Cultus Lake

Located about 90 minutes from Vancouver in the Fraser Valley, Cultus Lake boasts one of the Lower Mainland’s most popular campgrounds and provincial parks.

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Cultus Lake in the Fraser Valley

Cultus Lake is a tiny community of about 1,100 people that grows considerably in size each summer. Folk flock to the region in warmer months to enjoy the lake, park and the area’s numerous outdoor activities.

Cultus Lake is definitely a resort town, and very touristy with numerous things to do in the summer. In the off season, however, it gets pretty quiet.

Cultus Lake Attractions

Attractions at Cultus Lake include the town’s giant waterpark, amusement park, golf course, boating opportunities, beaches and its provincial park.

Waterpark and Adventure Park

In town there is the Cultus Lake Waterpark which features the best collection of water slides in the Lower Mainland, including amazing slides for older kids and teenagers. It’s impressive and a lot of fun.

Another popular attraction at Cultus Lake, especially for young families, is the fairly modern Cultus Lake Adventure Park which features close to a dozen different amusement park rides and is highly recommended.

The Cultus Lake Adventure Park is impressive for such a small town, and the park’s prices are surprisingly reasonable. Gate admission is free, which is wonderful, and an all-day unlimited pass is only about $22. Individual tokens cost around $2 each and each ride takes between 1 and 3 tokens (so between $2 and $6).

Other Attractions

Also in the area is the Cultus Lake Golf Club, which is home to a scenic 18-hole executive golf course. There’s a driving range on site with Toptracer technology and lounge stalls that can be rented by the hour.

In addition, boat rentals are available at the marina. As Cultus Lake is a summer resort community, most of the attractions are open only in the warmer busy season.

Apart from the water slides and Cultus Lake Adventure Park, which are most popular with children, the beaches and campgrounds are what attract people to Cultus Lake. Most of the beaches are in the provincial park, but at the entrance to the town there is also Main Beach which has an impressive collection of docks and is especially popular in the summer.

Note: Parking is free throughout the provincial park, but not at Main Beach, the Cultus Lake Adventure Park and most other places in the tiny downtown area.

Cultus Lake Main Beach — Main Beach at Cultus Lake

Cultus Lake Provincial Park

What draws thousands of people to the Cultus Lake area every summer is the provincial park.

Cultus Lake is one of the most popular provincial parks in British Columbia. Its 2,729 hectares of parkland includes the beautiful Cultus Lake, which typically feels warmer than other lakes in the region. The water, the picturesque views and the sandy beaches are what feed the park’s popularity.

In addition to four campgrounds, at Cultus Lake Provincial Park there are several great day-use areas ideal for swimming, picnicking and boating. Other popular activities at the park include fishing, water skiing, horseback riding and hiking.

Click Cultus Lake Info for more information on Cultus Lake Provincial Park.

Click Cultus Lake Map for a park map and information brochure.

Cultus Lake Park Campgrounds

There are four campgrounds at Cultus Lake Provincial Park – Clear Creek, Delta Grove, Entrance Bay and Maple Bay. All four are open from April to mid-October and offer free hot showers and flush toilets. Sites cost about $30 per night per group and have wheelchair-accessible washrooms.

Clear Creek Campground

Clear Creek Campground at Cultus Lake has 82 attractive sites located in a forested area behind the Delta Grove Campground, the latter of which is right on the lake. Access to the lake and beach is close by.

Delta Grove Campground

Delta Grove is a beautiful campground with 58 campsites along the lake and is close to a nice beach for swimming.

Click Clear Creek and Delta Grove Map for a map of these first two adjacent campgrounds.

Entrance Bay Campground

Entrance Bay Campground is the smallest of the four Cultus Lake Provincial Park campgrounds with 52 sites. It is close to a boat launch and has two wharves and a large sandy beach close by.

There are wheelchair-accessible washrooms at Entrance Bay as well as one wheelchair-accessible campsite. Entrance Bay Campground also has nice newer children’s play facilities in the day-use area.

Click Entrance Bay Map for a map of the Entrance Bay Campground.

Maple Bay Campground

Maple Bay is the largest of Cultus Lake’s four campgrounds with 106 camp sites. It has a boat launch, wharf, grassy area, sandy beaches and a day-use area with picnic tables. There is also a sani-dump just down the way.

The Maple Bay boat launch and day-use area are open from early June until the Labour Day long weekend in September.

Click Maple Bay Campground for a map of the area and campsites.

Cultus Lake Maple Bay — Maple Bay at Cultus Lake

Cultus Lake Provincial Park Hiking

There are some amazing hiking opportunities at Cultus Lake including a nice 2-hour hike along the Seven Sisters Trail. It connects the Clear Creek Campground with Entrance Bay. There is also a good 45-minute hike along the Giant Douglas-Fir Trail which starts just west of the Delta Grove Campground and connects with Clear Creek.

A more serious hike is along the 5-km Teapot Hill Trail starting near the Honeymoon Bay group camp site. For that hike, bring good walking/hiking shoes and expect the trip to take about 2 hours.

Where is Cultus Lake?

Cultus Lake Provincial Park is about 11 km southwest of Chilliwack and around an hour-and-a-half drive from downtown Vancouver in good traffic. From the Trans-Canada Highway, turn at the Yarrow or Sardis exits and drive a further 16 km along the Columbia Valley Highway which leads directly into the park.

Cultus Lake at Christmas

As it is a summer resort town, Cultus Lake is fairly quiet in the winter. It’s pretty at night though around Christmas time.

In the month of December the park at Main Beach gets decorated with Christmas lights. All the trees there get lights wrapped around their trunks. The result at night is beautiful!

Tips

Here are a couple tips to help you make the most out of your visit to the park.

TIP #1: Being that Cultus Lake is one of the most popular provincial parks in the Lower Mainland, reservations for campsites are recommended in the summer and, unless you arrive days in advance, they are essential on long weekends (and sometimes as much as two or three months in advance). Click Cultus Lake Reservations for details.

TIP #2: If you find the provincial campsites are all booked up, there are also a number of nice private campgrounds in the area including Sunnyside Campground.

TIP #3: Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park is another beautiful place to check out. It’s less than 50 km away and features a lake, beach and over 140 campsites.