Located between Surrey and Abbotsford, the City of Langley and Township of Langley are two out of 23 municipalities that make up Metro Vancouver.
This article includes information about the following topics:
Langley Events | Langley Places of Interest | Langley Wineries | About the City & Township | Local First Nations | Other Information
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).
The two communities, when combined, 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 geographically and in population. It’s also quite rural and dotted with 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 Festivals and Events
A number of great events usually take place in Langley throughout the year including the following:
Winter Events in Langley
- 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.
- Loft Country Christmas – an old-fashioned Christmas attraction at the children’s horse camp facility in Aldergrove. (Note: As of 2023, this event hasn’t happened for a number of years.)
- Aldergrove Christmas Light Up Parade – a small parade and community event in Aldergrove in December.
- Glow Christmas – a very popular holiday season attraction hosted by Milner Gardens in Langley.
- Martini Town Merry & Bright – a new Christmas attraction that started in 2023 at a movie studio.
- Langley’s Magic of Christmas – a one-day event in early December featuring craft stations, live entertainment, Santa and more at the Timms Community Centre.
- Christmas in Williams Park – free drive-through holiday lights displays at Williams Park in December.
Spring Events in Langley
- 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.
- Brookswood Community Car Show – a fundraising event featuring vintage and other collectible cars in the parking lot at Brookswood Secondary School in late spring.
Summer Events in Langley
- 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 in the Township of Langley.
- Langley Canada Day Party – July 1st celebrations at Douglas Park in the City of Langley.
- Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival – an impressive music festival with both ticketed and free events in Fort Langley in July.
- 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.
Autumn Events in Langley
- Fort Langley Cranberry Festival – a community event with a pancake breakfast, market vendors and entertainment in early October.
In addition to the above, there is also the Fort Langley Village Farmers Market. It’s a weekly market on Saturdays from early May until late October in Fort Langley.
Langley Places of Interest
Langley is home to a variety of tourist attractions and other places of interest including the following:
Farms & Parks
- 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 kmof trails at 20290 16th Avenue.
- Derby Reach Regional Park – a park near Fort Langley.
- Eagle Acres Dairy Farm – a farm with cows near Fort Langley.
- Krause Berry Farm – a farm and winery at 6179 248th Street.
Museums & Adventure Centres
- 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 children at 6339 200th Street.
- Extreme Air Park – an indoor trampoline facility at 9499 198th Street.
- Fort Langley – a historical site and former Hudson’s Bay Company fort.
- Otter Co-op Outdoor Experience – an outdoor water park in Aldergrove with a lazy river and water slides.
- Zero Latency – a virtual reality game centre where you can play VR games like Far Cry, Outbreak, Undead and other cool fighting games (plus another one that’s cooperative and doesn’t involve guns). There is a location at Willowbrook Mall in Langley, plus another one in the City of Vancouver.
Other Places of Interest
- 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).
- 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.
- GreenTee Country Club – a nice golf course near Fort Langley that used to be called the Pagoda Ridge Golf Course.
- 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. (Note: The venue’s final year of operations is 2024.)
Langley Wineries
In addition to the above places of interest, Langley is also home to a number of great wineries such as:
- 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 the farm itself 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.
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 latter more rural. Collectively, both are just referred to as Langley.
The City is roughly the four 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.
FORT LANGLEY WALKING TOURS
If you want to explore the Village of Fort Langley and learn about its history, a great way to do that is with Fort Langley Tours. The organizers offer great guided walking tours around the area.
Local First Nations
In addition to there being the City of Langley and the Township of Langley, it’s 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).
Other Information
For more information about Langley and the surrounding area check out the following: