It’s our first long weekend for Fall and what better way to welcome it by exploring outdoors. Fall is here and it’s time to welcome it. 

I love Summer but it’s time to leave it behind for now and embrace Fall. We’ve been lucky that the weather during the long weekend was nice, better than expected at least. I wanted to make the most of the remaining sunny days as in Vancouver, Fall means more rain. So during the weekend, I decided to do a short relax hike, more like walking actually as it was so flat and easy. 

Riverside District is one place that I had been wanting to visit die a long time. Ive seen people share posts about this small district with nice cozy cafe and restaurants. This area is booming with new retail and residential development and so more and more establishments has been popping up. It is a very small district area so you don’t need a lot of time to explore it. In fact, the district itself is mostly residential condos and small retail area.  It’s a nice stop if you want to have a snack, brunch or a complete meal.

I wanted to make the most of the time I was there so I decided to find another thing to do. I found that there is a nice walking trail close to the district and so I decided to do that. The trail is called Fraser River Trail because the trail is literally by the Fraser River. 

Fraser River Trail

The Fraser River Trail is Vancouver’s only riverside greenway. The greenway follows as close to the north shore of the North Arm of the Fraser River as possible and, when completed, it will connect Pacific Spirit Regional Park to the City of Burnaby’s trail system. To date, McCleery Golf Course, Fraser River Park, Shaughnessy Street park site, Gladstone Park and Riverfront Park waterfront walkways and bikeways are all part of this greenway. 

It is a 4.1-mile out-and-back trail near Burnaby, British Columbia. Generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 1 h 15 min to complete.

A quiet morning walk

The trail was very quiet when I was there. It was a Saturday morning around 9:00AM. The trail was flat and paved. I like the wooden path that they have along the trail which made the walk even relaxing and easy.

The trail is shared for people walking and people biking. There were benches along the way so you can sit and relax if you get tired or just want to have a quiet relax moment. You can see lot of birds and logs floating on the river. 

For those who are concerned about washroom, they do have washroom by the kids park. There’s also a restaurant close to the end called Romers. If you are into pub style menu like burgers, this is a good option to stop.

Riverside Mural Display

There were mural display along the trail when I was there. There was quite a lot of beautiful, colorful and creative murals. Here are some of them. 

As I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of development going on in the area. They closed the main street to access the River District so I had to look for an alternative path to go there. Luckily, the street by the condominiums was open to public.

Exploring River District

I was able to reach River District in time for lunch. I was so hungry as I did not eat anything at all. It was almost 12:00 and time to eat! There were not a lot of restaurant choices but I found one that I like. I had my brunch at Local Public Eatery. It was a huge 2 storey restaurant with patio seating. 

Patio time at Local Public Eatery

I decided to sat outside as it was a nice day. It was sunny until it turned a bit overcast and chilly. For brunch, I got the corned beef hash (19.00 CAD).

It was good. I love the crispy baby potatoes. It would had been better though if it comes with  a toast to compete the dish. I was satisfied and full after eating it, so all good for me 🙂 

A dessert at Boketto to end the day

Too soon for me to have a dessert so I started to walk around a bit. I already have a place in mind for the dessert I am just waiting for the right time 🙂

For the dessert, I stopped by at Boketto Tea Bar. I had been seeing a lot of people posting about this place. I was really happy to see that they have a branch here. It is basically a tea shop, like a bubble tea shop but they also offer other desserts like waffle and sundaes. They’re very popular with their sundaes and bubble tea. 

I ordered “Oh Affogato” sundae. It’s a soft serve sundae with espresso shot and caramel bits. It was good. The sundae itself wasn’t too sweet and the espresso shot was just enough and not too overwhelming. I was worried at first that it will be too strong but it wasn’t. I can only tolerate very little amount of strong coffee. I like the addition of the caramel bits. It added a nice texture to the smooth and creamy soft serve.

They  have several options to choose from and I have more items in the menu that I would like to try next time I come back. Too many delicious treats, too little time and tummy to fill it in 🙂

That was how I ended my day, with a nice sundae on a sunny but cold day. It turned out A great day after all even if it was an unplanned day out. 

Thank you for stopping by. Until my next adventure! Byeeee!

Featured Bowen Island Videos:

• A Ferry ride from Vancouver to Bowen Island
• Easy 45 mins Hike to Dormat Point
• Good hike close to the ferry terminal – Kilarney Lake Loop Trail
• Quick stop for snack at Tell Your Friends Cafe
• A lovely promenade to relax at Lady Alexandra Promenade
• The BEST brunch place, The Artisan Eats Cafe
• A stroll at the Artisan Village Square
• A short hike away from the crowd at Wild Coast Nature Conservatory
• Cannot miss the Lighthouse at Cape Roger Curtis
• No effort hike at Sea Walk

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