Trail: Iona Beach- Pier Walk
Date Completed: Jan 4, 2019
Distance: 8km
Location: Richmond, British Columbia
Distance from Vancouver: 17.5 km- Approximately 24 minutes
Directions: Click here for google maps
Adults: 2
Ages of Children: 2, 4
Stroller friendly: yes
Dog Friendly: yes (designated areas)
Bathrooms: Yes
Cell Service: yes
Ioan Regional Park is known for its “long beach,” vast open sky, and scenic Ocean views along the Pier.
Iona Beach Regional Park has a Pier about 1 km from the main parking lot. The Pier is 8km round trip plus the extra 1km to get back to the parking lot. Would definitely recommend a carrier or a stroller if your planning to go all the way to the end of the Pier with kids.
From the main parking lot, hang a left to walk along the shoreline to the Pier. If you have a stroller, there is an option to walk along the grass to the Pier. A lot of people bring their bikes to ride along the Pier.
Iona Beach is honestly, one of the most beautiful and calming beaches we have ever been to. The beach was not crowded at all, and offered so many areas to picnic.
Iona Beach is also a great place to watch the airplanes land and take off from the Vancouver International Airport.
There is a shelter along the Pier at about the 2km mark. We decided to make this our end point, as we only brought the one ergo, and quite honestly, its a long walk for a 2 and 4 year old. The views are spectacular along the way, but kids can only walk a long stretch for so long.
The most exciting “check point” was seeing a little sea lion eating crab in between the rocks alongside the Pier.
It can also get pretty windy along the Pier, so make sure to pack extra warm clothes. The weather system can change pretty fast. We started out our walk with the sun shining, then just before we got to the shelter, it started raining, then a beautiful rainbow appeared while the wind still howled.
As the planes came in to the Airport, and the wind howled under the dark clouds along the Ocean, we felt like we were walking to the end of the earth. Quite honestly, we loved every single moment of this walk. Knowing we were only going to the wind shelter, kept it all together because the kids could see the end destination.
You can walk directly along the Pier, or right below the Pier. Our kids kept running up and down; kept them entertained!
After we made it to the shelter, we made lunch and hot chocolate. The shelter is nice and warm, and definitely keeps the wind out. The kids really loved the shelter and explored in between the rocks to find more sea lions while we drank some hot chocolate, too.
Once it was time to head back, the kids were pretty tired and no longer excited because all the excitement was had. Also, seeing how long you have to walk is hard for kids. The Pier and the beach are so vast, that it feels like your walking into the land of no return.
Definitely took turns carrying the kids in between the two of us and kept saying “why didn’t we bring the stroller and/or jelly beans for the way back.”
The 4 year old laid down on the Pier during the way back, and said he cant go any further. We bribed him with piggy back rides, and told him we could play in the sand once we got off the Pier.
Definitely keep track of time. The gate closes about 7, and depending on when you go, its possible to get caught up in the views.
Jelly Bean Rating:
We rate Iona Beach Regional Park (Pier Walk) a 1/5. We only did a round trip of about 4km (wind shelter and back) rather than the whole Pier. We found this to be a perfect distance with just enough check points and scenic views to keep the kids entertained.
Definitely recommend a stroller, though!
Happy Little Adventuring.
“A little bit of quality time outside goes a long way.”
-Sheena xo