Hello happy would-be travellers, I’d like to introduce Kali.  She and I were talking about this amazing small town in Canada. This town is full of charm. Much love, Chrissy!!

Tea and scones. Independent bookstores. Antiques that are newer than the shop they are sold in. An actual fort-turned-museum from 1827. 

Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada

45 minutes from one of Canada’s most popular tourist cities, Vancouver, is a tiny town, inside of a small town.

Fort Langley was built in 1827, as a fur trading post for the Hudson’s Bay Company.  Still located on unceded traditional territories of Kwantlen, Matsqui, Katzie, and Semiahmoo First Nations, the history of the town is rich and uniquely British Columbian. During its inception, the fort was located on the Fraser River, which was a major trade route for the British Empire, seated in a large population of Indigenous peoples.

Today, the town is a picturesque small town centered around a main street, Glover Road.  Fewer than 2000 households make Fort Langley their home. With tiny houses, a nearly 200 year old cemetery, restored vintage shops, a candy store, the Little White House & Co. tea house, Wendel’s Bookstore & Cafe, Gasoline Alley, The Fort Langley Heritage Site, and a Community Hall (est. 1932), Fort Langley is a must-see when visiting British Columbia’s Lower Mainland.

One of the must-do activities in Fort Langley is Fort Camping – there are 5 heritage themed tents that sleep 6, and include power, a mini fridge, and BBQ access. This is the only opportunity to actually spend the night inside the nearly 200-year old Fort, and the evenings are filled with First Nations interpreters telling centuries old tales around the campfire.

Living just across the river from Fort Langley, we have been bringing our kids here for more than a decade. It has attractions for all ages, whether you are looking for an Alice In Wonderland Tea with your daughter, panning for ‘gold’ in the museum, a spa day with you best friends, or searching for an antique shopping in Gasoline Alley, there is no doubt that this is a small town that merits a visit.

The Community Hall has often been featured in movies and on TV shows, including Once Upon a Time (ABC), Air Bud and the subsequent sequels, Hope Springs, Supernatural (CW), and nearly every Lifetime or Hallmark Christmas movie ever. This gives the quaint main street an idyllic old fashioned feel, which is what I love most about it. That, and the fact that the Little White House & Co. is where I have taken my daughter for nearly every one of her birthdays since she was 5.

Here are some useful links for exploring this small town:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Kali Desautels is a thirty-something professional Canadian writer married to her high school sweetheart since 2006, and mom to two crazy, clever, kind, hilarious, wonderful kids.

She is the author of How Not To Blog: Finding Myself, One Post at a Time is available on Amazon; she is a contributing author to Indigenous Peoples for BlackLivesMatter, also available on Amazon from EagleSpeaker Publishing.

She saw her life change dramatically when her husband was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer in 2018, and now works as a writer for a leading Canadian Cancer Non-Profit.

You can find Kali on her blog

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