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Coquitlam is an ideal destination for any type of traveler. Located in British Columbia, it has something for everyone! Our travel guide has the best information about Coquitlam regarding places to visit, things to see and do, accommodations, dining, and much more! When visiting British Columbia, you will find that the shopping, night life, and beautiful scenery has some of the top standards in the country, and will definitely leave you wanting to come visit this city again. Take a look at our Canadian listings and find all the information you need about Coquitlam, and all its surrounding cities and travel spots. So don't waste another minute, and starting planning your vacation to Coquitlam!
This place was named Coquitlam in honor of small freshwater salmon that was the favorite dish of local aborigines. White explorers first came to these lands in 1858 when the gold rush reached the Fraser River. At that time, when gold diggers came here, the capital was founded in New Westminster. In 1858 the Fraser River was frozen due to extremely frosty winter, which is very rare phenomenon in these lands. Thereby the first capital became cut off from connection with the ocean. This meant the city couldn’t receive any goods and food, as the ocean was the main passageway to the rest of the world. At the same time there ripened a big risk of military invasion from the side of the United States: strong and authoritative neighbor had its eye on Canadian gold.
Finally four hundred engineers from England under the direction of the Colonel Richard Moody came in New Westminster. Their aim was to lay a road from the capital to the north up to the bay. It is not difficult to guess that the way was laid through the current North Road (North Rd.). Its construction was finished quickly, in 1859. As it was initially planned, the road lied directly to the bay: its last part was rather steep. This is how Port Moody was born named after the chief engineer. In 1863 the English builders were sent back to their home, but many of them decided to stay in Canada; they were the first settlers in this area. Only in 1884 the Clarke Road (Clarke Rd.) was laid. It is a sloping but rather twisting way to the bay. In 1886 The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) reached Port Moody; one of its branches led to the rail junction in New Westminster on the Coquitlam River. This favoured the revival of Greater Vancouver.
In 1890 the water came to New Westminster from Coquitlam Lake along the Pipeline and Pitt roads. In 1891 the territorial unit of Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam was incorporated into Coquitlam municipality. The first citizens of the new city became the workers from sawmills: immigrants from China, Japan and Indians. By the end of 30-s Coquitlam was the main settlement of native population representatives. The other big ethnic group was formed by French Canadians who were mainly the woodcutters. One of the main Coquitlam attractions is Buntzen Lake. By 1903 this lake was named “Lake Beautiful”, which later became the symbol of British Columbia. This fact is reminded by the words on automobile number plates, and when we are stuck in the traffic jam, like it or not we always read these words – “Beautiful British Columbia”.
The chief manager of B.C. Electric Company came out with the project of building a hydroelectric power plant on “Lake Beautiful”. The project was under construction from 1903 to 1905: Coquitlam Lake located higher in the mountains was joined to the lake that is currently Buntzen by the underground tunnel 3.6 km in length. The water began to flow from Coquitlam Lake to Buntzen Lake. The length of the tunnel is 1.2 km. Powerful stream flows out from Buntzen and rushes down to the Indian Arm Bay, driving the turbines. They supply with energy the major part of Vancouver. We, the tourists, can’t see all this, as all technical structures are hidden from public view. It is far better to enjoy the scenes of untouched nature than observe the buildings of power station! Buntzen Lake itself is 4.8 km in length. It is surrounded by footpaths for walking around. Also there are a lot of tables for shish kebab and barbecue. During hot summer days you can even swim in the fresh water of Buntzen Lake.
The conditions were formed so that during the tenth-twentieth years of the last century Coquitlam was developing rather slowly. The main commercial value in the region belonged to Port Coquitlam that formed the independent municipal unit in 1913. The situation was changed after the World War II. Thanks to the abundance of empty lands and developed automobile transport infrastructure Coquitlam began to renew its potential. The region began to develop again, especially in the sphere of building new residential areas. The number of inhabitants in 1951 was about sixteen thousand, and in 1975 it grew up to sixty five thousand. The novelties of the world of 50-s, such as supermarkets and large shopping centers (molls) has played an important role in Coquitlam development.
And what no is happening with Coquitlam? Come here and see what’s going on: the new high-rise buildings are erected, as it was in Vancouver recently. In 2010 it is planned to finish the laying of eleven kilometers railway branch where a modern mini-train will take passengers from Lougheed Town Centre through Coquitlam Centre and further to the northeast. This will be a real project of the century. Recently, during a calm sunny day on the threshold of winter I was walking around the center of Coquitlam. Accidentally I found a wonderful cafe-shop named Zia’s Deli & Café. The owners are peasants from Italy, they were living in Georgia for a long time. Their parents were ardent revolutionaries; they decided to move to the motherland of the great leader of all nations and settle there.
In short, their children studied Georgian and Russian living in their new motherland. And what is the main thing – they learned to cook delicious Georgian dishes such as sacivi, khachapuri, chicken casserole , etc. If you ever come to Coquitlam, make a visit to this wonderful cafe where you can have an unforgettable dinner. Here is their address: 2773 Barnet Hwy on the crossing with Landsdowne passage. The cafe is located on a lively plaza, only in one kilometer from Coquitlam Town Centre. Their phone number is (604) 944-2747. Call them, they will be glad to answer all your questions and help any tourist to find the sights they are interested in. I personally liked their eggplants with nuts, khachapuri and of course, the adjika with spicy Italian sausage. They have a rich assortment of dishes: smoked cosher pork, smoked chickens and mackerel, eggplants with nuts, khachapuri. Coquitlam has a lot of surprises for its visitors!
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