Camping at Cathedral Provincial Park

Cathedral Provincial Park Camping - Lake of the Woods — Lake of the Woods

In March, Greg posted a family-friendly camping trip to Cathedral Provincial Park for July 22-29. It was a BCMC Summer Camp for about 20 people. After a few email exchanges with Greg and discussing the trip with Kasturi and Kavya, we signed up and planned to join the BCMC group from July 22-25.

I mentioned this trip to Aloke, and he was super excited, as he always wanted to go to Cathedral Park. He and Margaret soon signed up for the trip. Our neighbours Celeste and Keith and their kids Chloe and Keira also joined the trip.

Getting to Cathedral Park

There are three trails to the Cathedral Park core area with backcountry campsites. Lakeview Trail is the shortest at 16 km, and Ewart Creek Trail is the longest and most challenging at 28 km.

Another option is to take the shuttle operated by Cathedral Lodge from their base camp in Keremeos. We decided to take the shuttle and booked the 2 p.m. departure from the base camp for July 22 and the 1 p.m. shuttle (down the mountain) for July 25.

Cathedral Lakes Lodge Shuttle Loading Area — Loading Area at Cathedral Lakes Lodge Base Camp

On July 22, we left Langley around 8:30 a.m. and arrived at Keremeos around noon. We had lunch in Keremeos, and then it was about a 30-minute drive to the Cathedral Lodge base camp.

The gate was closed when we arrived at the base camp and opened around 2 p.m. Once inside, we parked and got all our stuff to the loading area for the shuttle up the mountain.

Kavya joined her friends in the old Swiss Army vehicle while the rest of the group got into other SUVs. It was a dusty and bumpy ride in some sections, and took us about an hour to reach the lodge.

Backcountry Campsites

There are three backcountry campsites in the core area – Quiniscoe Lake, Lake of the Woods and Pyramid Lake. Pyramid Lake was under maintenance and closed when we were there.

Quiniscoe Lake is closer to the lodge and has 30 sites, but our group (around 15 BCMC members) decided to go to Lake of the Woods. It is about a km hike from the lodge on a relatively flat trail.

We overpacked for this trip and regretted it as we hiked to Lake of the Woods. Between me and Kasturi, we were carrying a 70L pack, a 50L pack, a 90L duffel bag and a small cooler. Kavya had her 12L day pack with a small bag carrying other items. As we got closer to the Lake of the Woods campsite, Celeste came back for us and helped us carry one of the bags.

Lake of the Woods has 28 campsites along the lake. We had paid for the Backcountry Registration – Permit in advance, but it didn’t guarantee a site. Fortunately, enough sites were available, and everyone in our group found a spot.

Chloe and Keira had already picked the campsites for our families – the first two sites once you arrive at the lake. It was a nice, spacious spot with a good lake view.

Three Lake Loop

Compared to Quiniscoe Lake, Lake of the Woods is smaller, but the views were better from our campsites.

Later in the evening, Celeste and I did a small hike connecting the three lakes – Lake of the Woods, Pyramid Lake and Quiniscoe Lake. We started from our campground and continued on the trail around the lake to Pyramid Lake.

Cathedral Park - Pyramid Lake — Pyramid Lake

Then we took the Pyramid Lake Trail to Quiniscoe Lake and did a loop around the lake. We got to the Cathedral Lakes Lodge and took the trail back to our campsite at Lake in the Woods. The hike was about 4.8 km with minimal (100 m) elevation gain and took us about an hour and ten minutes.

Quiniscoe Lake Loop Trail — Quiniscoe Lake Loop

Over the next few days, I did two more hikes – Rim Trail with family and Lakeview Mountain Trail alone. I will do separate posts on these hikes.

Lake of the Woods

The kids were keen to get into the water, and even though it was cold later in the evening, they went for a swim in the lake. Keith and Celeste had brought floaties, and the kids used them to swim to the small island in the lake.

Even Keith swam to the island and back on one of the days we were there. I am not a good swimmer, and I was happy with just a dip in the lake on the second day.

Camping at Cathedral Provincial Park - Lake of the Woods — Our two campsites – Lake of the Woods

We had great weather the first two days, but it rained the third day and during the night. Keith and Celeste had a nice tarp set up, which helped keep our bags and other items dry.

BCMC Group - Camping Cathedral Provincial Park — BCMC Group

Some BCMC group members got together in the evening and shared their experiences of swimming in the lakes, hikes and Goat sightings (usually around the lake in the morning). Aloke and Margaret’s campsite was a good spot for these get-togethers.

After three nights, on July 25, most of us took the shuttle down to the Cathedral Lakes Lodge base camp. The rest of the BCMC group stayed at the campsite till July 29 and continued exploring the park.

We were there only for a few days, but overall, Cathedral Provincial Park has beautiful landscapes, stunning turquoise lakes and rugged trails. I hope to come back here and explore more of what this amazing park has to offer.

Territory Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge that this trip took place on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, Similamix and Smelqmix People. I commit to learning about Indigenous peoples and issues and making reconciliation an ongoing effort.

Source: Native-Land, Similkameen Valley

Pronunciation Guide: First Nations.info, A Guide to Pronunciation of BC First Nations