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Cultus Lake Provincial Park - by Marlene Graham

Cultus Lake Provincial Park is situated about 15 kilometers south of Chilliwack, nestled between Vedder Mountain to the west and the higher mountains of International Ridge Provincial Park to the East. This popular destination spot is a warm water lake, fed by the numerous mountain streams and a sulfur spring (coming in at 56 degrees) directly from Mount Baker which is just over a ridge or two to the south east.

The area around Cultus Lake dates back to the Triassic and the Jurassic Era’s. In more recent history, about 10,000 years ago a receding glacier from the ice age carved what is now the Columbia Valley and Cultus Lake.

The name of Cultus came from the Sto:lo people meaning Evil, worthless or just downright bad. Many a story tells of the lake being bottomless and underground caverns sucking drowned people out to the Fraser River, when actually, the lake has a relatively flat bottom. It’s just that three quarters of the lake is OVER 98 feet deep. It’s the one quarter still remaining that is pretty deep!

Cultus Lake Provincial Park is rich in history. Sixty years ago when the area was being surveyed, a brass teapot was found on the top of what is now called Teapot Hill. What’s really amazing about this teapot is that it was left by the Spanish Explorers about two hundred years ago. There is some thought that it may have been left by the First Nation peoples, but knowing how they valued every item they owned, this opinion seems very unlikely.

At the turn of the century, sport hunters released hundreds of Black Forest pigs up in the Valley. Some of their offspring still roam the Valley and surrounding mountains.

There was a logging mill where Sunnyside Campground now exists, and evidence of spring board logging still exists throughout the park. There was also a time when Cultus Lake froze over in winter to such a point that cars could drive on the lake, from the community of Lindel Beach to the community of Cultus Lake.

When the Park was opened to campers about 40 years ago, in Maple Bay there was no camping fee. A few years later, when a fee was charged, you got to camp for three days FREE and the fourth cost you a dollar! The main problem that the Ranger had with the campers were the Yahoo’s and wood! Something’s never change!!

Cultus Lake Provincial Park is home to three endangered species. The phantom orchid (this guy is so rare that he makes an appearance every 7-10 years), the Pacific Giant Salamander and the Sculpin (a slow growing fish!). It is also home to numerous plants and animals that are common to the area and some that are not so common such as the elusive Mountain Beaver and Tailed Frog.

Fishing is good in the lake but not during the summer months when the lake is full of human activity. Frost Creek is Ted Pecks second best fishing spot within two hours of Vancouver! Cultus Lake Provincial Park has four campgrounds and two group campgrounds, all on one side of the lake. The other side is protected and left in its natural state.