Port Moody city guide

Port Moody at a glance

Port Moody wraps around the eastern tip of Burrard Inlet, where the long arm of salt water from Vancouver’s harbour finally runs out between forested slopes. It is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Burnaby to the west and Coquitlam to the east and south, with the villages of Anmore and Belcarra and the waters of Indian Arm just to the north. Elevation climbs from sea level at the shoreline to more than 700 metres in the hills, and dozens of creeks tumble down into the inlet.

The city has a strong sense of place. Moody Centre, on the south shore, is the historic core, with heritage buildings, St. Johns Street, the arts centre and the waterfront at Rocky Point Park. A short walk east, Newport Village and Suter Brook Village form a newer, mixed-use centre around Inlet Centre Station. Neighbourhoods such as Glenayre, College Park, Heritage Mountain and Ioco climb the hillsides on both sides of the inlet.

About 33,500 people lived in Port Moody at the 2021 Census, and the city calls itself the City of the Arts. It suits people who like small-town scale with big scenery: kayakers and walkers, craft beer fans, families who want a beach and a playground in one stop, and commuters who appreciate having both SkyTrain and the West Coast Express in town.

A short history

The head of Burrard Inlet has been a rich place to live and fish for thousands of years. Port Moody acknowledges that it sits within the territories of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen), qiqéyt (Qayqayt) and Stó:lō peoples. The inlet’s shores, creeks and salmon runs sustained these communities long before the city existed.

The settlement took its name from Colonel Richard Clement Moody of the Royal Engineers, whose men built a trail from New Westminster north to the inlet in 1859. Port Moody’s big moment came with the Canadian Pacific Railway, which made it the western terminus of the transcontinental line. After the last spike was driven at Craigellachie in November 1885, the first scheduled transcontinental passenger train pulled into Port Moody on 4 July 1886. The boom was brief: the CPR soon extended the line to Vancouver, which opened in 1887, and Port Moody’s land prices collapsed.

The town found its footing in industry instead, with sawmills, an oil refinery and port facilities along the shore. Port Moody was incorporated as a city on 11 March 1913. In recent decades the waterfront has turned from industry towards parks, and the Evergreen Extension of the Millennium Line, which opened in December 2016, brought SkyTrain to Moody Centre and Inlet Centre and sparked new development around both stations.

Top things to do in Port Moody

Waterfront parks and trails

Rocky Point Park is Port Moody’s living room. It has a long recreational pier over the inlet, a spray park, a skate park, a playground, picnic lawns and a boat launch, and it is the starting point for many of the city’s festivals. Kayak and paddleboard rentals operate here in the warmer months, and paddling the calm upper inlet is one of the best ways to see the city.

From Rocky Point, the Shoreline Trail follows the head of the inlet on a mix of boardwalk and forest path past mudflats, creek mouths and birdlife to Old Orchard Park, which has a small sandy beach on the north shore. It is flat, shaded and suitable for almost everyone. For a bigger outing, Bert Flinn Park is a 138-hectare forest on the hillside above the north shore, laced with trails used by hikers and mountain bikers.

• Admiralty Point: part of təmtəmíxʷtən/Belcarra Regional Park lies within Port Moody, with coastal forest, rocky bluffs and shoreline along the outer inlet.
• Noons Creek: a salmon-bearing creek with a community hatchery that welcomes visitors during the Fingerling Festival.
• Inlet Park: playing fields and paths connecting the recreation complex to the Shoreline Trail.

Arts and history

The PoMo Museum on Murray Street tells the city’s railway story in a restored heritage station, with a historic rail car outside. The Port Moody Arts Centre on St. Johns Street, in a former city hall, runs exhibitions, classes and community art programs that live up to the City of the Arts name. Public art is scattered through Moody Centre and along the waterfront.

Brewers Row

Port Moody’s best-known attraction for adults is Brewers Row, a cluster of craft breweries with tasting rooms along Murray Street, a short walk from Rocky Point Park and Moody Centre Station. It is easy to visit several in an afternoon without a car. Food trucks often park nearby, and weekday afternoons are quieter than summer weekends.

Family fun

Families can fill a day at Rocky Point alone, with the spray park, the pier, the playground and ice cream nearby, then walk the Shoreline Trail to look for herons and spawning salmon in the fall. The Port Moody Recreation Complex at Inlet Park has pools and arenas for rainy days.

A day in Port Moody

A car-free day works well here. Ride SkyTrain to Moody Centre, walk down to the PoMo Museum, then continue to Rocky Point Park for the pier and a coffee. Rent a kayak or paddleboard if the weather is calm, or walk the Shoreline Trail to Old Orchard Park and back, which takes a couple of relaxed hours. In the late afternoon, wander up Murray Street to Brewers Row, and finish with dinner in Moody Centre or at Newport Village, a pleasant stroll east near Inlet Centre Station. In the fall, time your trail walk for the salmon runs in the creeks.

Food and drink

Port Moody’s food scene is shaped by its two centres. In Moody Centre, St. Johns Street and Clarke Street have a mix of long-standing family restaurants, pubs, cafés and international kitchens, and the area around Murray Street and Rocky Point fills with people heading to and from the breweries. Food trucks are a regular sight near the tasting rooms.

Newport Village and Suter Brook Village, near Inlet Centre Station, have the highest concentration of restaurants in the city: sushi, Italian, Thai, Mediterranean, brunch spots, bakeries and patios around pedestrian-friendly streets and plazas. Ioco Road and the shopping areas near Heritage Mountain have neighbourhood cafés and takeout. Craft beer is the city’s calling card, so expect many restaurants to pour local brews.

Where to stay

Port Moody has very few hotels, so most visitors either stay with friends and family or book short-term rentals. The most convenient areas are:

• Moody Centre: walking distance to Rocky Point Park, Brewers Row and Moody Centre Station, with SkyTrain and the West Coast Express on the doorstep.
• Newport Village and Suter Brook: car-light living near Inlet Centre Station with restaurants, groceries and the Shoreline Trail close by.
• Coquitlam City Centre or Burnaby: a few SkyTrain stops away, with more hotel options for a Port Moody day trip.

Getting around

Port Moody has two stations on the Millennium Line: Moody Centre and Inlet Centre. Trains run west to Burquitlam and Lougheed Town Centre, where you can transfer to the Expo Line for downtown Vancouver, and east to Coquitlam Central and Lafarge Lake–Douglas.

Moody Centre is also the first stop outside downtown on the West Coast Express. On weekdays, five morning trains reach Waterfront Station about 25 minutes after leaving Port Moody, and five afternoon and evening trains run back east towards Mission. There is no weekend service. Moody Centre has a bus exchange and a park-and-ride lot, which makes it a handy starting point for trips to the north shore of the inlet.

Local buses fill the gaps. The 182 runs from Moody Centre Station to Belcarra, with the 181 adding weekend and holiday trips, and the seasonal 179 runs from Inlet Centre Station to Buntzen Lake on weekends and holidays. Check TransLink for current schedules, especially for the seasonal routes.

By car, the Barnet Highway (Highway 7A) links Port Moody with Burnaby and Vancouver, and continues east into Coquitlam. Ioco Road leads around the north shore towards Anmore, Belcarra and Buntzen Lake. The Shoreline Trail and local bike routes make short trips easy on two wheels, though the hillside neighbourhoods are steep.

Seasons and events

Port Moody has a mild, wet climate with more rain than Vancouver, as moist air piles up against the surrounding mountains. Summers are warm and dry, the best season for paddling and festivals, while fall brings salmon runs in the creeks. Port Moody’s own events calendar lists the city’s recurring celebrations, including these 2026 dates:

• Penguin Plunge (1 January): a chilly New Year’s Day dip in the inlet.
• Fingerling Festival (spring): a family celebration of salmon and the creeks; held on 2 May in 2026.
• Golden Spike Days (late June): a weekend festival at Rocky Point Park celebrating the railway heritage, with music and family activities; 27–28 June in 2026.
• Canada Day (1 July) and Summer Sundays Concerts through July and August.
• RibFest (July): barbecue, music and crowds at Rocky Point; 17–19 July in 2026.
• Car-Free Day (August): a street festival with local vendors and performers; 16 August in 2026.
• Holiday Cheer at the Pier (late November) and the CPKC Holiday Train in December, which stopped in Port Moody on 20 December in 2026.

Living in Port Moody

Port Moody offers a mix of housing on a small footprint. Condos and townhouses cluster around Moody Centre, Newport Village, Suter Brook and Inlet Centre, while Heritage Mountain, Glenayre, College Park and the north shore have detached homes, many with forest or water views. New development near the SkyTrain stations has been a lively local debate, and growth has shaped recent civic elections.

Each neighbourhood has its own character. Moody Centre mixes heritage homes, older apartments and new projects near the station. Newport Village and Suter Brook are the most urban, with towers above shops and restaurants. Heritage Mountain and Heritage Woods are hillside family areas with schools and trails nearby. College Park and Glenayre are quiet, established pockets of detached homes on the south slope, and Ioco and the north shore feel closest to the forest, on the road to Belcarra and Buntzen Lake.

Public schools are part of School District 43 (Coquitlam). Simon Fraser University on Burnaby Mountain and Douglas College’s David Lam Campus in Coquitlam are both a short trip away.

Port Moody suits people who want a walkable small city with water and forest at their doorstep, as well as commuters who value both SkyTrain and commuter rail. Practical notes: hillside streets are steep and some see snow before the valley does; bears are regular visitors in forested neighbourhoods, so follow garbage rules; and summer weekends can bring heavy traffic on Ioco Road towards Buntzen Lake and Belcarra.