Williams Park Adventure

It has been just a little lot hot out there recently in the Vancouver area. Having just got back from Kelowna, we were done with the heat, it got up to almost 40 celsius a few days, thats about 104 fahrenheit. CRAZY! Too hot for me, and my family. We’ve been to the local swimming pool, and have set up a kiddy pool, sprinkler, and water table in our yard. Today we wanted to do something different. We wanted to go on a local adventure, and explore our own backyard. Last night we decided to go to Williams Park first thing in the morning with Evie.

Williams Park is located at 64th avenue and 238th street in Langley, a few winding and your there. Keep an eye out for the sign pointing you into the entrance, and keep to the left as you go in because the road loops around for those exiting. Near the main parking lot is a picnic shelter on one side, and to the other a play area with swings, slides, and a few other things. We headed to the stairs behind the picnic shelter and went down to the Salmon River that goes through the park. There is a pedestrian foot bridge and a few other things tucked in down here. We went right after going down the stairs and followed the river a bit to an open spot on the river bank to set up our picnic blanket.

We had brought Evie’s swimsuit and water shoes with us, and I was so glad we did. She wanted to check out the river right away. So in she and Daddy went. The water was very cold, so I do warn you of that, but you do warm up quickly in the sun. Keep an eye out as there are a few deep areas in the water, as always keep an eye on your kiddos. After a bit, another family joined us in the area and it was a pleasant surprise because it was a friend of mine from elementary/middle school and her kids. This made Evie’s morning even better because now she had kids to play with too. Everyone enjoyed throwing rocks, finding bugs, and throwing a ball up the river and letting it float back. Though our ball, and a plastic tug boat did escape a couple times, and Jason had to go rescue them. At one point a dog came running through and borrowed the ball too. We did see several dogs off leash in the park, which I’m not sure if it is allowed, so if your children are apprehensive around dogs keep an eye out for this.

I love this little area in Langley, and we will definitely be back. I have so many memories here… from Sunday School picnics, and my falling into the water when I was a kid and not having a change of clothing, to Jason’s and my first date! If you are looking for a place to go and cool down, I highly recommend checking this place out. Get there early though because the parking lot did start to fill up by the time we were leaving just after 11am.

What are you favourite ways to stay cool as a family on hot summer days?

You can see a a bit more of how we are keeping cool by following Discovering Parenthood on Facebook, and Instagram.