METRO Vancouver announced on Wednesday that it has added 62.5 hectares of land to Minnekhada Regional Park, increasing the size of the popular Coquitlam park by more than 25 per cent.
“Our goal is to create a connected network of resilient parks and greenways that protects the few remaining regionally important sensitive ecosystems and connects people to nature,” said Mike Hurley, Chair of the Metro Vancouver Boards. “This new acquisition is yet another step in that direction, and I’m excited to see the good work we’ve been doing in regional parks for nearly 60 years continue.”
The park addition is made up of four formerly private properties located directly north of Minnekhada Regional Park, east of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, west of Pitt Addington Wildlife Management Area, and south of Widgeon Marsh Regional Park.
The properties are bisected by Quarry Road and consist of forested slopes and several fish-bearing streams on one side, and wetlands with Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and other plant species on the other. This purchase protects a broad range of sensitive ecological areas, including habitat for species at risk like the western painted turtle and Oregon forest snail. Pacific water shrews have also been spotted in the area.
“This area is a conservation hot spot,” said John McEwen, Vice Chair of the Metro Vancouver Boards and Chair of the Regional Parks Committee. “We are fortunate that we were in a position to buy these properties when they became available and preserve them for generations to come.”
The new area is closed to the public, however, Metro Vancouver’s long-term vision is to eventually join Minnekhada and Widgeon Marsh regional parks to preserve habitat connectivity through highly sensitive ecosystems, as well as allow hikers and cyclists to easily travel from one park to the other.
The $14.5-million purchase was financed through the Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Land Acquisition Fund, which aims to protect the region’s natural areas in the face of escalating land prices and development pressures.
Minnekhada Regional Park welcomed nearly 200,000 visitors in 2025, and is home to numerous forested hiking trails, lookouts, an expansive marsh, and Minnekhada Lodge. The park provides habitat to a variety of wildlife, including birds, bears, cougars, and coyotes.
Metro Vancouver’s regional parks system is made up of 24 parks, five greenways, two ecological conservancy areas, and two regional park reserves, spanning nearly 14,000 hectares in communities from Bowen Island in the west to Langley and Maple Ridge in the east. Since 1967, Metro Vancouver has been expanding this system to create a resilient network of connected parks and greenways that protect natural areas while providing access to nature for the region’s growing population.
