Things to do in Abbotsford

Start with the walk, since it sets the pace. Mill Lake's Lake Loop is 2.2 km of asphalt around a lily-padded lake in the middle of town, with a boardwalk and a path the City has been widening. Matsqui Trail Regional Park follows the Fraser River for 9.16 km of gravel dike, which is plenty of room for the conversation to wander too. For a workout, the Chadsey Lake Trail runs from the upper lot on Sumas Mountain to a quiet lake once called Lost Lake. Clayburn Village is the gentle option: Canada's first company-built town, with a brick church first built in 1912 and a candy shop in the village store. It looks like a film set nobody took down.

Then head for the farms. Singletree Winery on Mt. Lehman pours a $16 wine flight at outdoor fire tables, and when the weather cools it books domes at $35 per person for 90 minutes, 19 and over. Lepp Farm Market on Clayburn Road has a butcher counter, a cafe and its own ice cream, open daily from 9 am to 6 pm. Birchwood Dairy makes its ice cream on the farm at 16 percent butterfat, a number that suggests the cone is the main course. On a wet day, The Reach Gallery Museum offers a pay-what-you-can admission program and stays open until 8 pm on Tuesdays. Our plan: Mill Lake in the afternoon, a dome at Singletree, and a cone on the way home; in winter Birchwood closes at 5 pm and all day Sunday.