[An image of a park. Photo Credit to Pixabay]

Two new parks opening within days of each other offer Abbotsford residents two different ways to enjoy the outdoors.

Gilmour Park is centred on playground equipment, outdoor fitness and community gathering spaces, while Copper Hill Park focuses on walking trails, natural scenery and mountain views

Gilmour Park will open on Saturday, July 25, followed by Cooper Hill Park on Wednesday, July 29.

The parks are located in different parts of the city and offer different types of outdoor activities.

Gilmour Park is located at 33932 Gilmour Drive in the Marshall McCallum neighbourhood.

The approximately 1,300-square-metre park was developed on a previously undeveloped site surrounded by single-family homes, manufactured housing, and an apartment complex.

Construction began in January 2026, and the final design was developed after two rounds of public engagement.

Designed primarily for active recreation, the park includes a playground with a parkour-inspired agility structure, a hill slide, a universal carousel and a spinner.

It also has a table tennis area and three outdoor fitness stations: a cross trainer, a balance station, and parallel bars.

Other features include paved pathways, a shaded shelter with a picnic table, a drinking fountain, benches, trees, and landscaped areas.

The city will commemorate Gilmour Park’s opening with a community block party from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 25.

The celebration will include lawn games through the Go Play Outside program, face painting, a food truck, a park-wide scavenger hunt and complimentary giveaways.

Gilmour Drive between Keys Place and Reeves Place will be closed from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the festivities.

Copper Hill Park, in contrast, is much larger and is designed around walking and access to the natural environment.

The 3.3 hectare park is situated on McKee Road, west of McMillan Road and north of the Abbotsford Recreation Centre.

Polygon Homes developed the park during the creation of the neighbouring Copper Meadows residential community.

The park’s main feature is an elevated gravel trail that follows a scenic ridge.

From the trail, visitors are treated to views of the surrounding mountains and parts of the city.

Four benches are located along the route, providing places for visitors to rest and observe the landscape.

Both Cooper Hill Park and Cooper Meadows were named after the Cooper family, which owned and operated a farm on the property from 1926 until 2020.

The names honor the family’s long connection to the land as the surrounding property is developed into a residential community and public park.

The opening celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony for Cooper Hill Park will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on July 29.

Planned activities include a food truck, a StoryWalk along the trail, a scavenger hunt, mini golf, lawn games, and giveaways.

The two parks offer different forms of outdoor recreation.

Gilmour Park is designed around playground equipment, fitness stations and gathering areas, while Cooper Hill Park emphasizes a trail, viewpoints and access to nature.

These openings follow other recent park projects in Abbotsford, including improvements at Engineer Park and a new splash pad at Crossly Park.

The city has connected these projects to its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan priority of fostering a healthy and active community.

However, the two new parks do not simply provide identical recreation spaces.

Gilmour Park emphasizes activity, exercise, and social gatherings in a residential neighbourhood, while Cooper Hill Park provides access to trails, views and the area’s natural landscape.

Together, the parks expand the range of outdoor spaces available to Abbotsford residents and provide options for people with different recreational interests.