Steveston sits at the southwest corner of Richmond, where the south arm of the Fraser River meets the open water. It’s a working fishing village — fishing boats in the harbour, a cannery that operated continuously for over a century, and a wharf where you can buy seafood directly off the boats when the fleet is in. Most people who live in Metro Vancouver have been meaning to go and haven’t got there yet. That’s their loss.
The Spot Prawns (May to July)
If you’re going to time one visit to Steveston, the spot prawn season is the reason to pick May through July. The spot prawn fleet docks on Moncton Street at Bayview, and you can buy live prawns directly from the boats — priced by the pound, sold in bags, incredibly fresh. Steveston spot prawns have a sweetness and texture that farmed prawns don’t approach, and buying them at the dock is significantly cheaper than you’ll pay anywhere in the city.
Prawns on the Spot is the most established vendor. Arrive early in the day for the best selection — the fleet comes in, sells out, and that’s it for the day. Bring a cooler if you’re taking them home, or plan to eat nearby.
Fish and Chips at the Water
Pajo’s on the Wharf is the version of fish and chips that people drive from Vancouver for. The location is the thing — a floating fish and chip stand at the end of the Steveston Wharf, boats moored on one side, the Fraser River running to the ocean on the other. The fish is halibut or cod depending on what’s running, the chips are what they should be, and you eat at a picnic table on the dock. There’s a wait on weekends. It’s worth it. There’s also a Pajo’s location at Garry Point Park if the wharf has too long a line.
Dave’s Fish and Chips is the other option — same principle, different location on Moncton Street, and slightly less of a production to get to.
Garry Point Park
A 39-acre park at the mouth of the Fraser River, at the far west end of the village. A Japanese garden in one corner — built in the 1990s as a memorial to the Japanese-Canadian fishing families who were interned and dispossessed here during the Second World War, which is part of the history of this village that the fish and chips version of Steveston doesn’t always foreground. Worth knowing, and worth walking through the garden with that context.
The rest of the park is open waterfront — grass, benches, views of the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island on a clear day. People fly kites here (the International Kite Competition comes to Garry Point in late July). It’s the right place to end an afternoon if the weather cooperates.
Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site
The cannery operated from 1894 to 1979 — one of the last working salmon canneries on the Fraser River. It’s now a Parks Canada national historic site with preserved machinery, the original canning line still in place, and an honest account of who worked here and under what conditions. Japanese and South Asian cannery workers, Indigenous salmon fishers, the communities that built this industry. The exhibits don’t soften that history.
Admission applies. Tours run regularly in summer. It’s worth two hours if you have them, and it changes what Steveston looks like when you walk back through the village afterward.
Canada Day Salmon Festival (July 1)
The Steveston Salmon Festival is one of the larger Canada Day events in Metro Vancouver — a traditional salmon bake, market, parade, and entertainment at Steveston Park. It draws crowds from across Richmond and beyond. If you’re going on July 1, arrive early and bring patience for the parking. The salmon bake is the centrepiece and worth the line.
Getting There
Canada Line to Bridgeport, then bus 407 to Steveston. The trip from downtown Vancouver takes about an hour each way. By car from Vancouver, it’s 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic and which route you take — the Arthur Laing Bridge to Richmond and then south on No. 2 Road is the most direct. Parking is generally fine on weekdays; on summer weekends and Canada Day, plan ahead or take the bus.
Half a day is enough to see the wharf, eat well, and walk to Garry Point. A full day lets you add the cannery and enough time to just sit by the water without feeling like you’re rushing to get back.
