Pitt Meadows

Pitt Meadows is a city of 18,500 people (2016) in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, on the north bank of the Fraser River at the confluence with the Pitt River. It's part of the urban edge, where bedroom housing for suburban Vancouver is displacing the small agricultural town of Pitt Meadows past — but the farms hang on.

Pitt Meadows blueberry farms
View of Golden Ears from Alouette River

Understand

The Municipality takes its name from the Pitt River and Pitt Lake, which were possibly named after former British Prime Minister William Pitt.

Aboriginal people resided in the Pitt Meadows area approximately 1000 years ago. James McMillan explored the area in 1874. Europeans started a settlement known as Bonson's Landing in the area in the 1870s. Early settlers were mostly Anglo-Saxon until after 1910.

In 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed through Pitt Meadows to Port Moody, British Columbia. In 1893, the first dyking district was organized. In 1914, Pitt Meadows was a small, agricultural community of less than 250 individuals which supplied Vancouver and New Westminster with produce and dairy products.

After 1910, many French Canadians and Japanese arrived as settlers. A large group of Dutch farmers reclaimed much of the low-lying land in Pitt Meadows after World War II.

Get in

By car

The most convenient access is by car, with two options. The first is by the Lougheed Highway over the Pitt River Bridge from Port Coquitlam. The second option is by the Golden Ears Bridge, a toll bridge that links with 200th St. in Langley and Highway 1.

Translink offers commuter-focused bus service to Vancouver.

By train

The West Coast Express commuter rail service, goes in to Vancouver in the morning and back out in the evening.

By air

Get around

Coast Mountain Bus Company, an operating company of TransLink, operates bus routes within Pitt Meadows, all of which connect to various West Coast Express stations. Route #701 is a major route that takes commuters from Coquitlam down to Port Coquitlam and into Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.

See
Pitt Lake bog and dike
  • Pitt Lake is a short ways north of town, reaching into a steep valley where BC's mountains meet the Fraser Valley. Rent kayaks to explore the lake.
Pitt Meadows Museum
  • A Heritage Preservation Area contains several buildings of significant heritage value, including the old General Store (now the Pitt Meadows Museum) and Hoffman and Sons Garage.
  • Pitt Meadows Museum and Archives, 12294 Harris Road and 12277 Harris Rd, ☎ +1 604 465 4322, e-mail: . W The Su 1PM-4PM. The Pitt Meadows Museum is made up of two sites, the Old General Store and the Hoffmann and Son Machine Shop, across Harris Road from each other just to the south of the CPR tracks. The General Store and Post Office Site (1908) is a heritage building and the oldest known structure in Pitt Meadows. The General Store houses permanent and temporary exhibits that tell the story of the early to more recent settlement history of Pitt Meadows. The building also houses a small community archives and reference library. The Hoffmann and Son Site is in an old machine shop that houses a collection of related tools, more than 60 restored stationary engines, and a working forge. (updated May 2018)

Do
  • Blue Heron Winery tasting, 18539 Dewdney Trunk Rd (Lougheed Hwy east from Pitt River Bridge, left onto Dewdney Trunk Road, between Reichenbach and Rippington Roads), ☎ +1-604-465-5563, fax: +1-604-465-5513, e-mail: . 10AM-6PM daily. White and red cranberry wine, and other fruit wines. Wine tasting and sales, with tours by appointment. Free. 
  • Pacific Rim Aviation Academy, 393-11465 Baynes Road (on the south side of Pitt Meadows Airport, via Ford Road and Harris Road), ☎ +1-604-465-3594, fax: +1-604-465-3664, e-mail: . 8AM-6PM daily and by appointment. The exuberant Chris Georgas and his staff offer pilot training, including Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, and Instrument ratings in land and float planes. The fleet is small but immaculate, and the attention is personal. A great place to learn how to fly! Based at CYPK, Pitt Meadows Regional Airport. 
  • The Widgeon Valley National Wildlife Area (NWA), 125 ha near Pitt Lake.

Buy

Eat

Drink
  • The Jolly Coachman Pub & Liquor Store, 19167 Ford Road (intersection at Harris Road & Ford Road), ☎ +1-604-465-9911, fax: +1-604-465-9550, e-mail: . Su-Th 11AM-midnight; F Sa 11AM-1AM. The Jolly Coachman is an English Tudor-style sports pub, well known for its great food and its atmosphere. A mix of traditional pub fare and gourmet food, a fireplace in the winter and a patio in the summer, and sports onnthe TVs. 

Sleep
  • Ramada Inn Pitt Meadows, 19267 Lougheed Hwy, ☎ +1 604-460-9859. Seasonal outdoor pool, indoor hot tub, fitness centre, free continental breakfast. Guest rooms have free WiFi, mini-refrigerator, and microwave. From $113. (updated May 2018)

Connect

Go next
Routes through Pitt Meadows

Vancouver ← Coquitlam ←  W  E  → Maple Ridge → Hope
Vancouver ← Coquitlam ←  W  E  → Maple Ridge → Mission


gollark: Wouldn't you rather have that than a cottage which just sits there not crushing anything?!
gollark: Design it right and you could have a giant hamster wall crushing inferior homes as it rolls across the lands.
gollark: I suppose it could roll, which might be fun.
gollark: If you want to be in a sphere that's your problem.
gollark: I agree. They should live in cuboids.
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