It's a peaceful place of tranquility away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The portion of Hyde Creek at the end of Highland Drive on Burke Mountain is also Valerie Crocker and her young family's second home.

The salmon-spawning creek is a virtual playground for her daughter Pippa.

The Crocker family moved to the area last summer and has visited the stream on a daily basis ever since.

But the creek also appears to be a playground for someone or a group with two-and four-wheeled machines.

Despite posted signs reminding residents the area is a sensitive salmon creek, last weekend Crocker discovered tracks running right through a portion of a spawning pond.

The Burke Mountain resident suspects an ATV or quad is the culprit behind the damage.

She said her husband has recently heard the sounds of ATVs in the area.

"This was going too far," Crocker told The NOW.

"Someone decided their fun was more important [than the creek]."

The Hyde Creek Watershed Society worked on that portion of the stream last year as part of a reclamation project.

The society's president Cliff Kelsey noted the area has proved to be one of the better ones along the waterway for reclamation.

He was unaware of the recent damage but suggested the creek is a busy place for bikes and human traffic.

In the past, volunteers with the society have removed car parts and metal from the mud along the creek.

The society hoped the signs would be enough for people to preserve the area.

"It's a very pleasant area," Kelsey said.

"For us, it's really an area we want to preserve for the salmon."

He said part of the problem is there is no fence keeping the vehicles out, and suggested the City of Coquitlam might want to get involved in putting up better protection.

"These creeks are sort of a channel for wildlife to come up and down as well," Kelsey said. "They use them as a bit of a walkway and the same for the salmon."

"You're losing that, and when it's gone, it's gone for good."

As for Crocker, she said she's no environmentalist, but can't understand why someone would blatantly disrespect the creek.

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to build this," she said.

jdeutsch@thenownews.com