Surrey city guide

Surrey at a glance

Surrey is the second-largest city in British Columbia by population and one of the largest by land area. It sits south of the Fraser River and runs all the way to the Canada–US border, which means it holds a little of everything: high-rise apartments near SkyTrain, cul-de-sac suburbs, working farms, industrial parks, regional forests and a strip of ocean shoreline on Boundary Bay and Semiahmoo Bay.

The easiest way to understand Surrey is as a cluster of six town centres rather than one city. City Centre (historically Whalley) is the emerging downtown around Surrey Central station. Guildford is the northeast shopping and apartment hub. Fleetwood is a family suburb along Fraser Highway. Newton is the heart of Surrey’s South Asian community. Cloverdale is the original settlement, with a small-town main street and the fairgrounds. South Surrey wraps around White Rock and stretches out to Crescent Beach and the border.

Surrey is one of the most diverse places in Canada. A large share of residents have South Asian heritage, and the city has the highest proportion of Sikh residents of any Canadian municipality, which shapes everything from its festivals to its food. It also has deep roots in farming, a growing film industry and a large young population, so you will find plenty of schools, sports fields and community centres.

Surrey calls itself the City of Parks, and it is not an empty boast. Large forested parks, regional parks along the Fraser and the Serpentine and Nicomekl rivers, and countless neighbourhood green spaces make it a good base for anyone who wants nature close to home.

A short history

Long before settlement, the lands and waters that became Surrey were home to Coast Salish peoples. The City and local institutions acknowledge the territories of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen) and SEMYOME (Semiahmoo) First Nations. The Katzie and Kwantlen are Halkomelem-speaking peoples connected to the Fraser River, while the Semiahmoo, a North Straits Salish people, are rooted along Semiahmoo Bay near today’s South Surrey and White Rock. The Semiahmoo First Nation’s reserve still lies next to the bay, beside Peace Arch Provincial Park.

European settlers began arriving in the second half of the 1800s, first in the Cloverdale area and parts of South Surrey, where the land was good for farming. The municipality was incorporated on 10 November 1879 and took its name from the county of Surrey in England. For decades it remained a rural district of farms, logging and small crossroads communities connected by river landings, early roads and railways.

The turning point came with the bridges. The Pattullo Bridge opened in 1937 and tied North Surrey to New Westminster, setting off suburban growth. Later highways and the Expo Line extension into Surrey brought even more change, and from the 1980s onward the population grew quickly, driven largely by immigration. Surrey became a city on 11 September 1993. In February 2026 the four-lane stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge, also signed as the Riverview Bridge, replaced the old Pattullo, carrying a Halkomelem name given by the Kwantlen First Nation and Musqueam Indian Band.

Top things to do in Surrey

Parks and nature

Green Timbers Urban Forest is a good first stop. It was one of the first areas in the province to be replanted after logging, and today its trails loop through tall second-growth forest and around a small lake, a few minutes from Surrey Central.

In South Surrey, Crescent Beach is a small seaside community with a sandy shoreline and wide views over Boundary Bay. Walk out to Blackie Spit at the mouth of the Nicomekl River for shorebirds, herons and sunsets. Nearby, Redwood Park is one of the city’s more unusual green spaces, planted with redwoods and other trees by two brothers in the last century and known for its treehouse and shady trails.

Bear Creek Park in the centre of the city combines gardens, sports fields, a playground and walking paths. Tynehead Regional Park in the north follows the Serpentine River through forest and meadow, and Surrey Bend Regional Park gives you a quiet look at the Fraser River’s wetlands. Out on the Serpentine lowlands, Serpentine Fen is a favourite of birders, with viewing towers over the marsh.

Right on the border in South Surrey, Peace Arch Provincial Park surrounds the white Peace Arch monument, built in the 1920s beside a crossing that opened in 1908. The lawns and gardens make a pleasant picnic stop, and it is one of the few places where you can stroll within sight of the United States. Check border wait times before you go, as Highway 99 traffic can back up.

Culture and history

The Museum of Surrey in Cloverdale tells the story of the city, from Indigenous history to farming and immigration, and sits beside Heritage Square and the restored former municipal buildings. Stroll Cloverdale’s main street afterwards; its older storefronts have appeared in many film and TV shoots.

The Surrey Art Gallery is the second-largest public art museum in Metro Vancouver and is known for contemporary exhibitions and digital and sound art. Historic Stewart Farm in South Surrey offers a look at rural life in the early 1900s, with a farmhouse, heritage gardens and trails along the Nicomekl. In City Centre, the striking City Centre Library and Civic Plaza host events and are a good place to see how fast the new downtown is growing.

Shopping

Guildford Town Centre is the city’s largest mall, and Central City sits right beside Surrey Central station. In South Surrey, the open-air centres at Morgan Crossing and Grandview Corners mix shops, groceries and dining. For something more local, Newton and the Scott Road corridor are full of South Asian clothing, jewellery and sweet shops, especially busy before Vaisakhi and Diwali.

Family fun

Surrey is built for families. Bear Creek Park has a large playground and space to run, Holland Park in City Centre hosts big free festivals, and almost every neighbourhood has a recreation centre with pools and drop-in programs. Summer days at Crescent Beach, combined with ice cream and a sunset walk to Blackie Spit, are a local tradition.

Food and drink

Surrey is the place in Metro Vancouver for Punjabi and wider South Asian food. The densest concentration is in Newton, especially around King George Boulevard and along Scott Road and 128 Street, where you will find dhabas, sweet shops, chai counters and banquet halls. Portions are generous and prices are often lower than in Vancouver.

Beyond Punjabi cooking, Surrey has strong Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Middle Eastern and Afghan options scattered across Guildford, Fleetwood and City Centre, often in strip malls that are easy to overlook. Fleetwood’s stretch of Fraser Highway is a reliable bet for casual family meals.

South Surrey leans toward sit-down restaurants, brewpubs and patios around Morgan Crossing, Grandview Corners and Crescent Beach. Cloverdale has a handful of cafés and diners along its historic main street. Surrey also has a growing craft beer scene, mostly in light industrial areas in Cloverdale, Newton and South Surrey.

Do not overlook the farmland. Large parts of Surrey sit in the Agricultural Land Reserve, and in summer you will see seasonal farm stands selling berries, corn and vegetables along the rural roads of Cloverdale and the Serpentine and Nicomekl lowlands. It is an easy way to pair a drive in the country with a picnic at one of the regional parks.

Where to stay

City Centre is the most practical base for visitors without a car. Staying near Surrey Central or King George station puts you a direct Expo Line ride from downtown Vancouver, with malls, the library and Holland Park close by.

Guildford works well if you are driving, with quick access to Highway 1 and the Port Mann Bridge for trips into the Fraser Valley. South Surrey makes sense if you want the beach, golf or a short hop to the Peace Arch border crossing, and it pairs nicely with a day in neighbouring White Rock. Cloverdale is the natural choice during rodeo weekend or for events at the fairgrounds.

Getting around

SkyTrain’s Expo Line serves four stations in Surrey: Scott Road, Gateway, Surrey Central and King George, which is the end of the line. When travelling from downtown Vancouver, make sure you board a train signed for King George, as some Expo Line trains branch off toward Production Way–University.

Two RapidBus routes fill in key corridors. The R1 King George Blvd runs between Guildford Exchange and Newton Exchange via Surrey Central, and the R6 Scott Rd runs from Scott Road station to Newton Exchange, serving the Surrey–Delta border along the way. Regular buses reach Cloverdale, Fleetwood and South Surrey, though trips can be long.

The Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension is under construction along Fraser Highway. The 16-kilometre line will add eight stations from King George to Langley City Centre, including Green Timbers, 152 Street, Fleetwood, Bakerview-166 Street, Hillcrest-184 Street and Clayton in Surrey, with service expected in late 2029.

By car, Highway 1 crosses the Port Mann Bridge from the north, Highway 99 runs south to the Peace Arch border crossing, and Highway 17 and Highway 91 connect to Delta and Richmond. The new stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge links North Surrey with New Westminster. Cycling is improving, with separated lanes in City Centre and long recreational routes such as the Serpentine and Nicomekl greenways.

Seasons and events

Surrey has the mild, wet West Coast climate typical of Metro Vancouver, with grey, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. South Surrey near the water tends to be a little sunnier than the north.

The year’s biggest crowd arrives in April for the Vaisakhi Parade (Khalsa Day) in Newton, one of the largest Vaisakhi celebrations outside India, with hundreds of thousands of people, free food from community kitchens and a long procession of floats. Expect road closures and plan to arrive by transit.

Over the Victoria Day long weekend in May, the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair fills the Cloverdale fairgrounds with rodeo events, a midway and a parade. In July, the free Surrey Fusion Festival takes over Holland Park for a weekend of cultural pavilions, an Indigenous village, food from around the world and several music stages.

Living in Surrey

Housing in Surrey ranges from towers and townhouses near SkyTrain to detached homes on larger lots in Fleetwood, Cloverdale and South Surrey, plus acreages in the rural areas. Many families move here for more space than they can find closer to Vancouver, and new neighbourhoods such as Clayton and Grandview Heights have grown quickly.

Surrey Schools runs a large public system, and the city is home to post-secondary campuses for Simon Fraser University in City Centre and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, whose main campus is in Newton with a trades campus in Cloverdale. Surrey Memorial Hospital in City Centre is a major regional hospital.

Surrey suits people who want a diverse, family-oriented community with room to grow. The trade-off is distance: commutes to Vancouver can be long, and outside City Centre most daily errands are easier with a car. Choosing a home near the Expo Line, the R1 or the future Fraser Highway SkyTrain line makes a big difference if you plan to rely on transit.