Blue Mountain Park — Attraction in Coquitlam

I was very impressed with the kids play area and the well kept amenities however, an exceptionally bizarre encounter with the lifeguard Margot is the reason for the two star review.

There is a standard sign posted outside the wadding pool which states that children under the age of seven must be supervised by an adult. Fine, no problem. My daughter is six so I sat on the pool’s edge, no more than an arms reach away.

That’s when the on duty lifeguard Margot walked over and asks if I had read the sign. I replied yes, I’m the mother and understand I must supervise my daughter. Margot proceeds to tell me that in order to “properly supervise” both of my feet need to be in the water. Ok then. I take my shoes off and roll up my pant legs, both feet are now in the water.

Margot then asks what my “comprehension” of the sign is. I reply that children under the age of seven must have an adult to supervise them at all times. I remind her that am complying with both the written rules and her verbal rules.

Margot asks me a third time if I “comprehended” the sign because she’s curious if it’s clear enough. At this point I’m getting irritated. I reply firmly this time, that I understand what the sign says, I’m right here with my daughter and both my feet are in the pool.

Margot walks off only to return two minutes later. This time she challenges me about our dog, who was tied up with his leash and snoozing under the shade. I ask her if there are any signs suggesting I couldn’t have my dog leashed to the pool fence. She confirms there weren't signs but that I should understand it as an unspoken rule. I tell my daughter it’s time to go and I let Margot know I’d be following up with the City of Coquitlam.

What is the point of having TWO paid lifeguards on duty if they make it impossible to actually get into the pool? Why are we, the taxpayers, funding this kind of idiocy? I realize now why the wadding pool is always empty! Margot is more interested in reading her book in the sun than she is...

Thus park is one if our go to playgrounds all year long, but it especially enjoyable in the summer. It can be hard to find parking in the summer on weekends and evenings, but during the rest of the year there is a lot of parking available. Some of the field tends to get muddy so I would stick to the pathways when walking around. There is a large field area for people to play sporting games, and I have seen bouncy castles here as well. There is a spray park in the summer and a free kids wading pool. If the pool reaches capacity you may need to wait a short while. There is a place to purchase food at the window, located near the washrooms. I find the washrooms here hard to access, as the doors for the washroom stalls close very closely to the toilets. There are plenty of shaded areas to relax, and picnic tables. There are ping pong tables, but you must bring your own paddles and ball. The playground has 2 slides, a climbing structure, and a sort of bridge. Under the trees is a great obstacle course with ropes and climbing structures, suitable for older children. There is a large picnic shelter which I believe can be rented out for events. If you follow the trails into the trees, there are some interesting sculptures and water features to explore and a tennis court. My family attended remembrance day at this location and we were highly impressed by the airplanes that flew by during the ceremony. It was a good sized gathering, but hard to see anything if you arrived later. The walk to the car was a few streets over as well because the roads...

I've been coming here ever since I was a kid, and have many incredibly fond memories attached. From the children's bike "road", to the large pretend horses, to the playground equipment, to the trees. It's an incredibly large park with a lot of diversity to show, and my favourite of all, many stone sculptures all brought upon by a project from 1986! Most of them are still in lovely condition, minus time based weardown from rain / otherwise. You can get a beautiful view of the horizon, and there is a children's pool for the summertime. I see no reason to dislike Blue Mountain Park, and I think you'll feel the same!

I realize that the pictures I posted don't include the playground. Come explore, it's a more than child friendly...