Trail: Mill Lake Park – 2.17 km of flat, paved trail
Location: Abbotsford, British Columbia
Distance from Vancouver: Approximately 1 hour
Directions: Click here for Google map
Time it took us to go around loop: Approximately 1.5 hours with numerous stops
Ages of children: 3, 1 (in bike trailer)
Stroller friendly: Yes!
Jellybean rating: 1/5
In the middle of the city of Abbotsford lies a beautiful park that has something for EVERYONE!
There are four main entrances to reach the trail that goes around Mill Lake Park. For our little adventure, we accessed it off of Emerson road (link above).
We found parking by the baseball diamond and made our way down the ramp/stairs. At the bottom of the little hill, I made an agreement with my four-year-old who spotted the playground and waterpark combination: we would ride around the park on our bikes and then have some time at the playground to celebrate when we were done! First things first, we headed up to the bathrooms so we wouldn’t have any accidents on the way.
Heading on the trail we encountered some CUTE little friends. We stopped at the “Geese crossing” and rejoiced that spring really is finally here!
FYI: There’s a little bathroom in the photo just up the trail a short distance. Whoever designed Mill Lake Park must have had kids!
As you keep going you’ll reach another parking lot entrance. This is also where the tree line opens up and you get a great view of the lake! Along this little beach is often where you’ll find lots of Canadian Geese. Don’t forget they’re not always the friendliest, and make sure to never feed them! Our food is bad for their bellies, so try and avoid it!
There’s a neat little dock where you’ll often find people taking their kiddos fishing:)
Keep going along the trail. If your littles are starting to lose focus point out the cool pink bench coming up!
Shortly after the pink bench, you’ll go around a little curve. Once you’ve reached the bridge you’ll go over that to the boardwalk! This is one of the highlights of the trip (other than the 3 playgrounds, of course!). If you’re on a bike you’ll need to go ahead and dismount for this trek, but you’ll be glad you did! Slowing down a bit gives you some time to check out the lilypads, and if you’re lucky you’ll see some turtles on the log out on the lake.
Once you’re over the boardwalk you’ll find the Abbotsford Arts Council.
If your kids aren’t exactly in the art gallery mood- which mine certainly were not- you can carry on to the upcoming playground. This is a great place to check out for local art!
This is known as the “boat playground” amongst the kiddos, because, you guessed it-the playground is in the shape of a boat! Guess what? There are also washrooms here!!
This is THE place if you have a wide range of kids ages. The little guys can play on the playground while the big kids get their exercise on the outdoor gym.
Right behind those washrooms is Trethewey House-an historical site that displays memorabilia from one of Abbotsford’s prominent businessmen in 1919.
Following the trail, you’ll reach the “train park”. This is a really fun park with a stationary train, a playground, and a toddler playground for the little littles. The gazebo beside the park provides the perfect spot to have a picnic lunch-something we’ve done many times!
My four-year-old realllllllly wanted to visit this park, but I reminded her of our deal about making it to the last park.
Onward (and somewhat begrudgingly) we went!
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It was at this point that I really had to motivate my little lady. She wanted to turn around and go home, which led to some great discussions about how Mill Lake Park trail is a loop! You could almost see the concept clicking while she decided that carrying forth was her best bet. Her little sister in the trailer was beginning to demand food, so I was thankful that we would be reaching a stop soon!
Minutes later we reached….THE WATER PARK!!
This is a PHENOMENAL park in the summertime. The kids can play on the playground, find shade under the many, many trees or gazebo, and cool down in the spray park. There’s also an outdoor pool! Before you head there make sure to check the hours!
We ended our visit with some time on the playground as promised, and, of course, snacks!!
Jellybean Rating Summary of Mill Lake Park
Mill Lake Park trail has a 1/5 on the Jellybean Rating. This is an easily accessible park by everyone. It offers many amenities, including a baseball park, swimming pool, spray park, fishing dock, 3 playgrounds, large fields, historical and cultural sites, gazebos, and washrooms.
The park trail is smooth concrete, and aside from a slight incline at the boardwalk it is flat. It offers beautiful views of the pond, is home to different species of pond wildlife, and makes you forget you’re in the middle of the city. You can walk, jog, bike ride, bring the (leashed) dog, rollerblade-whatever tickles your fancy! Just make sure to share the trail and always keep to the right. This is a well-used park.
Kids are excited to go see what the next park is like, which means that you likely won’t have a difficult time convincing them to keep walking! Keep them happy with promises of a picnic and some playground time and you’ll have the perfect day!
Have fun!
XO
Sam