B.C. Herping in Vancouver

[Tom P]

I am heading out to Vancouver in June. Is there any good places that are good for observing turtles, frogs, snakes, newts etc?? I will be staying in Coquitlam. I have a 6 year old son who would loves to see some turtles, frogs and more. If anyone has any ideas, PLEASE let me know.

Thanks

Tom P

[tupinambis]

Unfortunately, the Vancouver area itself isn't the best herping in the province. That being said, there are a few spots that are fine.
The Richmond Nature Park is particularly good, especially around that time, for Thamnophis sirtalis. Contrary to what a lot of books will have you believe about subspecies, in that park you can find EVERY morph in the book, and a few that haven't been written up yet (there's a morph out there that is yellow with black and red speckling, very beautiful). You can also see some introduced Green frogs, bullfrogs, and red eared sliders there.
The Pacific Spirit Park is particularly good for finding Ensatinas, Western Redbacks, and Northwestern Salamanders.
Burns Bog is usually a great spot for Pacific Chorus/Treefrogs (a lot of places have them, but in Burns Bog they seem to be amazingly large and plentiful) and sometimes you can find a few Northwestern salamanders.
There are several spots for turtles (Burnaby lake, Jericho Park, etc.) but they are guaranteed to be introduced Red Eared Sliders.
For indigenous turtles, frogs and more snakes/lizards, you pretty much have to head either to the Okanagan, or up to the Sunshine Coast.

[muirsean]

I would suggest Campbell Valley Park for garter snakes, i have found lots of different color varieties within that park, so it might be worth a look. Good luck!