Chilliwack

Introduction

Chilliwack is a city in British Columbia, Canada, set in the Fraser Valley roughly 100 kilometres east of Vancouver. It lies about 34 kilometres northwest of the Sumas–Huntingdon border crossing into the United States, placing it near the Canadian side of the Canada–US border.

The city has grown steadily in recent years, and its population continues to rise. Use that growth as context for what you'll find: a Fraser Valley community within easy reach of Vancouver and the border crossing to the south.

Before you go

Chilliwack sits in the Fraser Valley, surrounded by tall peaks such as Mount Cheam and Slesse Mountain and by the Fraser and Vedder rivers. The name comes from Halq'eméylem, the language of the Stó:lō First Nations communities around Chilliwack and Sardis: Tcil'Qe'uk means "valley of many streams". The Stó:lō have lived in this valley, S'ólh Téméxw, for millennia, and their heritage is central to the city's identity, so approach the area with that history in mind.

Know the shape of the city before you arrive. The north side, also called "Chilliwack Proper Village West", runs from the Trans-Canada Highway to the Fraser River and includes Downtown Chilliwack, the historical urban centre, along with Camp River, Chilliwack Mountain, East Chilliwack, Fairfield Island, Rosedale and Popkum. The south side takes in Atchelitz, Cultus Lake Park, Greendale, Ryder Lake, Sardis, Promontory Heights, Vedder Crossing and Yarrow; Sardis is the urban core of the south side and a popular shopping destination. The city grew from a small agricultural town into sprawling suburbia, and efforts to revitalize the languishing downtown and curb the spread of housing subdivisions into valuable farmland have proved challenging, so expect a dispersed place rather than a compact one.

Getting there

By car, Chilliwack sits roughly 100 km east of Vancouver on Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway. The drive can take as little as an hour in ideal conditions, but heavy traffic, especially from Langley eastward, will likely stretch it to an hour and a half or two hours. The city limits and welcome sign are at the Chilliwack River Bridge near exit 109, though the main access to the city centre is from exits 118 and 119. From the east, Chilliwack is about 35–40 minutes from Hope on Highway 1, and traffic on that section is generally much lighter; the welcome sign is past exit 135, while exits 120 and 119 bring you into the city centre.

• Ebus runs daily between Kamloops and Vancouver, and between Kelowna and Vancouver, on two separate routes, both stopping in Chilliwack along with Merritt, Hope, Abbotsford and Surrey.
• Mountain Man Mike's Bus Service offers twice-weekly service between Kaslo and Vancouver, stopping in Chilliwack among many Interior and Lower Mainland communities.
• Rider Express runs multiple days per week along the Trans-Canada Highway between Calgary and Vancouver, with a stop in Chilliwack.
• VIA Rail's The Canadian operates twice a week between Toronto and Vancouver; westbound trains stop at Chilliwack station, while eastbound travellers from Vancouver use the nearest stop at Agassiz station in Kent, north of the Fraser River.

By air, the closest commercial airports are Abbotsford, Bellingham in Washington, and Vancouver, the largest of the three. Chilliwack Airport itself is popular with recreational pilots but has no scheduled commercial flights; it is reached from exit 119 north off Highway 1, or via Young Road south from downtown.

Getting around

Chilliwack's street pattern is easy to grasp once you know its main spine: from Highway 1 at Exit 119, the same road runs south as Vedder Road and north as Yale Road. Head north on Yale Road and you reach the old downtown, with its restaurants, shops and parks. Head south on Vedder Road and you pass through the commercial centre before the city gives way to suburbs, with Vedder Crossing, the Vedder River, Cultus Lake, Yarrow and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park beyond. Most visitors get around by car, which is the most flexible way to reach the lake, the river and the provincial park; if you are staying downtown, much of the historic core is pleasant to explore on foot. Cycling is another option, with multi-use paths and bike lanes including the Valley Rail Trail and the Vedder Rotary Loop, though not every area has dedicated lanes and some roads carry heavy traffic, so plan your route in advance.

BC Transit's Chilliwack Transit System covers the main parts of the city with about a dozen routes, centred on Cottonwood Mall and Yale Road downtown. Two regional routes are especially useful: Route 66 runs between Burnaby and downtown Chilliwack with stops in Langley and Abbotsford, operating daily with numerous trips, while Route 71 connects downtown Chilliwack with Harrison Hot Springs via Kent, running Monday to Friday with numerous trips and on Saturday with a number of trips, plus Sundays from July to early September; at Kent you can connect with Route 72 to Hope. Frequency and reach are more limited than in a large city, so plan bus trips ahead rather than relying on spontaneous connections. Contactless payment is available through the Umo app or a reloadable Umo card, and real-time data feeds third-party apps for schedules and bus tracking. Taxis fill the gaps the buses don't serve well, particularly in the evening or outside the downtown core; Cheam Taxi and Chilliwack Taxi are the local operators, and booking ahead is sensible.

Where to stay

Chilliwack’s accommodation is practical rather than plush, with the main cluster of chain hotels sitting close to the highway on the town’s southern edge. The Comfort Inn on Luckakuck Way and the Hampton Inn by Hilton on Lickman Road are the straightforward options here; the Hampton adds a fitness facility, an indoor pool and hot tub, and a spread of hot and cold breakfast choices to start your day.

• Comfort Inn, 45405 Luckakuck Way — a convenient highway-side base with a 4 pm check-in and 11 am check-out.
• Hampton Inn by Hilton Chilliwack, 8050 Lickman Road — breakfast included, plus fitness room, indoor swimming pool and hot tub.

For something closer to the river and the outdoors, the Riverbend Guest House B&B and Cabin sits about 10 km up Chilliwack Lake Road, reached by turning left onto Slesse and then right onto O’Byrne. It’s less than a five-minute walk to the Chilliwack River and puts you near fishing, kayaking, rafting, hiking and sight-seeing, with guided fishing adventures on the Fraser River available. Check-in is at 3 pm and check-out at 10 am.

Food & drink

Chilliwack's eating options lean casual, with a handful of dependable spots spread across town. Near Cottonwood Mall on Luckakuck Way you'll find a Boston Pizza and, just next door, the Mandarin Garden Buffet, a large and popular Chinese buffet serving lunch and dinner (closed Thursdays). For Japanese food, Tokyo Japanese Grill sits inside the Royal Hotel on Wellington Avenue, offering sushi rolls, teriyaki, tempura, udon and lunch boxes. At the corner of Hocking and Yale, Bozzini's Restaurant bills itself as the city's best casual dining, open from late morning through late evening for lunch, dinner and late-night snacks, and it doubles as the local drinking spot.

If you're heading out toward Cultus Lake, Beethoven's Pizza on Columbia Valley Highway is worth a stop — the pizzas are enormous, the prices reasonable and the service friendly.

What to see and do

Start downtown at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre, a performing arts venue that houses the Chilliwack Players' Guild theatre company and the Chilliwack Academy of Music. Nearby, the Chilliwack Museum and Archives occupies the former city hall on Spadina Avenue, a National Historic Site of Canada, and the Chilliwack Military Museum on Wellington Avenue displays Canadian military artefacts on the site of a former military base. Guided tours of the downtown murals in District 1881 and Central Village run year-round and can be booked online.

Outdoors, Bridal Veil Falls in neighbouring Rosedale is reached by a short walk from the parking lot, and the nearby Bridal Falls Waterpark operates in summer with smaller slides and lighter crowds than Cultus Lake Waterpark, which suits families and offers twilight rates. Cultus Lake Park, about 10 km south of town, is good for a summer swim or a stay at a lakefront campground, though weekends get crowded. Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park has several road-accessible trails of varying lengths, and fishing is popular on the Vedder River, where you need to be in season and hold a licence if required. Annual events include the Chilliwack Mural Festival in mid-August, the Chilliwack Rotary Christmas Parade on a Saturday in late November or early December, the Christmas Craft Market, the Chilliwack Art of Wine Festival, the Fraser Valley Culture and Craft Beer Festival and the Fraser Valley Women's Expo.

When to go

Chilliwack has a mild oceanic climate, so the seasons shape your visit more than any single forecast. Summers are usually sunny and warm, with daylight lasting well past 10 pm in June and dusk stretching for hours, giving you long evenings outdoors. Occasional heat stretches push temperatures high enough that you should plan outdoor activity with heat in mind, starting early or saving the hardest walks for cooler hours.

Precipitation normally falls as rain, and winter is mostly wet rather than snowy. The exception is the arctic outflow period, generally two or three weeks a year in December or January, when arctic air spills into the valley and brings the cold snaps and snow that make this the one time of year to expect wintry conditions rather than rain. If you want dry, bright days and long evenings, aim for summer; if you don't mind rain and want to avoid the cold, choose the months outside that midwinter window.

Three days in Chilliwack

Day one: Start in Downtown Chilliwack, the historic core of Chilliwack Proper Village West, and use it as your base for getting oriented in the Fraser Valley. From there you can head out along the Fraser River and take in the views toward Chilliwack Mountain, then loop through East Chilliwack and Fairfield Island to see how the city spreads across the valley floor. Keep the pace easy and let the first day set your bearings.

Day two: Give the day to the water and the land around it. Head to Cultus Lake Park for a relaxed stretch by the lake, then work your way back through Sardis and Greendale, where the valley opens up and the farming character of the Fraser Valley is most apparent. If you want a longer outing, the country around Rosedale and Camp River rewards a slow drive.

Day three: Look up. Mount Cheam and Slesse Mountain frame the skyline, and the drive toward them takes you through the outer communities of the valley, including Popkum and Atchelitz. This is Téméxw, the territory of the Stó:lō and other First Nations, and the landscape around Sumas and Huntingdon marks the edge of Canada and the route toward the United States. End back in Chilliwack with a final look at the river before you go.