Belcarra is 1,100 hectares of shoreline, forest, and inlet.
It's technically a Metro Vancouver Regional Park. Locally, it's the reason families move to Anmore and Belcarra in the first place.
Most people know Sasamat Lake inside the park. Far fewer know the three shoreline walks that make Belcarra one of the most quietly valuable outdoor assets in the Lower Mainland.
Admiralty Point — "The Point"
~5 km return · ~100 m cumulative · 1.5–2 hours
The walk
Admiralty Point is the walk locals just call "The Point." Starts at the Belcarra Picnic Area parking, drops through arbutus and cedar forest, and opens onto a series of small rocky coves along Burrard Inlet. The namesake Admiralty Point headland is a wide flat rock shelf at the end with panoramic views west toward Bowen Island and north up Indian Arm.
The trail passes Maple Beach, Cod Rock (a lateral spur), and Admiralty Cove before reaching the point. You can swim off the rocks on warm days. Arbutus trees along the exposed coastline give the trail its distinctive Gulf-Islands feel.
Best for: a classic "real walk in nature" that a family with kids 8+ can do on a Saturday morning. Not stroller-friendly — there are roots and stairs — but very doable with a confident walker.
Practical notes
- Trailhead: Belcarra Picnic Area, end of Belcarra Bay Road.
- Surface: forest floor, roots, some stairs and boardwalk, rocky shoreline sections.
- Dogs: allowed on leash.
- Tide considerations: some shoreline access depends on tide. Low-tide visits expand the tide-pool options.
- Bathrooms: at the Picnic Area trailhead only.
Jug Island Beach
~5.5 km return · ~200 m cumulative · 2–3 hours
The walk
Jug Island is the most-loved walk in Belcarra Regional Park. Starts at the same Belcarra Picnic Area trailhead, climbs a forested ridge north, and descends to a secluded pebble beach facing a small rock island named for its shape — the "jug." The last descent is steep, so treat this as an up-and-over, not a flat walk.
At the beach, you're looking across a narrow stretch of water at Jug Island itself, a bit further north is Indian Arm opening up, and the feel is distinctly remote — even though you're 20 minutes from a Port Moody SkyTrain station. Locals swim here in summer; the beach has almost no shade so bring it with you.
Best for: families with kids 10+, or anyone chasing a "real destination" walk. The descent to the beach is the hardest part of the round-trip on the way back up.
Practical notes
- Trailhead: Belcarra Picnic Area, north side of the parking lot near the information kiosk.
- Surface: forest trail with roots and some steep sections near the beach.
- Dogs: allowed on leash.
- Swim: yes in July/August — bring aqua shoes for the pebbles.
- Best season: June through September for the beach experience. Early spring or fall for forested solitude.
Cod Rock
~2 km return via spur · minimal elevation · 45 minutes
Cod Rock is a lateral spur off the Admiralty Point trail — a short detour to a small rocky headland that looks directly at the mouth of Indian Arm. Most walkers miss it on the way to The Point and double back on a longer round-trip. It's worth doing as its own short outing if you have an hour.
The rock itself is a flat, wide shelf that drops into deep water — one of the better "just sit and look at the inlet" spots in the park. Not a swim spot (too deep, too exposed), but a classic picnic-and-think spot.
Best for: a quick local outing, a stop on a longer Admiralty Point walk, or a sunset spot if you're already in Belcarra.
Burns Point
Burns Point sits on the quieter south side of the Belcarra peninsula and gets a fraction of the foot traffic of the three walks above. It's reached by a short forested descent from a trailhead near the south park boundary. Views across Bedwell Bay and Deep Cove are quietly spectacular. Locals who want Belcarra without the weekend parking scramble come here.
Why it's worth knowing: if Admiralty Point or Jug Island is maxed out, Burns Point gives you 80% of the experience with 10% of the crowd. Families who live in Belcarra or the far end of Anmore walk here most mornings.
Belcarra parking — the real talk
This is the part every guide skips. Belcarra Picnic Area parking fills up brutally on summer weekends and you need a plan.
Belcarra Picnic Area has a single parking area at the end of Belcarra Bay Road. It holds maybe 120 cars. On a hot July Saturday it's full by 10am and Metro Vancouver rangers start turning cars away at the entrance.
Arrive before 9am or after 3pm on summer weekends. Midweek mornings are reliably open. Rainy days and shoulder seasons (April, late September, October) are empty and honestly better walking conditions.
Street parking along Belcarra Bay Road is heavily restricted — check signs. Illegal parking gets ticketed and the Village of Belcarra enforces aggressively. If the lot's full, go to White Pine Beach (Sasamat) or drive home.
If you live in Anmore or Belcarra, you can walk or bike in without fighting the lot. Heritage Mountain residents can time the drive to beat the rush. Burke Mountain is ~35 minutes — plan accordingly.
The official source: Metro Vancouver — Belcarra Regional Park.
Belcarra walks are the reason Anmore and Belcarra command their premium
There are two genuine luxury rural-residential markets in the Tri-Cities: Anmore and Belcarra. Both carry significant premium over adjacent areas of Port Moody. The reason — the only reason, if you strip away the marketing — is that these two villages are inside or immediately adjacent to Belcarra Regional Park, Sasamat Lake, Buntzen Lake, and the walking system described on this page.
A family buying in Belcarra Village isn't paying for a larger house than the same money would buy in Coquitlam. They're paying for a lifestyle enclosure — forest, inlet, trail access, and a community small enough that the kids in Cubs are the same kids on the trail Saturday morning.
This is also why Heritage Mountain holds its own premium. Heritage is the closest non-Anmore, non-Belcarra neighbourhood with 20-minute access to all of it. You buy Heritage for the schools and the lot size. You stay in Heritage because the Belcarra walks are still your Saturday.
Companion reads
Licensed Coquitlam REALTOR®, with clients who've bought into Anmore and Belcarra off the strength of these three walks alone. The parking notes are lived experience. The real-estate read is what families tell me after three years in their Belcarra-adjacent homes — the walks are what held them there.
