Swim Cultus Lake first. It warms to a green, swimmable temperature by July, which most Fraser Valley lakes never manage, and the four campgrounds sit in the fir a short walk above the beaches at Entrance Bay and Maple Bay. These summer weekends fill, so book your dates the day they open and bring a van that carries its own water and power.
The lake runs one way, counter-clockwise, for anyone towing a tube or a skier, and the swimming areas near the day-use wharfs are buoyed off. Two things to check before the kids sprint in: the bottom drops off steeply close to shore, and swimmer's itch turns up in the water some summers. When you want off the beach for an hour, Teapot Hill is a steep 5 km round trip to a lookout over the lake and the Columbia Valley, and the north end has the waterpark, marina, and go-karts for a carnival afternoon.
Most of the loops run spring through fall; Delta Grove is the one that stays open year-round, at a winter rate (Sea to Sky Parks). None of them have electrical hookups, and the sites were laid out for tents and small trailers, so they run tight. A bigger group, or anyone who wants to plug in, is better off comparing the RV options for Chilliwack.
Out-of-province visitors pay a $20 non-resident surcharge on top of the site fee for BC Parks stays beginning 15 May 2026 or later, as of August 2026 (BC Parks). If the provincial loops are full or you roll in without a reservation, Vedder River Campground sits about ten minutes back toward town with 30-amp hookups and hot showers; check-in runs 2 pm to 10 pm and the gate locks overnight (FVRD).
Chilliwack Lake, up the river valley
Chilliwack Lake is the colder, quieter second night, a glacier-fed lake 40 km up Chilliwack Lake Road from Vedder Crossing with a wide sandy beach under ice-field peaks (BC Parks). The swim here is bracing rather than warm, and the real pull on the way in is Lindeman Lake, a turquoise bowl at the top of a 3.4 km climb from the Post Creek trailhead. Sleep on the valley floor in the Lindeman, Greendrop, Paleface, Radium, or Flora loops; they're unserviced, with pit and flush toilets and no showers, and they book through the same BC Parks system as Cultus.
Bridal Veil Falls and Harrison Hot Springs
Bridal Veil Falls is the easy stop on a Cultus trip: a 60-metre sheet of water sliding down a smooth rock face, about half an hour on foot round trip from the Highway 1 Exit 135 lot east of town (BC Parks). It's day-use only, so catch it on the way through and sleep back at Cultus. North of there on Highway 9, Harrison Hot Springs and Sasquatch Provincial Park make an easy neighbouring-town weekend if you want lake camping at Hicks or Deer Lake. For the overnight most people mean by Golden Ears, that park sits over in Maple Ridge, and the Maple Ridge campervan guide covers it.