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Parks
Abbotsford Exhibition Park
Abbotsford Exhibition Park is a world class 75-acre park which boasts a
wide variety of indoor and outdoor facilities, including:
• Ag Rec Building (main floor - 23,040 sq/ft polished concrete floor,
capacity 1920)
• Gallery multipurpose room overlooking main floor (3520 sq/ft,
capacity 200, full kitchen)
• Agrifair Arena (dirt floor - 23000 sq/ft, capacity 1000, built-in
bleachers, separate kitchen)
• Show Barn (asphalt floor with poles between, 23,940 sq/ft,
capacity 1995)
• Pole barn (gravel floor, open-air barn)
• Legacy Sports Centre (Legacy Banquet room, capacity 210,
kitchen, conference room, capacity 66)
• Board Room (capacity 33).
• Wrestling Martial Arts gym/room)
• Cadet Building (5727 sq/ft, capacity 400) painted concrete floor
• 4 - Slo-pitch/softball diamonds (ball pavilion with scorekeeper’s
rooms and washrooms)
• Field House (shared by stadium and playing fields, 6 change
rooms, washrooms, concession)
• Rotary Stadium (Grandstand capacity 4000, announcer’s booth,
timing tower, score clock, 400 meter rubberized track, grass playing
field, washrooms, change rooms, concessions)
• World class BMX track
Abbotsford Exhibition Park - Natural Turf Wicket
In 2011, the artificial cricket pitch at Abbotsford Exhibition Park was
converted to a natural cricket wicket. The wicket has four pitches that
were constructed with specialized soil that was brought in from the
Edmonton area. The soil requires a clay content that is significantly
higher than local soils have. Specialized equipment has been purchased
and maintenance procedures have been established to provide the local
cricket community an exciting venue for play. This conversion allows for
Abbotsford to host both national and international cricket events.
General Park Information
The City of Abbotsford operates and maintains 70 playgrounds in our
parks. In 2003, a Playground Replacement Program was put in place
and, with the ongoing support from the Rotary Club of AbbotsfordSumas, the City has been able to replace 12 playgrounds since that
time.
In 2013, the City was awarded a Federal Government Matching
Infrastructure Grant to replace 10 of its aging playgrounds. This funding
has enabled the City to replace the last of its non-CSA compliant
playgrounds. Playground structures in Larch, Southern, Glenridge,
Charlotte, Everett, Juniper, Renton, Fairfield, Uplands and Jubilee Park
were replaced, as well as upgrades to surrounding infrastructure were
completed in March 2014.
New playground designs address inclusive play and serve children of
all abilities. Replacing the old pea gravel surfacing with “wood carpet”
not only provides better fall protection, but also makes our playgrounds
wheelchair accessible. New protective fencing and asphalt pathways
have been added at several of the playgrounds (where needed) to
further enhance and provide better accessibility.
New Development
Abbotsford Senior Secondary School - Synthetic Turf Field
In partnership with Abbotsford School District No.34, Abbotsford Senior
Secondary School is home to the newest synthetic turf field. Synthetic
turf fields provide great training venues for athletes involved with
school and community sports. This field has been marked for soccer,
American football, unified field lacrosse and field hockey.
Bakerview Centre for Learning - Cricket Pitch
In partnership with Abbotsford School District No.34, Bakerview Centre
for Learning is home to the newest cricket field. An artificial cricket
pitch has been constructed to provide a venue for divisional play for
local cricketeers. Cricket continues to be one of the fastest growing
sports in the Fraser Valley.
For more information about the park section, please contact our office at:
Ph: 604.859.3134 email: [email protected] website: www.abbotsford.ca
40 www.abbotsford.ca/prc
Sports Fields
The Abbotsford Parks, Recreation & Culture Department coordinates
booking services for outdoor sports. For information on field schedules
and bookings, please contact the Field Coordinator, at 604.859.3134.
Field Inspection Procedure
During periods of potential inclement weather, generally November to
March, when normal play may cause damage to fields, or compromise
the safety of users, fields are inspected and reported upon as to the
present conditions.
These inspections occur daily during the business week regarding field
status. Parks staff report on conditions daily prior to 12pm for daily
status.
Prior to 12pm on Fridays, the weekend field status will be reported
on. This status is for the entire weekend until further inspections and
reports to the website and the hotline are updated, on the first business
day of the next week. Field status over the weekend cannot be changed
but are monitored by weekend staff, to ensure safety.
Fields are closed to prevent situations that may lead to player injury and
degradation of the field surfaces. Conditions that warrant field closures
are:
• Standing water
• Frozen or snow covered field surface
• Excessive wear
• Excessive frost
• Weather forecasts stating inclement weather
Picnic Shelters
The City has numerous picnic shelters that will accommodate your
needs. Picnic shelters are next to playgrounds, washrooms and green
spaces for all sorts of activities. Fire restrictions limit cooking to propane
barbecues, supplied by the user group.
Reserve your picnic shelter from April 1 - October 31. Picnic shelters are
on a first-come first served basis for the remainder of the year.
To reserve, please visit our website at www.abbotsford.ca to submit an
online request.
Volunteer
Are you interested in beautifying your local park space? The City of
Abbotsford provides volunteers with the equipment and guidance
necessary for adopting your local park. Challenge your family and
friends to get involved with their community. For more information on
volunteer opportunities, please contact: Alanna Carmichael, Volunteer
Coordinator, 604.557.7050 or [email protected]
Park Programs
Parks Gift Program
The Parks Gift Program was developed to allow citizens, community
groups and businesses to donate gifts to the City of Abbotsford for the
enhancement of public parks and recreation facilities. Applications are
accepted year round. To ensure survival, planting trees and shrubs may
be delayed until an appropriate time of the year. Benches, picnic tables
and similar gifts are ordered immediately upon receipt of payment
and are installed upon receipt from the manufacturer. Donors can
work with our Parks staff to ensure that the gift is appropriate for the
location requested. All donations in excess of $1,000 will receive a
bronze plaque inscribed with a message. Messages can be a maximum
of 70 characters and plaques will be installed on, or next to your gift.
Donations greater than $15,000 can be recognized with a plaque
unveiling at a special event.
Cost Sharing of Private Fencing
As a “Good Neighbour”, the City of Abbotsford will consider cost
sharing the installation of fences constructed on residential properties
shared with city parks and / or pedestrian walkways.
Trees
The City of Abbotsford has a bylaw in place to preserve the tree canopy
in Abbotsford. The City also has measures in place to ensure that all
trees are healthy and viable and contribute positively to the natural
environment. Trees are important in our community to help us sustain
a healthy, natural environment. Before cutting down any trees on
your property, it is important to contact the Urban Forestry Section
to ensure that you comply with the bylaw (please see bylaw at www.
abbotsord.ca). There is a fee for the tree-cutting permit. The current fee
is indicated on the tree cutting application form. Permits are valid one
year from the date of issue. For information on tree permits or if you
have any comments or concerns regarding a tree on a City boulevard or
park contact Parks, Recreation & Culture.
Tips for your Trees
Fertilizing:
• Fertilize your tree ONLY if a soil test shows that nutrients are lacking.
If so, an application of a balanced fertilizer may be applied before the
tree begins to bud.
• Applying ‘weed and feed’ to your lawn may injure or kill your tree.
Most combination weed killers and lawn fertilizers will injure trees. Do
not use anything that states it will kill broad-leaved weeds within the
drip line of a broad-leaved tree as it may harm the tree as well.
Mulching:
• Maintain a ring of mulch around the base of the tree (the wider the
better). Organic materials like wood chips and leaves are best. Wood
chips will take longer to break down and, therefore, will not require
replacement as often.
• Mulch layer should not exceed more than 10 cm. deep over the roots
as this may inhibit oxygen from reaching the roots.
• Mulch should not be placed against the bark of the tree or placed in a
“mulch volcano”.
Watering:
• An important factor in tree survival is providing water at the correct
frequency. The first three years are most critical, but pay attention to
watering needs throughout the tree’s life.
• The best way to know how often to water is to check the soil
moisture approximately 15cm below the soil surface. Water when dry.
• For the first three years after planting, provide about 10 liters of
water per 3cm of trunk diameter. Water the root ball and just beyond
radiating out from the trunk.
• As the trees age, supplemental watering is encouraged in times of
low rainfall to assist in the development of healthy trees. Water larger
trees within 2m of the trunk out to the drip line.
Geese and Ducks
Please do not feed the geese and ducks.
While it is enjoyable to feed waterfowl, it is detrimental to them and to
our environment.
Feeding waterfowl creates numerous problems such as:
• Disturbs natural migration patterns, leading to extremely large
concentrations of birds - overcrowding can lead to disease and
fighting amongst the population.
• Destroys the birds’ ability to forage and find food for themselves.
• Deprives the birds of essential nutrients and can cause serious
digestive problems.
• Attracts rats and other vermin due to the large amount of food scraps
in the area.
• Reduces usable areas for people due to large amounts of feces and
potentially aggressive geese.
• Causes costly efforts to keep our parklands usable and clean and to
manage the ever-increasing numbers of waterfowl.
The presence of wildlife can greatly enhance your park experience but,
when waterfowl concentrations become too high, it can diminish your
experience as well as causing significant increases in maintenance costs.
Please help us to manage these large waterfowl populations by
allowing the birds to feed themselves. Remember, real geese don’t
eat bread.
www.abbotsford.ca/prc PARKS
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Abbotsford Cemeteries
The City of Abbotsford owns and operates four cemeteries:
Aberdeen, Hazelwood, Mt. Lehman and Musselwhite.
Aberdeen Cemetery is located on the Fraser Highway close
to Aldergrove and currently has limited opportunities for
cremation interment.
Mt. Lehman Cemetery is located on Taylor Road in the
historic farming area of Mt. Lehman. There are currently only
cremation interment options at Mt. Lehman.
Hazelwood Cemetery is located along Hazelwood Avenue
just east of the Abbotsford-Mission Highway and has a wide
variety of interment services available. In addition to in-ground
cremation and traditional casket burials, Hazelwood now has a
columbarium consisting of 1,056 wall niches and 200 in-ground
niches. A columbarium is an above-ground, multi-level structure
composed of a number of niches to house cremated remains. Inground niches (or vaults) are constructed of concrete with internal
liners.
As well, an ossuary and scatter garden has been added at
Hazelwood. An ossuary is an in-ground receptacle in which
cremated remains are co-mingled, and a scatter garden is a specially
landscaped area where cremated remains can be dispersed. A small
plaque can be placed on granite memorial pillows located at the
ossuary and scatter garden.
Musselwhite Cemetery is located at the intersection of
Marshall Road and Old Yale Road and currently only has inground cremation interment options available.
The four cemeteries are the final resting place for many of the Fraser
Valley’s early settlers and continue to reflect the ongoing growth and
diversity of the community. Abbotsford’s cemeteries are landscaped
and maintained in park-like settings with views of the nearby
mountains and the Fraser Valley. These historic places are cultural
resources and community assets that provide an ongoing legacy for
generations of Fraser Valley residents.
Pre-arrangements can be made by contacting Parks, Recreation &
Culture.
The City of Abbotsford owns
and operates four cemeteries:
Aberdeen, Hazelwood, Mt. Lehman,
and Musselwhite.
Cemeteries are landscaped and
maintained in park-like settings
with views to the nearby mountains
and the Fraser Valley. .
For more information, visit our
website at www.abbotsford.ca
Aberdeen
Cemetery
28417 Fraser Highway
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Hazelwood
Cemetery
34070 Hazelwood Avenue
www.abbotsford.ca/prc
Mt. Lehman
Cemetery
2900 Block, Taylor Road
Musselwhite
Cemetery
3500 Block, Old Yale Road
NICO
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Dog Off-Leash Areas
Abbotsford currently provides 4 dog off-leash areas within its
municipal park system. These are located at:
• Gladwin Park
• Bateman Park / Stoney Creek
• McKay Creek Park / Sumas Dyke
• Clearbrook Park
Gladwin Park
GLADWIN RD
Gladwin Park
What is a Dog Off-leash Area?
Hydro Towers
A dog off-leash area is a place where pet owners can take their
dogs to run free without a leash. Off leash does not mean “out
of control” and only applies to the specific, designated area. Pet
owners must ensure that their dogs are controlled and not violent or
aggressive. Pet owners must also be on-site for the duration of the
visit and abide by the off-leash area etiquette.
Dog Off-Leash Area
DISCOVERY TRAIL
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Dog Off-Leash Area Etiquette
Discovery Trail
BATEMAN RD
Dog Off-Leash
Area
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Stoney Creek Trail Park
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Stoney Creek
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Bateman Park
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Clearbrook Park
Dog Off-Leash Area
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CLINTON AVENUE
www.abbotsford.ca/prc
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Sumas Canal Dyke Trail
/ McKay Creek Trail
SPARWOOD STREET
• Please obey all park rules and relevant parking requirements.
Please avoid parking along residential roads and utilize the parking
lots instead.
• Dogs must be licensed.
• Properly clean-up and dispose of your dog’s feces.
• Handlers must have a leash with them for each dog.
• Dogs must be under the control of and within sight of their
handlers at all times.
• Owners are personally liable for any damage or injury inflicted by
their dogs.
Please ensure that all dogs are leashed before leaving the off-leash
area. Dogs must be leashed in all parks, except within designated
off-leash areas. We hope you enjoy the dog off-leash areas and have
fun with your dogs.
HAIDA DR
PARKS
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Albert Dyck Memorial Park, 31515 Walmsley Avenue
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Babich Park, 33404 Wren Crescent
Bateman Park, 32638 Bateman Road
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Berry Park, 33928 Fern Street
Bradner Park, 28665 Haverman Road
Clayburn Park, 34845 Clayburn Road
Clearbrook Park, 3680 Clearbrook Road
Crossley Park, 2630 McAdam Road
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DeLair Park, 35570 Old Yale Road
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Eagle Mt. Park, 2570 Eagle Mountain Way
Ellwood/Fishtrap Creek Park, 31580 Maclure Road
Gardner Park, 31070 Gardner Avenue
Grant Park, 31850 Maderia Place
Hougen Park, 2675 Cole Road
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International Friendship Garden, 32320 George Ferguson Way
J.A. Spud Murphy Park, 32285 Hillcrest Drive
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Jubilee Park, 2552 McCallum Road
Kalgidhar Park, 3461 Nightingale Drive
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Swensson Park, 27875 Swensson Avenue
Yale Courts, 2553 Yale Court
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Townline Hill Park, 30939 Blueridge Drive
Upper Sumas Fields, 920 Whatcom Road
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M.S.A. Arena, 2323 Emerson Street
Ridgeview Park, 31352 Wagner Drive
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Mill Lake Park, 32960 Mill Lake Road
Mt. Lehman Community Park, 6418 Mt. Lehman Road
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McDonald Park, No. 3 Road
Mouat Park, 32355 Mouat Drive
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Matsqui Village Park, 6074 Riverside Road
McMillan Park, 2499 McMillan Road
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Lower Sumat Mountain Park, 36151 Walter Road
Mathers Park, 36367 Stephen Leacock Drive
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# of Tennis Courts
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Skate Boarding
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Playground Equipment
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Dave Kandal Park, 3575 Crestview Avenue
Douglas Taylor Park, 30801 Harris Road
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Picnic Shelters
(R) Reservable
Trails / Walking Paths
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Abbotsford Exhibition Park, 32470 Haida Drive
Jogging Track
Basketball / Sports Courts
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Horse Trail
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