Burnaby is built around its parks as much as its town centres, with a mountain, two lakes, and a 1920s village all inside city limits.
Burnaby sits directly between Vancouver and the Fraser River, British Columbia’s third-largest city and one shaped less by a single downtown than by four separate town centres stitched together with SkyTrain. Locals think of the map in quadrants: Metrotown to the southwest, Brentwood to the northwest, Lougheed to the northeast, and Edmonds to the southeast, each with its own shops, transit hub, and pace.
What ties the quadrants together is green space. Burnaby Mountain rises 370 metres above sea level at the city’s north end, home to Simon Fraser University and a run of lookout points over Indian Arm and the Strait of Georgia. Below it, Deer Lake and Burnaby Lake anchor a run of regional parks, gardens, and heritage sites that make Burnaby a worthwhile stop for anyone touring Metro Vancouver beyond the downtown core.
Four town centres, one city
Burnaby’s planning maps split the city into quadrants, and knowing which one covers your route makes getting around far more intuitive.
Brentwood
Brentwood is the town centre closest to Burnaby Mountain and Simon Fraser University. The Amazing Brentwood shopping and entertainment complex anchors the neighbourhood, with an arcade and a range of dining options that make it a reliable stop on a rainy afternoon. Brentwood Town Centre station connects the area to the rest of the region on the Millennium Line.
Lougheed
Lougheed sits where the Millennium Line meets the Evergreen Extension toward Coquitlam and Port Moody, a natural transfer point for anyone continuing east. It borders the quieter, more forested side of Burnaby Mountain.
Metrotown
Metrotown is Burnaby’s downtown and regional city centre, the largest of the four quadrants and home to the biggest concentration of highrises and shopping in the city. Central Park sits right at its edge, so a shopping trip and a forest walk end up minutes apart. Patterson and Metrotown SkyTrain stations serve the area directly.
Edmonds
Edmonds is the most residential of the four town centres, a leafy pocket in Burnaby’s southeast corner near the Fraser River side of the city, with its own SkyTrain station and a slower pace than the retail-heavy quadrants to the north.
Parks and attractions worth planning around
Green space is what most visitors remember about Burnaby. These are the parks and heritage sites to build a day around.
Burnaby Mountain Park
Burnaby Mountain Park sits at the city’s highest point, with views that stretch across Indian Arm, Deep Cove, and the Strait of Georgia on a clear day. Its best-known feature is a set of carved wooden sculptures called Playground of the Gods, a gift from Burnaby’s sister city of Kushiro, Japan. A rose garden, a mural-covered water tower, and trails connecting to Simon Fraser University round out the grounds.
Full park guide →
Kushiro Park
Kushiro Park is a smaller garden tucked inside Burnaby Mountain Park, named for the sister-city relationship with Kushiro, Japan. Tulip beds and flowering shrubs rotate through the seasons around the same wooden sculptures found in the park above, making it an easy add-on rather than a separate trip.
Full park guide →
Burnaby Village Museum
Burnaby Village Museum recreates a 1920s Burnaby street inside Deer Lake Park, with costumed interpreters, a blacksmith forge, a general store, and a restored British Columbia Electric Railway interurban tram car. A heritage carousel is the centrepiece for younger visitors, and the grounds host a well-known lights display each winter.
Full museum guide →
Central Park
Central Park is one of the oldest parks in the region, an 86-hectare stand of Douglas fir and cedar wrapped around Swangard Stadium, built in 1969 and still hosting soccer, rugby, and track events today. A perimeter trail circles the park, and upper and lower ponds give the space its quieter corners away from the stadium crowds.
Full park guide →
Central Park Pitch & Putt
Set among the same evergreens, Central Park Pitch & Putt offers an 18-hole course built for shorter swings, a relaxed alternative to a full round of golf that suits beginners, families, and anyone short on time.
Full course guide →
Deer Lake Park
Deer Lake Park is Burnaby’s arts and culture precinct as much as it is a nature park. Paddlers and anglers use the lake itself, while the surrounding grounds hold the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, the Burnaby Art Gallery, and Burnaby Village Museum within walking distance of one another.
Full park guide →
Burnaby Lake Regional Park
On the city’s north side, Burnaby Lake Regional Park is a quieter nature reserve built around boardwalk trails, birdwatching, and a busy rowing club on the lake. A dedicated guide for this park is on the way, and the photos here offer a preview of what to expect.
Guide coming soonGetting around Burnaby
Two SkyTrain lines run through Burnaby: the Expo Line through Metrotown and Edmonds, and the Millennium Line through Brentwood and Lougheed. Between them, most of the city’s parks and attractions are a short bus ride or walk from a station.
- Brentwood Town Centre station puts Burnaby Mountain Park, Kushiro Park, and The Amazing Brentwood within a short bus connection.
- Patterson and Metrotown stations sit right beside Central Park and its Pitch & Putt course.
- Deer Lake Park, Burnaby Village Museum, and Burnaby Lake Regional Park are best reached by local bus routes from the nearest SkyTrain stations.
Pack a layer for Burnaby Mountain. The summit sits well above the rest of the city and tends to run several degrees cooler and windier than the town centres below, even in summer.
Parking fills up quickly at Deer Lake Park and Central Park on weekends with good weather. Arriving earlier in the day, or taking SkyTrain and bus routes, avoids the wait.
Burnaby rarely announces itself the way Vancouver does. It quietly hands you a mountain, a lake, and a 1920s village, and lets you work out which one to visit first.
Frequently asked questions
Burnaby is best known for its parks and green space rather than any single landmark. Burnaby Mountain Park, Central Park, Deer Lake Park, and Burnaby Lake Regional Park cover a large share of the city, alongside Burnaby Village Museum’s recreation of 1920s life and The Amazing Brentwood’s shopping and entertainment scene.
Burnaby Mountain is the city’s highest point at 370 metres above sea level. It holds Burnaby Mountain Park, Kushiro Park, and Simon Fraser University, with lookout points over Indian Arm and the Strait of Georgia.
Kushiro Park sits inside Burnaby Mountain Park and takes its name from Kushiro, Japan, one of Burnaby’s sister cities. The wooden sculptures and seasonal flower beds in the park reflect that relationship.
Yes. Burnaby Village Museum sits in the northeast corner of Deer Lake Park, close to the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and the Burnaby Art Gallery, so all three are easy to combine into one visit.
Two SkyTrain lines, the Expo Line and the Millennium Line, connect Burnaby’s four town centres to each other and to downtown Vancouver, with frequent bus routes filling in the gaps to parks like Deer Lake and Burnaby Lake.
Continue exploring Metro Vancouver
Burnaby borders several other cities worth a stop on the same trip.