Funding Announced for New Section of Lakeside Trail at Cultus Lake

The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) will receive $440,475 to construct a new section of the Lakeside Trail at Cultus Lake thanks to recently announced grant funding from the Province of British Columbia.

Work will begin this year on the new section of trail, which will run parallel to the Columbia Valley Highway for almost two kilometres starting at Sunnyside Campground before connecting into Entrance Bay day-use area in Cultus Lake Provincial Park. The gravel trail will link tourism amenities at the north end of Cultus Lake with recreation areas in the Provincial Park.

The grant was among 54 new tourism projects throughout BC, which received funding under the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program's destination development stream.

In a funding announcement, Melanie Mark, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport said, "Investing in community-based tourism infrastructure not only creates good-paying jobs, it also helps to rebuild this hard-hit industry and ensures BC's reputation as a world-class travel destination remains strong."

Located south of Chilliwack, Cultus Lake is one of the Lower Mainland's most popular destinations, welcoming over one million visitors annually. To date, two sections of the Lakeside Trail have been built: one adjacent to the Sunnyside Campground and another from the Maple Bay day-use area to Columbia Valley. Both sections of the trail are well-used by residents and visitors, seeing up to 500 users weekly.

"The Lakeside Trail provides a convenient way for the public to walk or bike between recreation areas reducing parking and traffic congestion which will benefit everyone in the area," said Jason Lum, FVRD Board Chair.

"Area H residents are excited to see this project get underway," said Taryn Dixon, Director for Electoral Area H. "We are grateful for the vision of the Lakeside Trail Society who has fundraised for and promoted the project since 2015."

The FVRD would like to thank BC Parks, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and Cultus Lake Park for their support of this project.