An hour from Bellingham, WA, USA is the city of Maple Ridge, BC, Canada which is where Hallmark films all of their Christmas movies and has done so for the last 5+ years.
If you are wanting to catch filming in action then visiting Maple Ridge during the summer / early fall will have you walking through fake snow, Christmas lights, and other Christmas decorations if you visit the downtown core. Most of the gazebo scenes in the Hallmark movies are filmed at the Gazebo in Memorial Peace Park which has a great little Farmers Market on Saturday’s from 9am – 2pm.
Filming also takes place at one of the oldest restaurants in the Greater Vancouver Area – The Billy Miner. Named after a man known as “the Gentleman Bandit” who used to rob trains in the area, the building itself dates back to 1932 and is now a protected heritage building.
Just down from here is a pier that looks over the Fraser River and is a great place to catch the sunset.
Other locations are spread out throughout the more forested and farm areas around the city.
If you come in the fall then visiting Laity Farms for pumpkin picking is a must. Maple Ridge is also one of the most dog friendly cities in BC with dogs being allowed on all restaurant patios that have outside entrances and there is also a dog beach at Hayward Lake with a ton of picnic tables, making for a great day out.
