This Saturday we went to Barnston Island for a bike ride. The island is located in the Fraser river, just north of Surrey and south of the Pitt Meadows airport. You have to take your bikes over a small ferry to get to and from the island. The route around the island is about 10 km.

First off, you can get some background on Barnston Island here. At the west end of the island is a park, known as Roberts Point, which is part of Surrey Bend Regional Park.

To get there, from Highway 1, take the 176th Street exit north to 104th Avenue. Turn right and go to the end and park in the parking lot, and walk your bikes onto the ferry. There are a couple of spots where you should not park, but everywhere else is fine. The reason you don't take your car on the ferry is that there is no parking on the island.

The ferry only took a couple of minutes to cross over to the island, and then we were on a road that went around the edge of the island. If you go left, you get to the park in under 2 km, or if you go right, then you go the long way which takes about 8 km. Of course we took the long way.

We traveled at a leisurely 10 km/hr, so our total cycling time was around an hour. The road is smooth and level all the way. Be careful of some of the residents on the island, as they drive a little fast.

Apart from the park, everywhere else is private property. So we just cycled around the island, stopping at the park before we went back to the ferry.

There were a couple of geocaches on the island, but I did not bring the clues, and it was pretty well overgrown. We shall have to return to find them.

Below is a map of our route: