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Our View: Worth re-acquainting ourselves with Langley parks

Parks are still a source of refuge, even as pandemic recedes
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Your Tree Service owner Brandon MacAlpine planted seven Arbour Day trees on last year in Williams Park. (Langley Advance Times files)

Over the course of the pandemic, one of the few places that consistently had packed parking lots was Langley’s public parks.

Whether it was local urban parks like Douglas in Langley City, bigger locations like Williams Park, or Metro Vancouver’s Campbell Valley or Aldergrove, parks drew people who desperately needed the ability to get out of their house, get some fresh air, and see other humans, even if only from a safe distance.

With other options available during the past few months, like movies and indoor sporting events, it’s possible that parks have become a little less crowded.

But there’s no better time than now to head out and reacquaint yourself with Langley’s parklands.

Thanks to having several large Metro Vancouver Regional District parks within our borders, along with sizable municipal parks, we have more park options than most people in Metro Vancouver.

The most surprising thing about them is their variety.

Aldergrove Regional Park has hiking trails through dense woods, but also broad open fields and hills where you can look out for miles south across the U.S. border. Campbell Valley has the remains of the old Langley Speedway, horse trails, historic buildings, ponds, and waterways. Williams Park has rivers and picnic areas and the remains of a century-old lumber mill’s spillway. Brydon Lagoon is a great place to watch for birds and turtles, or to trek the Nicomekl floodplain.

Checking out the websites of the City, Township, or Metro Vancouver will likely show you a park you’ve never visited, or haven’t been to in years.

This spring is a great time to go out and visit a new park in a new area of Langley, whether it’s within walking and cycling distance of your home, or a short drive away.

Nature is one of the best ways we have of rejuvenating our moods, so take a break and visit a park.

– M.C.

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