The Middle Arm Recreational Trail and Waterfront Greenway
11km round-trip 2 hours to walk
This scenic trail offers views of Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport (YVR), and the imposing North Shore Mountains. It begins at the north end of the West Dyke Trail and runs along the waterfront to Cambie Road (a short walk from the Canada Line’s Aberdeen Station). Click here for additional trail information; click here for a route map.

The Railway Greenway Tail
Round-trip 10km 1.5 hours to walk
Running north and south from the Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site to the Middle Arm Dyke Trail, this route fuses pastoral and neighbourhood pit stops. Look out for the nearby historic Branscombe House, Imperial Landing and, of course, Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site. Click here for additional trail information; click here for a route map.

The Steveston and South Dyke Trail
Round-trip 12km 2 hours to walk.
Start at Garry Point Park and head east. As you leave Steveston’s charming boardwalk waterfront, you’ll enter the South Dyke agricultural area, a rural swathe of produce and berry fields. You’ll pass the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site, Imperial Landing, Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site, Gilbert Beach, London Heritage Farm, and Finn Slough. Click here for additional trail information; click here for a route map.

The East Richmond/Queen’s Canal Recreational Trail
Round-trip 18.4km 4 hours to walk
Running alongside the North Arm of the Fraser River, this lively shoreline walk starts where No. 6 Road nears River Road. It then weaves eastwards along the waterfront to Hamilton Highway Park. You’ll enjoy vistas of the boating community with marinas, float homes, boat-builders, and more. Click here for additional trail information; click here for a route map.

Around the World Itinerary

Curious to indulge in a range of dumpling styles? Delight in a leisurely afternoon sampling Taiwan, Vietnam and Japan’s best. Let us know what you think.

11:30AM—4 Stones Vegetarian Cuisine

Located near CF Richmond Centre, this vegan and vegetarian Taiwanese restaurant serves fantastic meat-free wontons and veggie gyoza. 

#160 – 7771 Westminster Highway

1:00PM—Báhn Mi Très Bon

Located just off Alderbridge Way, a short drive or bus ride away, tuck into a stunning platter of banh bot loc, Vietnam’s dim sum, at this popular French-influenced cafe. 

#100#1840 – 4720 McClelland Road

2:30PM—Yuu Japanese Tapas

A five-minute stroll away, your destination is located in the lively Continental Plaza. The gyoza at Yuu Japanese Tapas are presented on a hot stone plate.

#1118 – 3779 Sexsmith Road

Food Street

70+ delicious restaurants over 3 blocks

Alexandra Road, aka Food Street or Wai Sek Kai, is a three-block stretch, a foodie’s dream. It’s part of the Golden Village, a commercial district in Richmond with a high concentration of Asian shopping malls and stores. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Note: If you are visiting during peak hours, save yourself from gridlock during peak hours and take the Canada Line instead of driving and walk from Aberdeen or Lansdowne Station.

Leisure Tea & Coffee
8391 Alexandra Rd #1110
This long-standing bubble tea café serves fresh and creative takes on a range of tea-based—green, red, black, herbal, and milk-based drinks. They also feature East Asian desserts like Japanese cheesecake and baobing, a Taiwanese shaved ice dessert covered in toppings including fruit, jelly, and taro pearls.

G-Men Ramen
8391 Alexandra Rd #1160
Get your ramen on in this thriving, trendy Tokyo-style eatery. From classic ramen with tonkotsu (pork bone broth) to brothless takes with a range of toppings and donburi (rice bowls) with spicy cod roe to chopped octopus.

Claypot Hot Pot & BBQ
8291 Alexandra Rd
This eatery’s unique approach features a three-tiered hot pot ‘tower’ at your table. There are two broths on the bottom, a grill in the middle, and a steaming basket at the top. We love seafood in the broth, meat on the grill, and dumplings in the steamer.

Wildlife Viewing

Richmond’s Wild

From barn owls to salmon and blue whales to frogs, Richmond’s wildlife is thriving. It’s the West Coast; after all, we’re famous for it. Keep your eyes open, and who knows what you’ll see. Please always remember to be respectful of wildlife, keep your distance at all times, and never feed any wildlife you come across, no matter how cute they are. Wild animals need to stay wild to thrive.