Richmond Night Market 2026: Dates, Food & How to Get There

Published 2026-07-14 · Alex

The Richmond Night Market is the largest night market in North America outside Asia — several hundred food and merchandise stalls on an outdoor site by the Fraser River, open on summer evenings only. The 2026 season runs from April 24 to September 20, which means it is open now and closes in late September. Get the practical details right and it is one of the best evenings in Metro Vancouver; get them wrong and you spend an hour in a queue.

Opening hours, which vary by day

• Fridays, Saturdays and statutory-holiday Sundays — 7pm to midnight.
• Regular Sundays and holiday Mondays — 7pm to 11pm.
• Monday to Thursday — closed.

Nothing opens before 7pm. Arriving at 6:30 does not get you in early, but it does get you near the front of the entry line, which on a warm Saturday is worth more than the half hour.

Admission and the 10pm price drop

General admission is $7, and it drops to $5 after 10pm. There is also an express pass sold separately that skips the entry queue — worth it on a peak Saturday, unnecessary on a Sunday.

Bring cash. Many individual stalls are card-capable now, but the market runs on volume and small vendors, and cash moves faster in a queue of thirty people. There are ATMs on site and they charge for the privilege.

Getting there: Bridgeport, not Brighouse

This is the mistake that costs people forty minutes. The market is at 8351 River Road, near No. 3 Road and River Road, next to the River Rock Casino — and the correct Canada Line stop is Bridgeport Station, one block away. Bridgeport is about 15 minutes from downtown Vancouver. Do not ride on to Richmond–Brighouse; that is the town centre and a long walk or a bus ride back north.

Driving is possible and there is paid parking, but the queue to get out at closing on a Saturday is genuinely bad. The Canada Line runs late enough to get you home, and the last northbound train is the only thing worth checking before you commit to staying to midnight.

How to eat here

The mistake is treating this like a restaurant. Nobody orders a meal at the night market — you buy one item at a time, from different stalls, and keep walking. Portions are small and priced accordingly, and the point is breadth.

The stalls change every season, but the categories are stable: skewered and grilled meat and seafood; Hong Kong-style street snacks like curry fish balls and egg waffles; tornado potatoes; takoyaki; rotating dessert trends that arrive from Asia a season before they reach the rest of the city; and bubble tea in every direction. The food section is the busiest part of the site and the queues at the two or three currently viral stalls are much longer than the food warrants — the stall two rows over is usually just as good with no line.

Beyond the food there is a large merchandise section — phone accessories, socks, toys, novelty goods — plus a small stage with performances and a games area. Budget an hour for food and half an hour for the rest.

When to go

Sunday evening is the local answer: everything open, the full atmosphere, and a fraction of the Saturday crowd. Friday before 7pm is second best if you can only do a weekend night. Saturday after 8:30pm is the peak — full neon, full energy, and full lines. Arriving after 10pm gets you the cheaper ticket and a market that is still running for another two hours.

Two things to plan for: it is an outdoor site with limited cover, so a rain shell matters more than an umbrella in a crowd; and evenings by the river run cooler than downtown, so bring a layer even in August.

Worth combining with

Bridgeport is on the Canada Line, so the market pairs neatly with an earlier stop in Richmond — the Richmond Asian food scene around No. 3 Road is denser and cheaper than anything in Vancouver proper, and Steveston's fishing village and waterfront are a bus ride west. If you are flying out, the airport is two stops further south on the same line.

Questions people actually ask

When is the Richmond Night Market open in 2026?

The 2026 season runs April 24 to September 20. It opens Fridays, Saturdays and statutory-holiday Sundays from 7pm to midnight, and regular Sundays and holiday Mondays from 7pm to 11pm. It is closed Monday through Thursday.

How much is the Richmond Night Market?

General admission is $7, dropping to $5 after 10pm. An express pass that skips the entry queue is sold separately — worth it on a peak Saturday, unnecessary on a Sunday. Bring cash; it moves faster than cards at busy stalls.

Which SkyTrain station is the Richmond Night Market?

Bridgeport Station on the Canada Line, one block from the site at 8351 River Road — about 15 minutes from downtown Vancouver. Do not continue to Richmond–Brighouse; that is the town centre and a long way back north.

What is the best night to go to the Richmond Night Market?

Sunday evening — everything is open and the crowd is a fraction of Saturday's. Friday before 7pm is the next best. Saturday after 8:30pm is the peak: full atmosphere, full lines.

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