Fort Langley dates from a time when the boundary between British and American possession of the transmontane west had not yet been decided. Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, realized that Fort Vancouver built near present day Portland, Oregon might be lost to the Americans if the border did not follow the Columbia River. Fearing the 49th parallel north would become the demarcation line, Simpson ordered the Hudson's Bay Company to construct the original Fort Langley in 1827 at a location 3 km downstream from its present site. Fort Langley was intentionally constructed on the south bank of the Fraser River in the event that, if Fort Vancouver was lost to the Americans, that Fort Langley could secure British claims to both sides of the Fraser. By 1830, Fort Langley had become a major export port for salted salmon in cedar barrels, as well as cedar lumber and shingles to the Hawaiian Islands.
In the days before the Colony of Vancouver Island and the Colony of British Columbia united, Governor Sir James Douglas chose Fort Langley to be the provisional colonial capital. By 1858, a town by the name of Derby, adjacent to the original location of the Fort, had been surveyed and subdivided into town lots and sold. Construction had begun on a barracks for the Royal Engineers, however, when Colonel Richard Moody, commanding officer of the Royal Engineers, visited Derby that year, he disapproved of Douglas' choice in location. He noted American territory lay just a few miles away across easily traversed land and that Fort Langley would be impossible to defend against attack. On the 14th of February 1859, Moody selected a new site at the mouth of the Pitt River on the north side of the Fraser and suggested the town be named Queensborough. In July of that year, Governor Douglas announced Her Majesty had decided the new capital should be named New Westminster.
Derby Reach has 38 unserviced sites available for camping on a first-come first-served basis between March and October. The campground is open for day-use only from October to March.
Derby Reach has roughly 9.5 km of trails.
Caches are only available during park hours which vary depending on time of year. Failure to follow park hours will have your log deleted.
We kindly ask that you limit FTF's to a maximum of 3 to allow others enjoy the thrill of having a FTF. We also ask that mcwilli be permitted to have at least one FTF.