Can you do a Port Moody day trip from Vancouver by SkyTrain? Yes. Take the Millennium Line to Moody Centre Station, then walk about 10 minutes to Rocky Point Park (2800 Murray Street) per the City of Port Moody Getting Around page. Spend the half day on the pier and park, then walk the Shoreline Trail round trip to Old Orchard Park (about six kilometres and about two hours on either the paved multi-use path or the gravel/boardwalk path). Bikes stay on the paved path; the gravel trail and boardwalk are walk-focused. Confirm TransLink times, trail notices, and cafe hours before you leave. If you drive, expect on-season pay parking at Rocky Point through September with a four-hour daily max in the same zone.
Snapshot
| Piece | What to plan | | --- | --- | | Transit | Millennium Line to Moody Centre for the park walk. Inlet Centre for Newport / Suter Brook shops. Times are typical, not guaranteed. | | Walk from Moody Centre | Rocky Point about 10 minutes. Shoreline Trail about 16 minutes (city Getting Around). | | Trail | Two paths, Rocky Point pier to Old Orchard Park. About 6 km return, about 2 hours, minimal elevation. | | Bike rule | Paved path OK. Gravel trail: no bikes/scooters. Boardwalk-only access: dismount and walk. | | Parking (if driving) | On-season April to September Rocky Point: first hour $1.50, then $3.75/hr, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., 4-hour daily max same zone. | | Season honesty | Outdoor pool season closed after Labour Day weekend 2026 (Sep 6). Spray parks typically through September when open. |
Why Port Moody works as a half day
Rocky Point sits a short walk from Moody Centre Station. Once you are at the park you have the pier, playground, Shoreline Trailheads, and waterfront patio options without a ferry transfer or a long North Shore bus.
That is the whole point of this planner: land near the inlet, walk a clear loop, and get home on SkyTrain without gambling on a last sailing.
Set expectations. Sunny weekends crowd the pier and the boardwalk. Pay parking applies if you drive. The outdoor pool season for 2026 is already closed as of early September, so do not build the day around a Rocky Point Pool swim.
If you liked the harbour feel of Steveston or the village walk of Deep Cove, Port Moody is the inlet sibling that stays on the Millennium Line.
How to get there
SkyTrain (preferred)
Take the Millennium Line to Moody Centre Station when Rocky Point and Shoreline Trail are the main goal. The City of Port Moody Getting Around page puts Rocky Point about a 10-minute walk from Moody Centre and Shoreline Trail about 16 minutes.
Inlet Centre Station is the better stop for Newport Village, Suter Brook, City Hall, and the library cluster. Rocky Point is a longer walk from Inlet Centre, so treat Inlet Centre as a shops-first stop, not the default park drop-off.
Treat door-to-park time as typical, not guaranteed. Use TransLink Trip Planner or the Transit app the morning you go. City marketing says Port Moody is about 35 minutes east of Vancouver. That is a rough claim, not a door-to-door promise from your couch.
Driving and pay parking (if you skip transit)
Prefer SkyTrain so the half day is not a parking hunt. If you do drive, Port Moody pay parking is public and seasonal.
On-season (April to September) at Rocky Point Park lots, per the city Pay Parking page:
- First hour $1.50
- Additional hours $3.75
- Hours 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Four-hour daily maximum in the same zone
Esplanade Avenue and Murray Street have related on-season rates (first hour $1.50, then $2.50). Payment is via Indigo Neo, Scan-to-Pay, or meters. App and Scan-to-Pay add a small convenience fee. The boat-launch lot and off-leash dog park lot have separate rules. EV charging at Rocky Point includes parking in the charging fee while the vehicle is charging.
Off-season (October to March) drops Rocky Point rates and shortens pay hours. Late September is still on-season.
Hour-by-hour half-day outline
Use this as a template, not a stopwatch.
- Late morning SkyTrain. Board the Millennium Line toward Moody Centre with slack. Do not cut a tight transfer if you want a calm pier arrival.
- Walk to Rocky Point. About 10 minutes from Moody Centre per the city. Orient at the pier first.
- Pier and park loop. Playground, washrooms, picnic shelters, and the bike Fixit station near the parking lot if you rode in.
- Shoreline round trip. Budget about two hours for the six-kilometre return on either path. Pick paved or gravel before you start so you are not renegotiating mid-loop.
- Casual food buffer. Fish and chips, ice cream, or a waterfront patio near the park, or Clarke / St. Johns shops near Moody Centre. Confirm hours the morning you go.
- Return SkyTrain. Leave buffer before evening plans. Sunny weekends mean slower walks back through the park and fuller trains.
Rocky Point Park
Rocky Point Park at 2800 Murray Street is Port Moody's best-known waterfront park. The city page highlights the recreational pier, playground, Shoreline Trail access, kayak and paddleboard rentals, fish and chips, ice cream, and waterfront patio dining. Picnic shelters are bookable through the city.
Other practical notes from public city pages:
- Spray parks usually open for the May long weekend and typically stay open until September. When open, hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., weather permitting.
- Rocky Point Pool ran public swims in summer 2026 through September 6. Do not pitch swimming at the outdoor pool for a late-September trip.
- A bicycle Fixit station sits near the parking lot for basic repairs.
- Recreational drones are not allowed in parks under the city's Parks and Community Facilities rules reminder on the park page.
Old Orchard Park (630 Alderside Road), at the far end of Shoreline Trail, holds Port Moody's only swimming beach. Water quality is sampled; Fraser Health and posted city signage govern when swimming is not recommended. Fall is not a swim guarantee.
Shoreline Trail loop
Shoreline Trail is one of Port Moody's most used paths. City materials cite more than 230,000 visits a year and stress that the corridor is also critical habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife.
Two paths extend from the pier in Rocky Point Park along Burrard Inlet to Old Orchard Park:
- Paved multi-use path for cycling, scootering, rolling, and walking. Upgrades in 2024 included repaving, drainage work, a Noons Creek bridge replacement, benches, and interpretive signs.
- Gravel trail and boardwalk closer to the water for walkers and runners. This path includes stairs. Bicycles and scooters (human-powered or electric) are not permitted on the gravel trail. Riders accessing only the boardwalk must dismount and walk.
City Shoreline Trail and Trails pages put the round trip at about six kilometres and about two hours on either path, with minimal elevation. That is the family-friendly loop this day trip is built around.
A new 440 m boardwalk within the gravel trail opened in September 2025. The city describes it as raised for sea-level resilience, wheelchair accessible with gentler grades at entry and exit points, and equipped with a mid-boardwalk viewing platform that hosts a house post carved through an Indigenous collaboration (Tsleil-Waututh with Katzie partners). Stay on the structure. The elevated design is meant to keep people off sensitive tidal mudflats.
In June 2026, council dedicated the Shoreline Trail Boardwalk to Freedom of the City recipient Ann Hulbert and the Shoreline Trail to Freedom of the City recipient David Driscoll. That is civic colour, not a travel constraint.
Check the Shoreline Trail page for closure notices before you go. Bert Flinn Park boardwalk work elsewhere in the city is a separate trail system and is not this loop.
Food and cafes
Keep food framing casual. This is not a ranked best-of list.
The city Rocky Point page mentions fish and chips, ice cream, and sitting on a waterfront patio. Clarke Street and St. Johns shops are a short walk from Moody Centre (city Getting Around puts St. Johns about 8 minutes and Clarke about 12 minutes from the station).
Omitted from verified hours: specific restaurant opening times. An operator hours page for the main waterfront patio restaurant was not confirmed morning of draft, and third-party aggregators do not count. Confirm venue hours the morning you go. If rain turns the outdoor plan, treat an indoor cafe near Moody Centre as the backup rather than forcing a long wet gravel loop.
Weather, crowds, and trail honesty
Sunny weekends fill the pier, boardwalk, and pay-parking stalls. If you want quieter photos, go earlier or on a shoulder day.
Rain makes gravel and boardwalk slick. The paved path is the wet-weather default. Good shoes beat fashion sneakers either way.
Tide flats are sensitive habitat. Stay on the trail and boardwalk. Inlet wind can feel colder than the forecast, so pack a layer even on mild September days.
Fall is not a swim guarantee at Old Orchard beach. Trust posted water-quality signage over wishful thinking.
Pairing ideas
Treat Port Moody as its own half day. Do not force a same-day stack after a full Shoreline loop plus a Night Market run.
Same-weekend ideas on other days:
- Island ferry day: Bowen Island day trip without a car
- North Shore village and forest: Deep Cove day trip or Lynn Canyon day trip
- Seaside series: Steveston day trip or White Rock day trip
- If inlet weather looks poor: free fall colour walks near Vancouver
