Cultus Lake...you're our fav so far!!

Who Doesn’t Love Lake Life!!

We arrived at Cultus Lake Provincial Park on August 4! Cultus Lake became a provincial park in 1950 and covers an area of 656 hectares evenly on the northwest and southeast side of the Lake. It is located 11 km south of the Chilliwack River, near the City of Chilliwack, B.C.. and is considered the gem of the Fraser Valley. Barry and I agree!

Cultus Lake is a small, deep lake with steep sides nestled in the edge of the Cascade Mountains. Over 10,000 years ago, the receding glacier had deposited gravels and a glacial moraine at teh south end of the lake (the Columbia Valley). The gravels are very porous. The Columbia Valley has a small portion on the American side of the border and is known for agricultural production surrounded by forest and forest harvests. Approx. 800 years ago, a new landslide blocked the former water body, creek and drainage of the Columbia Valley. The filling waters formed the newer Cultus Lake known today, which is 14 km long, 1.5 km wide and has an average depth fo 105 ft.

Although Barry and I loved Cultus Lake as a couple, it's a great place for families as well with its adventure park, waterslides, 19 hole golf course and mini golf, water sport rentals and the list goes on! The park was kind of at the far end of all the action, so it was perfect for us. We stayed at Cultus Lake Thousand Trails RV Resort. There are pros and cons to this park for sure. The biggest pro was its perfect location!

It's very nice when you stay in an area for a longer period of time. It gives you an opportunity to kind of settle in and take your time exploring. We were at Cultus Lake for 3 weeks and we certainly did settle in and take our time! Within a couple of days, we found our daily morning walking route which ended at the beach!

About a 5 min drive away (most things around the lake are 5 min away) our first hike was the Teapot Hill Trail. It is a short, popular 5.5 km easy/moderate hike, that is a pretty steady climb to the top. While the views from the top are obstructed by trees the hike itself has a fun twist! There are actually dozens of teacups/teapots scattered and hidden throughout the hike! Embrace your inner-child, I say!!

I rubbed the teapot and out popped my genie! LOL

We also did quite of bit of kayaking at the Lake; however, I have to say there are a lot of young people with big boats that apparently come down from Vancouver on weekends throughout the summer. Some not so respectful of people trying to enjoy non-motorized water activities. However, like the many other lakes we’ve explored in B.C., Cultus Lake is incredibly pristine! The sun shining on the lake intensifies the already vibrant blues and greens of the water.

One of our best references for hikes/bikes in areas is our AllTrails app. That’s how we found Bridal Veil Falls. It was just a short hike but those falls!!! So incredible. I couldn’t resist climbing up the side a bit to get some pictures!

Even more fun on our way back we stumbled about Harrison Hot Springs!! We’ll get into that in a bit. One of the cutest/coolest roadside gems was an area where there was a cozy fruit stand and sunflower garden on one side of the road, and a drive-thru corn barn on the other!!! Drive-thru corn barn!!! Yes!! So darn cute!

Back to Harrison Hot Springs. We had Merlot so we just quickly browsed this day but came back for the afternoon another day. A few interesting facts: Harrison Hot Springs is renowned for its healing waters. The town of Harrison has 2 hot springs, the “Potash” with a temperature of 40C and the “Sulphur”, with a temp of 65C. Together they contain 11 different minerals and salts. Harrison Lake is glacier fed and is the largest lake in Southwestern B.C. (60 km long, 9 km across at its widest point and up to 300 m deep). Separating the lake into 2 distinct geological regions the Harrison Lake Fault runs the length of the lake. As well, the Harrison area is home to the oldest freshwater fish on earth: The Sturgeon, which is known to grow to well over 15 feet in length and weigh over 1500 pounds.

One of Harrison Hot Springs’s most reclusive residents is the elusive Sasquatch. The Sts’Ailes know the Sasquatch as Sásq’ets, a supernatural being of both this world and the spiritual world. As you can see, he allowed Barry to take a picture of me sitting beside him, but he would not make eye contact! Harrison Hot Springs was certainly one of our favorite areas. Cool streetside cafes/restaurants and great fish and chips!! We will definitely be back!

As for biking…oh yes, Vedder Rotary Loop was our favorite and biked it a few times. Not difficult at all, but lots of short fun shoots to explore off the main loop. It looped around the Vedder River, through beautiful trees, and open parks, and wild blackberries everywhere! I’m not a blackberry fan, but, as you can see, Barry really enjoyed them!

Chilliwack has a lot of history as well. On August 27 1912, Thomas Wilby and driver Jack Haney left Halifax in a Reo automobile on a historic coast to coast journey to become the first motorists to cross Canada on the “Canadian Highway” (also known as the Red Route). Although not all the journey could be accomplished by automobile, Wilby and Haney arrived in Chilliwack on October 13, 1912, before heading to Vancouver Island. Here’s a picture of them on the Vedder Bridge!

We also spent an afternoon walking the unique historic streets and cultural hub of District 1881 which is considered the soul of downtown Chilliwack since is opening in late 2020! The 3.75 acre redevelopment site is littered with independent shops, breweries, restaurants and historic apartments. A big portion of the historic elements of the downtown have been preserved. We also enjoyed the Chilliwack public art tour by local artists, which includes a wide array of very unique murals.

Near the end of our stay we went to check out Chilliwack Lake. It’s about 40 km outside of Chilliwack and the drive was incredibly beautiful. When we arrived we were once again blown away by such a pristine lake hidden within the mountains!

One more final day of kayaking in Cultus Lake and we were packing up after 3 weeks! In whole, we loved Chilliwack, and more specifically, Cultus Lake! We will be back many times I’m quite certain! Heading for Quilchena, B.C.!

Don't forget to check out all the Chilliwack pics under the Albums tab!