I try and think of different places to go when I have the kids while mommy is sleeping between her nightshifts. We’re fairly fortunate to live so close to the beach but I thought I would take the kidlets somewhere different for a change of pace. I wanted something that had a bit of a drive to get to but also had the amenities that help entertain the kidlets, mainly some sort of playground. Then I remembered about Delta’s Centennial Beach, part of the Boundary Bay Park that is nestled on the west side of Boundary Bay in Tsawwassen.
Centennial Beach – Boundary Bay Regional Park – Delta
Centennial Beach is located in Tsawwassen which is the peninsula in the southwestern corner of the Municipality of Delta. The beach itself is part of the Boundary Bay Regional Park located on the west side of Boundary Bay itself.
Google Map to Centennial Beach:
To get there is relatively straight-forward, you can head towards the Tsawwassen BC Ferries Terminal and then when you hit the traffic lights at 56th Street, turn left (South) and head through Tsawwassen itself untill you reach 12th avenue. Turn left again, and follow the road East until it curved into a southern direction and becomes Boundary Bay Road to which you will eventually see the park entrance on your left. Drive down the little winding road to the main parking lot and you’re there! On really busy days there is an overfill lot that does fill up quite fast, especially during the Summer months.
Features of Centennial Beach – Boundary Bay Park
- Public Washrooms with change rooms
- Butler’s Beachside Cafe (open only during Summer season)
- Sand Washing area
- Dogs must be on leash
- Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station – 2x
- Playground for kids of all ages
- Beach has a wheelchair accessible path (from May to September)
- Picnic Tables
- Covered Picnic Areas
- Trails – Walking 23km, Biking 18km, Horse 16km
When we arrived at the park a little after 10am, after all my plan was to get back before nap time! It was relatively quite for being a sunny Sunday morning but I expect it to get busier throughout the day.
It is always nice to see a sand-washing station at beaches, but luckily for me I did not have to try and get the kidlets to use before heading back to the car.
Now this is super rare and I do have to say the City of Surrey is great for this, but there is a change table in the Men’s washroom! Kudos to the City of Delta for providing this to the Dads out there. I did not have to make use of it this trip but it is one thing I worry about when going out with the kids solo, glad to know this place has one. More places need to acknowledge that dads do in fact change diapers. With both our kids, I was the first to change their diapers (meconium is a great way to be introduced to the skill diaper changing btw š ) when they were born and I do change diapers when they need to be done!
On to the playground!
The main reason to heading over to Centennial Beach was because of the large playground they have there. ‘A’ who is 4 and ‘W’ who is shy of 2 can run around and play on thing that are appropriate for them to play on. Which is great because I am sure ‘A’ doesn’t want to play on the smaller things and of course ‘W’ cannot reach some of the things that the bigger kids would play on.
The kids played easily for a couple hours. ‘A’ had befriended another 4 year old who was there with his grandmother, that meant that I got to keep a closer eye on ‘W’ as she wandered around the playground. A nice aspect of the playground is that you can see what’s going on from any spot around it, no need to really follow your kids to check up on them.
We took a little break and had a snack on one of the many picnic tables that are around the playground. Though at this point I myself, would have liked the little cafe to have been open to grab myself a coffee but I totally understand that in the off-season their foot traffic would limit their operating hours.
After the kidlets were done with their snack it was time to check out the beach before dragging them back to the car to go home. Luckily I was able to convince them to do this.
The blue path is in place to allow those with limited mobility access the to beach itself. I’m glad to see efforts in allowing everyone access to the beaches near by. The kids on the other hand had fun running up and down the length of it. It also kept the sand out of their shoes, but that soon ended as we explored more of the beach.
One thing I noticed was there are a couple of fire pits closer to the south side of the beach and they are first-come first-serve. There were people using them which is pretty cool to see. I wish more beaches within Metro Vancouver allowed the use of firepits but that’s another story for another time.
A neat fact about Boundary Bay is that it is part of the migratory bird flight path, but it is also home to various birds of prey such as the two eagles pictured above. I saw a total of 4 eagles and some with nesting material in their clutches. Those who like birding, might find Boundary Bay Park to be a fun place to hang out and watch the birds.
Boundary Bay Park also has trails throughout which start at the Centennial Beach area and head north. Since my outtings are a bit limited because of timing ‘W’s naps, we did not wander around them this time. We have walked the trails as a family before ‘W’ was born though and they were fun. They run parallel to the beach and there is plenty to see. The boardwalk area were pretty neat and ‘A’ loved running on them he also loved climbing the little lookout tower too. We’ll have to check them out next time we go.
If you’re looking for a great place to hang out for a few hours with the kidlets any time of the season, then I do recommend checking out the Centennial Beach area of Boundary Bay Park in Delta. If you’re looking for more family fun activities within the Delta area, be sure to check out KidApprovedBC. They are a great resource for kid-friendly resources within Delta, Surrey and White Rock Communities. With suggestions of what to do and where to go as a family that are not only fun but can be educational and promote a healthy lifestyle, KidApprovedBC is a great place to plan your next family fun adventure in the Metro Vancouver area! Check them out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Searching their #KidApprovedBC hashtag is great for finding hidden local gems too!
