East of Burnaby is the Tri-Cities area, comprised of Port Moody, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, offering a dazzling array of recreation. In the shadows of some of the most beautiful mountains you’ll ever see, the area showcases extensive hiking opportunities and other activities. Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody has golfing, curling rinks, skating/hockey rinks, swimming pools, hiking, biking, fishing, a number of recreational centres, grass sports fields (soccer/football) tennis courts and baseball fields. You can literally drive through any of the residential streets, park your car near a greenbelt and hike to your heart's content on any of the hundreds of well-marked hiking trails.
Ice Skating
For ice skating enthusiasts, Planet Ice offers a first-class experience as well as lessons from well-trained athletes. The newly completed Recreation Centre in Port Moody offers visitors and locals alike the opportunity for curling, ice hockey and ice skating during their public hours. Check schedules at Coquitlam/Port Moody's Web site ("http://www.citysoup.ca/yahoo/3_2_Facilities" link not working any more; removed) and book some lessons if you need them, or just rent the equipment and have a ball like I do!
Swimming
At the state of the art, health-oriented City Centre Aquatic Complex swimmers can frolic and splash in the wave pool or enjoy competition-level swimming in the adjacent Olympic-sized pools. The Eagle Ridge Outdoor Pool is a heated facility featuring 25-metre lanes and a diving tank with one- and three-metre springboards. Pool depths range from three to five feet in the swimming area. An attached grass compound is fabulous for sunbathers and shade-seekers. In the summertime, you'll find the friendliest people enjoying the sun and the water. The Rochester Outdoor Pool is a 25-yard by 10-yard heated outdoor swimming pool that is ideally suited for small children and their families as the depth is only two and a half to five feet deep, complete with heated showers and change room facilities. This pool is a great location for playing out in the sun or having a picnic. Spani Pool is a heated outdoor swimming pool featuring eight 25-metre lanes and a dive tank with two one-metre springboards. These features are suitable for competitive swimming which make this pool the ideal home for the Coquitlam Sharks Swim Club. Spani is located in the midst of Mundy Park, one of my favourites, and is surrounded by beautiful grass and trees. Swimming lessons, diving instruction, and swim camps are available here in addition to public swimming. Information for these locations can be had at the city of Coquitlam Web site.
Sports Centres
The Coquitlam Sports Centre is the city of Coquitlam's primary all-season recreation complex. The facility boasts a main arena with a 185-foot by 85-foot playing surface and seating for 1,500 people. An annex provides an additional NHL-standard 200-foot by 85-foot ice surface, while the curling rink offers users six sheets to meet their recreation needs. The facility is used by a wide variety of groups including hockey and ringette teams, curlers, lacrosse teams and figure skaters, and is available for public use at allotted times. Schedules for all these activities can be viewed at the Coquitlam facilities Web site.