Rocky Point Park.

Rocky Point is where Port Moody comes to breathe. The park fronts the quiet eastern end of Burrard Inlet, where the tide slides in over mudflats and the water is sheltered enough to stay mirror-calm on autumn evenings. A long wooden pier reaches out from the lawn, and walking to its end is the ritual: turn around and you see the town, the forested hills and, in October, a shoreline of alder and maple glowing yellow and orange.

The best walk is the Shoreline Trail, which leaves the park heading east along the inlet toward Old Orchard Park. It alternates between gravel path and boardwalk over the tidal marsh, with viewing platforms at the best spots and interpretive signs about the salmon that return to the creeks here each fall. Three kilometres out and back is plenty for most families; the full round trip to Old Orchard and back is a solid afternoon.

Rocky Point itself has everything a family might want within a few hundred metres: a large playground, a spray park, a skate park, washrooms, and the small boat launch where kayakers set out. Across Murray Street, the cluster of craft breweries known as Brewery Row has turned the area into a destination, and the ice-cream stand by the pier keeps long lines on warm weekends.

Late afternoon is the time to come. The sun drops behind the western hills and the whole inlet takes on a warm, flat light that photographers chase. The caveats are parking, which is genuinely difficult on fine weekends, and the boardwalks, which get slick when wet and are busy with cyclists. Taking SkyTrain to Moody Centre and walking in solves the first problem entirely.