When a pickleball friend texted me and said, “We’re going to Portugal, Spain and Malta. Would you and Ky like to use our condo near Vancouver for the month of September while we’re gone?” Hmmm, let me think about that for one nanosecond, YES!
We met Alan at the Spanish Open in Madrid in 2019. We saw him just after that in Vancouver less than a month later. He walked up and said, “Hey, I know you!” I absolutely love seeing pickleball people we’ve met before in new places. Alan contacted us in 2022 to see about partnering with Ky at the French Open in St. Rafael. Although they didn't get to play together, we were able to spend time with him and his delightful wife Susan. We were old friends by the end of our trip.
We arrived in Vancouver and dropped off our bags at their condo. Alan wasted no time getting us to the Squint Lake pickleball courts to meet up with a friend, and then to join in some open play. We literally hit the ground running.
It is so nice to arrive at a place and have someone to show you the local pickleball ropes. Alan had also already arranged for us to play another day with a group of his friends, so two days after arriving we met some of our pickleball peeps for the month.
From that group we received other offers to play around the Port Moody area. It includes small towns such as Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody. The most active pickleball club is called PoCoMo. We were so fortunate to have Bramble Park nearby, only about a seven minute drive from the condo. We played there several times, and then at 9 other courts, and all but one was outdoor. A list of all the places we played can be found at the end of the post if you're looking for courts in the area. Please contact me to purchase drone photos or videos or check out my work at https://www.pond5.com/artist/hoverhigher. Let me know if you don't see what you're looking for there.
Most courts in that area have temporary nets which they store in large metal boxes with combination locks on them. They can be accessed by community members. I’m not sure if many of those have organized hours, but if you go at peak times (early mornings or late afternoon) it is likely that you can find someone who will invite you to play or help you get set up with a net. We owe so much thanks again to Alan for giving us an introduction. We were invited to play in different locations with other people. I am so thankful to have met Sandy Caverly, Irene Mah, Darlene Yoo & Julie McRitchie, who hospitably invited me in to women’s group play. Everyone was just so Canadian (in the very best way)! Ky had a new group of great guys to play with too.
My birthday was really made special by Ky taking me on a four hour amazing bike tour all around the best sights of Vancouver. The icing on the cake was having lunch afterwards with my sweet friend Rachael and then playing pickleball at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. She's a musician, artist, author and fun pickleball player with a website and Etsy store called Pickleballartwear (really creative and cute pickleball clothing). We missed her husband Jac, but found some great guys to sub in for him.
The really cool part about playing with all of these Canadian people is that they are also very social outside of playing. After playing together, many go to restaurants, have happy hours at the courts, and do bike rides on different days. On birthdays, there are potlucks, and the birthday person brings the shot of their choice to share with the group. For my birthday, my choice was Lemon Drops, which seem to go down well after (not before) lots of 3rd shot drops! There might be a drilling game in there - keep track of your successful 3rd shot drops in one game, and get rewarded with an associated number of drink shots! Way better than beer pong since I literally shudder in disgust at the taste of beer!
We have dear friends, Trish and Steve, who live in West Vancouver very close to the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal. They invited us to join them on their beautiful boat for a few days.
On our way to meet them for our pickup, we surprisingly (or maybe not) found a public court in the tiny town of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast.
That town was on our way to an even tinier town, and a private court at the home of a friend of a Port Moody friend. Who would have “thunk” that in a tiny little coastal town on the Sunshine Coast in Canada that someone would have put a gorgeous pickleball court with a world class view within walking distance to a dock where our friends were picking us up for our boat trip?!!! What a happy coincidence!
Private courts are popping up all over the world, and it is our mission to seek out as many as possible, and play on them! :-) Thank you so much to Doug & Sue for being amazing pickleball hosts! And to top it off, we look forward to seeing them again in one of our favorite places to play pickleball - Los Barriles in Mexico! Pickleball makes it such a small world!
One of the highlights of the entire month was our boat trip with Steve and Trish. We don't get to see them very often, but it's always like slipping back into a favorite soft comfy robe, one that you just recently removed that's still warm. We were so fortunate to spend three days together.
Seeing Chatterbox Falls at the end of Louisa Inlet was stunningly powerful. On our return journey, we saw quite a few Orca whales hunting, and we even saw a black bear on a beach hunting, likely for salmon. The best part of the trip was sharing it with Trish and Steve over delicious meals and drinks, playing games and solving all the world’s problems. It seems however, that we might need to make another trip as I think we missed solving a few of them.
While out in near-wilderness on the boat, we also stumbled upon and incredible jewel of a place, the Malibu Club Young Life Camp on Louisa Inlet. Malibu Club is a beautiful retreat center for Young Life and they also rent it out to other non-profit organizations. Young Life is a mission devoted to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. Guess what, they even had pickleball courts! Yes, some friends tease us that we're like truffle hunting pigs when it comes to finding pickleball courts!
There are no roads to the Malibu Club, and travel is extensive to get there. Everyone arrives by boat or seaplane. Travel from the Vancouver area to the Sunshine Coast includes the BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route. Then a 1.5 hour drive up the Sunshine Coast to the Malibu Landing in Egmont where guests board water taxis or the MV Malibu Princess. It is quite an adventure just to get there, but the trip itself is worth the journey. The beauty of the area can take away your breath.
On our way back to where we left our car when met up with Trish and Steve, we stopped again at Doug and Sue's place for a few more games with more of their friends, Wayne & Bruce. The only reason we weren't tempted to stay longer was that they were getting ready to shut it down for the rainy cold winter season. One of my last pickleball places to play before leaving Canada was also one of the most unique spots I’ve ever played in. It just goes to show that necessity is the mother of invention. When the weather turns foul in Canada, one of the few indoor places to play happens to be inside a velodrome! Julie McRitchie, the President of the PoCoMo Pickleball Club invited me to the Harry Jerome Sports Center. It is a 53,000 square foot sports facility located in Burnaby, BC. It is a multi-sport facility that has six volleyball courts, eight pickleball courts and an indoor cycling track. It was fun to see a cyclist speeding by on the track around the courts while playing pickleball. Heavy netting is in place to prevent any unfortunate interaction between the two sports.
The month flew by just like the best ones always do. With sadness, we left Canada to return to Arizona heat where the temperatures were still well over 100° every day for the next month. We loved our time in Port Moody and we would love to return some time. Thank you to each and every one of you who made our time in BC so special!
Thanks for following along on our adventures. This one was a doozy!
Here is the Pickleball Report on where we played. All can be found on Google maps
- Squint Lake Park 4 dedicated courts + 4 temporary nets on tennis courts with painted pickleball lines
- Lou Moro Park 8 temporary nets and painted lines on two tennis courts
- Robert Burnaby Park in Burnaby 8 temporary nets with painted lines on three tennis courts
- Burnaby Heights in Burnaby 4 temporary nets with painted lines on one tennis court
- Greenaway in Surry (or Cloverdale depending on who you ask) 8 beautiful dedicated courts
See drone shot above.
- Port Coquitlam Community Center 4 gorgeous dedicated courts in an interesting park setting nestled among community buildings
- Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver - Nestled on a high ground, the facility features seven newly renovated, well-maintained courts that are always buzzing with enthusiastic players.
- Hackett's Park in Sechelt on Sunshine Coast - 2 dedicated courts next to one dedicated tennis court. Drone shots not allowed as it was too close to a heliport.
- Private Court on the Sunshine Coast - see story above for more about this one.
- Harry Jerome Sports Center in Burnaby - one of the most unique indoor courts I’ve ever played on - they are in a velodrome!
Don't folks know that you and Ky are actually in Witness Protection? You are literally getting away with pickleball murder with all these fabulous folks and places to play1 Sloped walls? Who knew? By the way, I, too, hate the smell, sound and taste of beer. xoxo
Those photos are stunning Bonnie! I love Vancouver and your post makes me want to visit again!