My Hometown: Ladner, B.C.

is a great place to do some shopping or people-watching.

I had the same reaction five years ago, when we moved our sailboat to one of Ladner’s docks. Tying up the boat next to a waterfront thick with reeds and crowded with birds, I felt as though we’d unexpectedly acquired a country home.

Tucked off the Fraser River, less than 20 kilometres from the dense urban centre of Vancouver, the Village of Ladner has been around since 1873, when a wharf was built so farmers could ship produce to urban markets. The waterfront stayed the centrepiece as the village grew, and even today the harbour isn’t touristy—it’s jam-packed with fishing boats and tumbledown boathouses. The wharf seems almost reluctant to join the 21st century.

This hesitation to move forward is what makes Ladner such a nice place to live and such a surprising place to visit. Its quaintness isn’t something a tourist board dreamt up. Instead, the village feels like a charming secret.

Best place for harbour watching: Ladner’s dykes, which protect the river delta from floods, double as uncrowded foot paths through forests and wetlands. My favourite is one that heads into Ladner Harbour Park. Continue along Swenson Walk, past the pretty Wharfinger office, until you end up at a viewpoint looking out over Ladner’s busy waterfront.

Biggest little museum: As a connoisseur of small-town museums, I’ve visited a few gems over the years, but also taken in some pretty dull exhibits. The Delta Museum and Archives, housed in a 1912 Tudor-style heritage building, is one of the best. We always head to the top floor, where the waterfront is depicted, then work our way down through informative displays that highlight the village’s history.