Fort Langley During a Festival

Located between Surrey and Abbotsford, the City of Langley and Township of Langley are 2 out of 23 municipalities that make up Metro Vancouver.

This article includes information about the following topics:

Click any of the above links to jump to a specific topic, or continue reading to learn about the City of Langley, Township of Langley, Fort Langley, and all their various main events and places of interest.

The City and Township of Langley

The City and Township of Langley are two separate municipalities. Many Vancouverites don’t know the difference, however, and refer to the region between Surrey and Abbotsford simply as “Langley” (which is what we also generally do for the purposes of this website).

Combined, the two communities have a population of about 145,000 and are home to numerous festivals and places of interest. The “City” is by far the smaller of the two places. The “Township,” meanwhile, is much larger, both in geographic size and population. It’s also quite rural and with lots of farmland.

(Note: To make things even more confusing, there is also the community of Fort Langley, which is actually located within the Township, as is the similarly unincorporated community of Aldergrove).

When people think of Langley they often think of flat terrain, farms, Wine Country and the historic village of Fort Langley.

Langley Arts Alive Festival — City of Langley’s Arts Alive Festival

Langley Festivals and Events

In years when there isn’t a pandemic, a number of great events usually take place in Langley over the course of the year including the following:

Polar Bear Swim – a crazy outdoor swimming event on January 1st in the river at Fort Langley most years.
Fort Langley Historic Half Marathon – a variety of running races around Fort Langley in February.
Fort Langley May Day Fair and Parade – a parade and community festival on the May Long Weekend.
Brewhalla Fort Langley – a beer festival featuring local craft beers and food vendors.
Fort Langley Village Farmers Market – a weekly market on Saturdays from early May until late October in Fort Langley.
Westcoast Wellness Show – a health and wellness show that takes place at Cascades Casino Resort.
Community Day – a free event with food trucks, live music, market vendors and other activities in Douglas Park in June.
Canada Day – Canada Day celebrations take place on July 1st in municipalities throughout the Lower Mainland including in Fort Langley and in Aldergrove.
Arts Alive Festival – an arts festival in mid-August in the downtown area of the City of Langley.
Brigade Days at Fort Langley – festivities in Fort Langley over the BC Day Long Weekend at the beginning of August.
Ribfest Langley – a BBQ rib-focused community event at McLeod Athletic Park in August.
Country Celebration – a country fair at Campbell Valley Regional Park in early September.
Fort Langley Cranberry Festival – a community event with a pancake breakfast, market vendors and entertainment in early October.
Loft Country Christmas – an old-fashioned Christmas attraction at the children’s horse camp facility in Aldergrove.
Aldergrove Christmas Light Up Parade – a small parade and community event in Aldergrove in December.
Glow Christmas – a holiday season attraction that started in Langley and some years still takes place there.

Langley Places of Interest

Langley is home to a variety of tourist attractions and other places of interest including the following:

Aldor Acres Farm – a place with tours, pumpkin patches and a Christmas tree farm at 8301 252nd Street.
Campbell Valley Regional Park – a large park with close to 30 km of trails at 20290 16th Avenue.
Canadian Museum of Flight – a small airplane museum located at Hangar #3 at 5333-216th Street.
Chuck E. Cheese – an American chain restaurant and games centre that’s popular with little kids at 6339 200th Street.
Derby Reach Regional Park – a park near Fort Langley.
Eagle Acres Dairy Farm – a farm with cows near Fort Langley.
Extreme Air Park – an indoor trampoline facility at 9499 198th Street.
Fort Langley – a historical site and former Hudson’s Bay Company fort.
Fort Langley (the town) – a small historic town in North Langley by the Fraser River.
The Fort to Fort Trail – a waterfront trail that’s good for walks and bike rides near Fort Langley.
Greater Vancouver Zoo – a 120-acre zoo at 5048 264th Street in Aldergrove (so in the far eastern edge of the Township of Langley).
Krause Berry Farm – a farm and estate winery at 6179 248th Street.
Langley Events Centre – a large sporting facility at 7888 200th Street where the Vancouver Giants hockey team plays its home games.
McLeod Athletic Park – a park with an open-air stadium and running track.
Otter Co-op Outdoor Experience– an outdoor water park in Aldergrove with a lazy river and water slides.
Pagoda Ridge Golf Course – a nice golf course near Fort Langley.
Poppy Estate Golf Course – an executive course just west of Aldergrove.
Redwoods Golf Course – a popular golf course at 22011-88th Avenue.
Twilight Drive-In – Metro Vancouver’s only drive-in movie theatre located at 3350 260th Street.

Langley Wineries

In addition to the above places of interest, Langley is also home to a number of great wineries including the following:

Backyard Vineyards – at 3033-232nd Street in Langley.
Chaberton Estate Winery – at 1064-216th Street.
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery – at 21152-16th Avenue.
Vista D’oro Farms & Winery – at 346-208th Street.

In addition to wineries, Langley is also home to other types of distilleries and breweries, including the following:

Festina Lente – Langley’s newest winery specializing in mead (i.e., honey wines) at 21113 16th Avenue.
Fraser Valley Cider Company – a place specializing in traditional cider made in small batches using local BC apples at 22128 16th Avenue.
Roots and Wings Distillery – Langley’s first craft distillery using crops grown on their own farm at 7897 240th Street.
Trading Post Brewing – a popular craft beer brewery at #107 – 20120 64th Avenue.
Dead Frog Brewery – another popular local craft beer brewery at #105, 8860 201st Street.

For a list of additional attractions and places of interest, check out our article about the community of Fort Langley.

For more information about the above wineries and other vineyards, see our article about Lower Mainland Wineries & Wine tours.

Fort Langley Train Station Museum — CN Train Station in Fort Langley

About the City and Township

What is the difference between the City and Township of Langley? Primarily just physical size, population, geographic location, local politicians and suppliers of municipal services.

The City of Langley is a small municipality located between the Surrey neighbourhood of Cloverdale and the Township of Langley. The City of Langley, although a “city,” is small in both size and population.

Located in the southeast corner of Metro Vancouver, the Township of Langley is a large municipality that runs from the Fraser River to the American border. To its west are Surrey (mostly) and the City of Langley. To its east is Abbotsford.

The City of Langley has a population of slightly more than 25,000 while the Township of Langley has close to 120,000. The former is more urban and the later more rural. Collectively, both are just referred to as Langley.

The City is roughly the 4 square-mile area between 196th Street and 209th Street (to the west and east), and between 62nd Avenue and 44th Avenue (to the north and south). The Township of Langley, meanwhile, is pretty much everything else east of Surrey and west of Abbotsford.

Local First Nations

In addition to there being the City of Langley and the Township of Langley, it is important to recognize that the region is also the traditional and unceded territory of the Katzie and Kwantlen (Qw’?ntl’en) Sto:lo First Nations. Over 3.5% of the population in the area identify themselves as Indigenous (including of Métis heritage).