Cultus Lake Camping

Before setting off on our 6-week long summer camping trip across the continent, Sean and I decided we needed to do a few smaller, practise camps first. This would be an opportunity to fine tune what we needed to take, how to pack up the car and tent, and a chance to explore more of beautiful British Columbia!

The weather has finally warmed up here, and spring weather feels (most of the time) warm enough to embrace the great outdoors. We picked Cultus Lake off the map; there are lots of campgrounds in the area, a few large-ish towns nearby (just in case it all goes terribly wrong) and lots to see, do and explore. It is also only an hour and a half from Vancouver, so very achievable as a weekend getaway.

After purchasing our roof tent about a month ago, we have slowly been buying bits and pieces we will need to camp with; folding chairs, a camp stove, pots and pans etc. We packed up the car on Friday afternoon with all of our bits. I was quite nervous that we weren't really prepared to camp and almost positive we had forgotten something important. About 30 mins into the drive, I realised we didn't have any towels. A quick look at Google Maps revealed more than four Walmarts along our journey, which would solve the problem nicely (if you haven't been to Walmart, it is quite an experience - like K-Mart + The Warehouse + Pak 'n Sav under one roof). After a quick detour, we were back on the road, excited about the adventure ahead!

As we approached the Cultus Lake area, Sean noticed that the drive felt a lot like the scenery we had seen in the TV Show called Ozark. It was a quiet, sleepy place on a drizzly Friday afternoon - but with the potential to be a holidayers dream spot once the sun came out. The town of Cultus Lake has a water and theme park, and an impressive looking mini-golf course, all of which open only during the summer months. The massive size of the car parks gave us a good indication of how popular these attractions are!

The campground we had planned to stay at was one of 4 owned and operated by the BC Parks Service. Only two of these were open, along with a private campground on the edge of the lake. During peak season, you enter the campgrounds through a gatehouse. Lots of these campsites you cannot book in advance and work on a first come first serve basis. I can just imagine people queueing for hours to get a campsite each morning. During the off-season, however, Park Attendants drive around the campground, collecting payments and cleaning up the sites.

The turnoff to our campground lead to a long winding road, with gravel camping pads tucked in amongst the trees, each with a picnic table and fire ring. The sites were very large and private - not at all like my experience camping at the beach in New Zealand. After driving a loop of the campground, we picked a spot and parked the car. We then decided that the idea of sitting around the fire and toasting marshmellows would be really nice, when in Rome, eh! So we head back down the road to one of the many 'Firewood for sale' roadside stalls we had driven past on the way in. The place we stopped at offered us a wheelbarrow full of firewood for $20, or 3 wheelbarrows for $50. We gawked at the thought of that much firewood - where would we put it all?! - and asked for a small bundle. Little did we realise how quickly we would burn through it all that evening... We also stopped at a dairy for a lighter and some Jet-Puffed marshmallows, which looked sickly sweet and nothing like the pink and white Pascalls marshmallows we are used to.

Back at the campground, we took some time to get the car as level as possible, as otherwise we'd be sleeping on a lean. We put up our rooftop tent without any hiccups. The whole process of putting the tent up takes about 10 mins. After 6 weeks of camping, I reckon we will get that even faster. We then set up our camp chairs and settled in for a celebratory beer and chips.

Our first night in the tent was very comfortable. Sean woke up with the birds chirping, and seaplanes landing on the lake the next morning. I slept until 9.30am, before a leisurely breakfast and camp stove coffee using the trusty Aeropress.

We set off on a popular walking track that started in the campground, called the Seven Sisters Trail, named after seven (some standing and some fallen) giant Douglas Fir trees. The largest of the trees was about 90 meters tall and 500 years old. Along the walk we made lots of comparisons to Tane Mahuta and the great kauri trees we know of in New Zealand. Kauri grow much much older and have a far greater circumference, but only grow to about half as tall. While the foliage and vegetation here is very unfamiliar, walking along these ferny trails felt just like being in New Zealand.

By Saturday afternoon, the sleepy town we had driven into the afternoon before was wide awake! Large groups of friends and families were gathered, having bbq's, playing Frisbee, paddle boarding, kayaking, jetskiing and zooming around the lake on jet boats. We quickly dubbed these the 'party boats' as they all have giant speakers to boom their music loader than their motors! We read our books in the sun, and people watched.

Sunday started much the same as the day before, with coffee, breakfast and a big walk. This time we headed around the lake (a 10-minute drive) to the Teapot Hill trailhead. This trail was more popular than the Seven Sisters, with an overflowing parking lot. I was intrigued as to why the hill was called Teapot Hill.. how was it going to be teapotty? But it did not disappoint.

Along the trail, hidden amongst the tree roots and mossy branches, people had hidden teapots and teacups. Some were ornately decorated, others with names and dates scribbled on them. Teapot spotting was definitely part of the trails' attraction for adults and children alike! Sections of the trail were very steep, with a sheer drop off into the valley below. At the top of the hill we were rewarded with a great view over the lake, and of course, more teapots!

That afternoon we headed to Abbotsford to visit a brewery. Field House Brewing was located along an industrial road, with a tiny inside dining area, a brewing facility, and a large patio and lawn out the front. The day was beautiful, and the grass was teaming with people! Good beer, a delicious taco food truck, and chilled out vibes in the sun. Bliss!

On our way home we stopped in Abbotsford to visit the Bloom Tulip Festival. There were so many people heading to the event the motorway had long delays at the turnoff. We had bought discounted tickets online the day before and waited in a long line with all the other people who had done the same thing. Once through the ticketing gates, we were able to walk around the fields filled with rows and rows of blooming tulips!

The tulips are quite a spectacle and a trendy location for all those Instagrammers. Watching the people dressed up, with their photographers, twirling and posing amongst the flowers was very entertaining! Next to the colourful rows of blooming tulips was a U-Pick area where you could head into a field and pick your own flowers. At $1 a stem we didn't take part, but a novel idea nonetheless.

We arrived back in Vancouver well rested and feeling revitalised for the week ahead. We are currently planning our next camping weekend away... is next weekend too soon?