A long sandy day use beach, water warm enough to stay in, and a trail up the hill behind it if you want one. It is under two hours from downtown Vancouver, and you do not need a BC Parks day pass.
Pick your date below. The bus leaves from 1025 Dunsmuir Street in downtown Vancouver, in front of the Bentall Centre courtyard.
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Cancel 14 or more days before you go and you get 90% back.
Choose your own adventure: we drop you off, and the bus picks you up in the same spot.
A short, flat walk on even ground, at your own pace.
Cultus sits in a valley south of Chilliwack, ringed by the Coast Mountains, and it is shallow enough and sheltered enough to warm right through by midsummer. That makes it a genuine swimming lake rather than a scenic one you dip a foot in and think better of.
The Maple Bay day use area is where most of the day happens: sand, grass, picnic tables, and a long shallow entry that suits small children and people who would rather ease in.
If you want to move, the Teapot Hill trail starts by the bus drop-off. It climbs steadily through second-growth forest to a lookout over the lake and the valley, and it is the reason to bring proper shoes as well as a towel.
Nothing about this day is complicated, which is the point of it.
Swim, eat a sandwich, walk up a hill, swim again.
One stop, with the beach one way and the start of the trail the other.
We pick you up
In front of the Bentall Centre courtyard, where you will also see a TD Bank. Turn up fifteen minutes early so there is time to get everybody on.
The bus drops you at the Watt Creek parking lot. The Maple Bay day use area, which is the main beach, is a short walk from there, and the start of the Teapot Hill trail is right by the drop-off.
Good to know:
Facilities: Beach and grassy picnic area at Maple Bay, No food or water for sale in the park
Note: Bring everything you need for the whole day. There is nowhere in the park to buy food or fill a bottle.
We drop you back
The bus returns to the same place it left from, so you go home the way you came.
This is our estimated return time, not a guarantee. Traffic can change it and some trips do run late, so please leave yourself some room afterwards rather than booking something tight against it.
A beach day with a hill attached, and no shop for miles.
There is no shop and no drinking water in the park. Bring lunch, snacks, and more water than you think you need, especially on a hot day.
Sunscreen and bug spray as well. There is not much shade on the beach itself.
Cultus Lake is busy and popular, particularly on a summer weekend. Getting there early means you have the pick of where to sit and a full day rather than half of one.
It also means the bus is not sitting in the queue at the park gate with everybody else.
This is a new route, so we run it on a handful of dates and add more if people want them. If the date you want has gone, check back a couple of days before: cancellations do free seats up.
Placeholder dates · the real ones come from our booking system
We're Canada's outdoor bus service. Since 2010 we've taken more than 300,000 people to parks and trails without a car. You bring a towel. We handle everything else.
Cultus is one of the warmest lakes in British Columbia. Most lakes near Vancouver are snowmelt and they let you know it. This one you can actually stay in.
Cultus Lake Provincial Park does not need a BC Parks day pass. Get off the bus and walk in.
The Maple Bay day use area is a short walk one way and the start of the Teapot Hill trail is right there. Do one, do both, do neither.
We leave early on purpose. Cultus fills up, and getting there before the crowd is worth an early alarm somebody else has to act on.
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0 on Google
This is a great service if you don't have a vehicle or just don't want to drive. I'm so happy to have discovered this. There will definitely be more Parkbus trips in my future!James Taylor Wilson · Happy Parkbus customer
Speaking from someone who doesn't drive. This is a must!! I highly recommend this!Linda Ann · Facebook · Jun 2024
All stops enable guests ample time to explore the destination. This is a highly a good idea trip for those that appreciate spending time in nature minus distractions.OnAir48444 · Tripadvisor · Oct 2025
This is the 1st time I used Parkbus but it won't be the last.Brenda H. · Google
Factor in the cost of gas, parking and renting a car, it's a lot cheaper than taking a personal vehicle.Toronto Star
Parkbus is a great option for nature lovers, whether it's a day trip or overnight camping getaway.The Globe and Mail
Cancel more than 14 days before departure and you get a 90% refund, with 10% withheld for payment processing. Inside 14 days refunds are not available, except for a medical emergency in the 48 hours before departure, which needs a signed doctor’s note within 14 days of the missed trip and returns 50%. Tickets are transferable: you can change the passenger name up to 48 hours before departure.
If Parkbus cancels a trip, you get a full refund. We decide no later than 48 hours before departure and only on confirmed conditions: the park closed or the park authority asking us to stand down, an evacuation order or alert, an area restriction order, the highway closed, or the trip judged unsafe to run. A forecast is not one of those things, and trips run rain or shine.
Bring a towel, a lunch and more water than you think. We handle the driving and the parking.
Not quite the right fit? These all leave from the same spot downtown.
