Cultus Lake Park is a BC Parks destination 11 kilometres southwest of Chilliwack and about an hour and a half from Vancouver. BC Parks describes a large warm freshwater lake with scenic forest-clad mountains.
The park has four campgrounds and a large day-use area for picnicking and boating.
Cultus Lake is one of the Lower Mainland's most popular lake parks, with swimming, camping, boating, fishing, water skiing, windsurfing, hiking, cycling, horseback riding, interpretive programs, and nearby community services.
The trail system includes Teapot Hill Trail, a five kilometre round trip with lake and Columbia Valley views; Seven Sisters Trail between Entrance Bay and Clear Creek; Giant Douglas-fir Trail; Maple Bay Trail; and the 20 kilometre Cultus Lake Horse Trail. Canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards are permitted on the lake, and fishing includes rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and Dolly Varden.
The park also has conservation value in the transition between Coastal Western Hemlock and Coastal Douglas-fir zones, with foreshore habitat for endangered Cultus Lake Sockeye and threatened Cultus Pygmy Sculpin.
Plan around frontcountry camping, group camping, sandy beaches, buoyed swimming, canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, motor boating, waterskiing, windsurfing, fishing, hiking, signed-trail cycling and e-biking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing from Teapot Hill, and summer learning programs.
Swim only in buoyed areas because steep drop-offs occur close to shore. ATVs and off-road vehicles are not permitted, swimmer's itch may be present, dogs are restricted from most beaches, and the horse trail landslide area should not be crossed during intense rainfall.
