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Family Hike & Learning Adventure at Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve

Do you enjoy bird watching? Are you in the mood for a serene afternoon stroll, a refreshing bike ride, or an outdoor learning adventure with your kiddos, Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve is just the right place? Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve is a bird sanctuary located near Chilliwack, Beautiful British Columbia.

The Nature Reserve is home and nesting grounds to one of the most distinctive North American birds – the Pacific Great Blue Heron. There is much more to the wildlife here, however. While on our adventure we've seen many other birds, frogs, little fishes, few bunnies, and even an awesome large raccoon!

Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve, its Rotary Interpretive Centre, all the wonderful educational bird-watching programs and kids camps are managed and operated by the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve Society, with continuous support from the Rotary Club of Chilliwack and City of Chilliwack.

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The Nature Reserve offers learning programs for kids of all ages, group visits, and regular workshops. During the summertime, parents have an opportunity to send their little ones to the Heron Reserve Summer Camps. Check the full schedule and information at the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve website.

***All recommendations and feedback are ours and based on personal experience. Please refer to our Disclosure Policy. 

Check out other cool places in the area and recommended posts:

• Fun Things To Do In Chilliwack: Little Antique Houses of Atchelitz
• Awesome Places To Experience Magical Fall in Vancouver
• Teapot Hill – Treasure Hunt Hiking Adventure Your Kids Will Absolutely Love!
• Vancouver to Kelowna Family Road Trip: Best Sightseeing Stops

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Directions to Nature Reserve

GPS / Google Maps anchor point: Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve, 5200 Sumas Prairie Rd, Chilliwack, BC V2R 4P9

If you are heading to Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve from Coquitlam Centre, it will take you about an hour to get there.

There is plenty of parking near the Interpretive Centre building itself. Be mindful though of the posting signs on when the gates are locked.

You can still park outside and walk around the reserve taking the wild trail along the river.

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Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve – Quick Facts

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Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve's Interpretive Centre building is open daily all year round. For full opening hours and information please refer to the Centre's website.

The Centre has bathroom facilities, running water, and even some on-demand self-serve coffee & tea station.

There is another portable bio-washroom on the other side of the park, right in front of the gates to the main large river trail loop.

Please be mindful: the reserve is NOT a public park – it is the nesting ground for magnificent birds. Refrain from playing loud music, making too much noise, smoking. DO enjoy quiet bird-watching, photography, embracing the spectacular atmosphere and strong energy of the place!

Additionally: if you are visiting in between late February to mid-July parts of the Heron Colony Loop Trail and the Discovery Trail are GATED AND LOCKED. This is done to protect the foraging, feeding, and nesting areas of the Pacific Great Blue Heron.

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Nature Reserve Trails

There are multiple trails around the park, and there is one large loop encompassing the whole reserve. Most of the trails at Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve are stroller and wheelchair-accessible.

The full loop, highlighted in apple-green below, is about 7-7.2km and takes you along the Chilliwack River – we absolutely enjoyed this refreshing walk!

Both – the deeper green highlighted path and the apple-green highlight are stroller-friendly hiking trails. Yes, you can enjoy the Great Blue Heron Reserve with your entire family, strollers and wheelchairs alike. This area is also gated and is open/locked according to the Nature Reserve work hours. While the full loop (apple-green) is accessible around the clock. You can walk or ride a bike there.

The orange-highlighted trail is not stroller-friendly. Or rather it is, but there are a bunch of small stairs here that you'll have to navigate if you go. The blue highlight is the access to the beach of the Chilliwack River.

We should definitely bring our bikes here next time, the location is perfect for teaching your little one to ride a bike!

On a hot summer day, the welcome shade of tall trees will provide you shelter from the sun. Hence the Reserve can be a great place to find peace during summer heatwaves.

We've spent about 4 hours on-site, enjoying beautiful wetland scenery, watching birds, bugs, and BUNNIES, and even got a nice refreshing swim at the Chilliwack River. Access to a little wild beach with shallow water is marked with blue on the Map above.

No, we haven't spotted the famous Great Blue Heron during this trip, but we have had the most FUNtastic time nevertheless!

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Stay Safe

When visiting this bird sanctuary, protected habitats, or any fragile environments, it is important to make sure we follow Leave No Trace principles.

It is recommended to abstain from using toxic self-care products, including sunscreens and bug sprays, giving preference to natural, organic, chemical-free options. Luckily we've done research not so long ago on natural sunscreens available on the market, check it out: 8 Best Natural Sunscreens For Kids. Organic. Chemicals-Free.

Notes on a natural non-toxic kids-friendly bug spray can be found in the post on our recent trip to Jurassic Ridge.

For general hiking safety rules and trail etiquette, please refer to Hiking With Kids: 12 Simple Safety Rules Every Parent Should Follow

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Fun Family Outdoor Learning

Want to have even more family fun outdoors while checking out Chilliwack's most famous bird sanctuary? Check out our PerfectDayToPlay FREE printable TREASURE Hunt sheets!

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Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve Concluding Notes

Regardless of whether you enjoy bird watching, or are just an outdoorsy active person in search of unique serene locations to explore, Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve will not let you down! The Reserve has now taken its firm place on two of our epic lists: the Stroller-Friendly Hikes near Vancouver List and the Vancouver to Kelowna Sightseeing Stops List.

Do you know of other bird sanctuaries near Vancouver, around BC, or anywhere in the world? What birds are they hosting? Any tips for bird lovers? Please share in the comments or send us a message!

Other Accessible Trails to Check out

Other stroller-friendly and wheelchair accessible trails and easy kids bike routes near Vancouver:

• 37 Baby Stroller Friendly Hiking Trails Every Vancouver Mom Should Visit (Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley)
• Pitt Lake – Stunning Kids Biking Trail – True Hidden Gem Near Maple Ridge (Pitt Meadows)
• Fort to Fort – Fun & Easy Bike Trail Near Langley Even a Toddler Can Do! (Langley)
• Gold Creek Falls: Golden Ears Park’s Super-Star 100% Accessible Trail. Truly Gold Star Experience! (Maple Ridge)

And of course, a reminder to never miss out on our travel tips, the new exciting outdoor adventures in Beautiful British Columbia or anywhere else in the World! Sign-up for our newsletter!

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Check out next: latest outdoors and travel experiences in British Columbia

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Enjoy!

Cheerfully yours,

Alexandra, Alex & Cosmos

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