After a Washington State resident asked the Bellingham Reddit community about the best family spots to take her kids to in B.C., Bellinghamsters delivered in a big way.
Even B.C. and Metro Vancouver locals might not be familiar with some of the recommendations that were offered.
The Redditor told the Bellingham community that they hadn’t spent a lot of time up in Canada and were looking for places that were within an hour and a half drive that they could take their kids to.
They said, “I think we’ve done a lot of the commonly discussed ones, but would love to hear what y’all have done!”
There were a lot of the usual suspects being recommended, places like the Vancouver Aquarium and Greater Vancouver Zoo. Stanley Park and Science World were also suggested. However, many people shared some suggestions that you don’t often hear about, like Generations Playground in White Rock.
White Rock
Generations also got a little upgrade earlier this week with the launch of a new splash pad at the park. The park is also relatively new, having opened in 2018.
Someone else gave a shoutout to Canada’s aquatic centres, specifically naming the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre, located in Surrey, as a place to take the kiddos.
Grandview Heights in Surrey
In response to that suggestion, another Bellinghamster said, “In general, all the outdoor pools in Canada are huge and phenomenal. Shout out to Second Beach and Kitsilano pools.”
Along with the Stanley Park recommendation, one Redditor suggested that the original poster take the kiddos to IKEA and have lunch there.
“Include a stop at IKEA for an inexpensive but very different lunch,” they said.
For the uninitiated, IKEA offers incredibly cheap and tasty food options for all diet types.
Bear Creek Park, a park located in Surrey, was also recommended thanks to amenities like a public pool, a train and a huge playground. The same Redditor suggested Play Abby, an indoor play park located in Abbotsford.
Remember Watermania? It still exists, and a Bellingham resident offered the Richmond indoor waterpark as a fun, family-friendly option.
Many Fraser Valley spots got shoutouts, parts of which are quick and convenient to get to from Bellingham. One of them was the Outdoor Experience, located in Aldergrove. It functions kind of like an outdoor Watermania, and is an affordable waterpark fun for all ages.
Travel dwindles between B.C. and Bellingham
LifeisticAC/Shutterstock
While we still see social media posts fairly often for folks down south wanting to come up to Canada, the data suggests that the excitement is one-way.
While there are still many people travelling to the United States from Canada, the number of travellers has continuously dropped throughout 2025.
According to the most recent data from Statistics Canada, in July of this year, the number of Canadian resident return trips by car from the U.S. was 1.7 million.
Statistics Canada calls that a steep decline compared to 2024, as it marked a whopping 36.9 per cent drop.
July 2025 also marked the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year declines.
“The highest number of returning Canadian-resident arrivals was observed on Sunday, July 27 (100,000). This number was 13.8 per cent higher than the average for the other Sundays in July,” Statistics Canada adds.
On top of what these Bellingham residents mentioned, are there any additional B.C. spots you’d recommend as good family-friendly options that are lesser known?
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