Adventure & Outdoors
A leafy Fraser River island hiding Victorian heritage buildings, bald eagles and a profound lack of other people, right off Highway 99.
Deas Island Regional Park, off River Road West at 62B Street
More infoDeas Island is what people mean by 'you have to know where to go': a low, leafy island in the Fraser's south arm, reached from a dull-sounding spot right off Highway 99 and then immediately not dull. Flat, braided trails link a couple of kilometres through cottonwood and slough, but the surprise is a cluster of restored Victorian heritage buildings mid-walk, including the improbably charming Burrvilla. Free, dawn to dusk.
Turn off River Road West where it merges with 62B Street and follow the green-and-yellow Deas Island signs in; there's a big free gravel lot near the entrance by the heritage buildings, plus the Fisher's Field lot deeper in the island with washrooms and a picnic shelter (most trails launch from there). Start near the entrance so you stumble onto the restored Victorian Burrvilla and the little heritage cluster first, it's an unexpectedly charming photo and chat-starter. From there, link up Tinmaker's Walk, Slough View and the Tidal Pond Trail into a flat, easy couple of kilometres of riverside path and cottonwood forest with the Fraser almost always beside you. Keep an eye up: this is prime bald-eagle territory and the sloughs are stiff with herons and waterfowl. The date touch: claim a riverside picnic table at Fisher's Field afterward and watch the boats slide past. Don't miss the slough-edge boardwalk views. Want a shorter version? Just walk the Tidal Pond Trail loop from Fisher's Field and skip the longer river stretch. Note for 2026: the western tip is closed for tunnel construction, so plan your turnaround before the fencing.
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