03 About Pitt Meadows
Farmland, rivers and a small-town core
Pitt Meadows sits on the north side of the Fraser River where it meets the Pitt River, on the traditional territory of the Katzie First Nation. The land is low and flat, and much of it was once marsh and floodplain. Settlers built dikes to protect farms from flooding, and after the Second World War Dutch farmers reclaimed more low-lying land in the area known as the Pitt Polder. Pitt Meadows was incorporated in 1914 and became a city in 2007.
Agriculture still defines the place. About 78 percent of the city’s land is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, and blueberry and cranberry fields stretch out toward the mountains. Most residents live in a small urban core of roughly 400 hectares, which keeps the town centre compact and easy to get around.
Dikes, wetlands and wildlife
Pitt Meadows is one of the best places in Metro Vancouver for flat, scenic cycling and walking. The city maintains more than 40 km of dikes, many topped with multi-use trails along the Fraser and Pitt rivers and the local sloughs. At the north end of the city, Grant Narrows Regional Park sits at the mouth of Pitt Lake, where marshes and viewing platforms attract birders and paddlers. The Pitt Polder Ecological Reserve protects a granite outcrop surrounded by marsh, and wildlife from waterfowl to black bears is common in the area.
Getting around
Lougheed Highway runs through the middle of the city, linking it with Port Coquitlam to the west over the Pitt River Bridge and Maple Ridge to the east. The Golden Ears Bridge, opened in 2009, crosses the Fraser to Langley and Surrey. Pitt Meadows Regional Airport, opened in 1963, is a general aviation airport used for flight training and small aircraft.
Who it suits
Pitt Meadows suits people who want a quiet, close-knit community with nature on every side. The town centre around Harris Road covers everyday needs, Osprey Village offers riverside living, and the shops and restaurants of Maple Ridge are only minutes away.
