Maple Ridge

Maple Ridge is a city of about 82,000 people (2016) on the north shore of the Fraser River in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Haney, an eastern district of Maple Ridge, has a century-long history as a commercial centre.

Understand
Maple Ridge is made up of several different historical areas: Albion, Haney (downtown), Iron Mountain, Kanaka Creek, Port Hammond, Ruskin, Silver Valley, Thornhill, Webster's Corners, Whonnock, and Yennadon. Some of these areas are identified with a cultural group. For instance, Albion and Webster's Corner are represented by the many Finnish families that settled in the area. While Port Hammond is known for its small cottage-like mill houses built by the local mill to house its workers. Ruskin is the location of a community hall of the Sons of Norway, although the area was founded by English followers of John Ruskin. Kanaka Creek began was a community for Kanaka employees of Fort Langley.

Port Haney, on the Fraser River to the southwest of downtown Haney, is the site of the West Coast Express commuter rail station. It is a heritage district created to protect some of the remaining buildings from earlier times. In addition to buildings already on-site when this was the steamboat landing and the Canadian Pacific Railway station, other heritage buildings from around the City of Maple Ridge were relocated to Port Haney to preserve them and enhance the heritage flavour of the location. Early settlers in Maple Ridge engaged in forestry and agriculture. Forestry companies continue to be the largest private-sector employers in the district. They include companies that manufacture building materials, yachts and poles. The soil and climate are not well-suited to the production of traditional food crops, but berry crops, nurseries and horse breeding are profitable sectors.

The City of Maple Ridge has become a popular location for feature films and television series. On almost any day there is a film or TV crew working in the city. The Ridge Film Studios is in an old retail space in the downtown and serves as a set location for episodic television programs. Maple Ridge's film roots go back to the 1970s when scenes for the feature film Rambo were shot here. Over time the city has become a background for a number of films and TV series including The X-Files, Bordertown, Smallville, Bird on a Wire, We're No Angels, Percy Jackson & the Lightening Thief, and Stargate SG-1.

Get in
See Vancouver for options to get in the Vancouver area by plane, by bus, and by train, and by boat.

By car
Maple Ridge lies along Highway 7 and can be accessed from the west via Pitt Meadows or from the east via Mission. From Highway 1, you can take the 176th St. and 192nd St. (eastbound only) exits in Surrey, or the 200th St. exit in Langley and cross the Golden Ears Bridge into Maple Ridge.

By air
From Vancouver or its airport, expect at least a one-hour commute by car during off peak hours, or over two hours by bus.

The Pitt Meadows Regional Airport is the only Fraser Valley airport (other than water airports) on the Fraser River's north side. It is 2.5 km (1.6 mi) east of the confluence of the Pitt and Fraser rivers, and serves the area north of the Fraser River from Mission up to and including Vancouver.

Abbotsford International Airport, which is 40 km (25 mi) away in Abbotsford, offers flights daily throughout Canada and to the Caribbean and the United States.

Get around
TransLink's bus services in Maple Ridge are slim but sufficient. The 701 and 791 buses run along Dewdney Trunk Road and will take you to the main spots in town. From there community shuttles can take you the rest of the way, but they run infrequently.

There are also a few cab companies based in Maple Ridge.

By public transit
Passengers can pay for fares using Compass Cards ($6 refundable deposit), Compass Tickets, or tap-to-pay using contactless credit cards (only American Express, Mastercard or Visa) or mobile wallets. Passengers using Compass Cards and Compass Tickets pay discounted fares. Passengers can transfer for up to 90 minutes, except if taking West Coast Express, in which case they can transfer for up to 120 minutes. On bus and HandyDART, passengers can also pay in cash, but in that case will not receive change and are not eligible for transfers. Zone based fares apply between Monday and Friday for trips starting before 6:30 pm, if travel involves SkyTrain or SeaBus. Outside of those hours or for travel on only bus or HandyDART, a single zone rate applies. If traveling by West Coast Express, a higher cost zone based fare system applies regardless of time of travel. Children 12 and under can ride for free. People aged 13 to 18, and 65 and older pay discounted concession fares.

In Maple Ridge, buses and the West Coast Express are available. Haney Place Exchange is the main bus exchange, with every bus line in Maple Ridge stopping here at some point along its route. The standard bus fare is. Bus service is available from Maple Ridge directly to Coquitlam, Langley, and Port Coquitlam.

See
There isn't much to see in Maple Ridge. Probably the biggest attraction is a large clock with a steel horse monument on top, outside City Hall on Dewdney Trunk Road. In the past, its limbs would move every 15 minutes to make the horse stand up on its hind legs, but apparently it doesn't even do that anymore.



Maple Ridge is the home of the Maple Ridge Concert Band, a community concert band.

Do
Maple Ridge is pretty good for walking and hiking: Other activities include:
 * There are several kilometres worth of dykes to the north, along the Alouette River and other smaller streams and sloughs.
 * There are several kilometres worth of dykes to the north, along the Alouette River and other smaller streams and sloughs.
 * Go horseback riding at one of the many equestrian centres in Maple Ridge. The town prides itself as "horse country" and it is not uncommon to see people riding horses on the dykes, the trails at Golden Ears Park, or even on the roads.
 * Festivals and annual parades: the Santa Claus Parade & Christmas in the Park, Earth Day celebrations in Memorial Peace Park, Canada Day in Memorial Peace Park, GETI Fest in Memorial Peace Park, AdStock Music Festival in Memorial Peace Park, Aboriginal Day celebrations in Memorial Peace Park, the Celebrate the Night Halloween & Fireworks event at Memorial Peace Park, the Caribbean Festival at the Albion Fairgrounds and the one of the longest running agricultural fairs in BC, Country Fest at the fairgrounds.
 * One of the largest Remembrance Day celebrations in the Lower Mainland each November 11 at Memorial Peace Park. The event is hosted by the Royal Canadian legion Branch #88 and boasts annual attendance of over 2000 local residents for the parade of veterans and first responders and moving Cenotaph ceremony.
 * One of the largest Remembrance Day celebrations in the Lower Mainland each November 11 at Memorial Peace Park. The event is hosted by the Royal Canadian legion Branch #88 and boasts annual attendance of over 2000 local residents for the parade of veterans and first responders and moving Cenotaph ceremony.

Buy
Maple Ridge has embraced its reputation as being a cheaper place to live, suitable for seniors and lower income families. As such, there are plenty of locally owned shops offering decent quality products for good prices, as well as plenty of discount and dollar stores. If you're looking for high-end retail, Maple Ridge is definitely not the place to be.
 * Check out some of the locally owned shops in the downtown core, within walking distance of Haney Place Mall.
 * The Haney Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 9AM until 2PM starting in May through to October at Memorial Peace Park.
 * The Haney Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 9AM until 2PM starting in May through to October at Memorial Peace Park.

Drink
There are plenty of good bars and pubs in Maple Ridge. Generally you will not have trouble finding a seat - unless it is Friday or Saturday and the Vancouver Canucks are playing.

Connect
The area around Highway 224 and Lougheed is friendly although a bit backward in a lot of ways. There is a problem with an abundance of drug users, drunks, beggars, etc. Look where you are going and common sense applies.