Vedder Mountain Ridge Trail
Distance: 11.5 km; elevation gain 575 meters; 5 hours return trip Best Conditions: May to October Difficulty: Moderate Description: This trail begins with walking on an old jeep road. After 1km take the first left (watch for the sign and the old cam shaft half buried in the middle of the road) and follow another old dirt road to a small clearing. The trail user box and trailhead are to your right. You'll continue climb gently uphill into the forest. At about the 1 hour mark you'll reach your first view out over Chilliwack. You'll pass a couple of small ponds along the way, complete with frogs & lily pads. There's a short, steep rock scramble at the top with a rope to help you pull yourself up. Tell someone where you're going, bring food, plenty of water, and something long-sleeved as it can be cold up top. Directions: You need to figure out how to get to cultus Lake first:
Cultus Lake: Highway 1 Exit 104 (Yarrow Cultus) following the signs to Cultus.
Alternate Cultus Lake: Highway 1 Exit 119A (Sardis-Vedder) south on vedder Rod to the Vedder Bridge. Cross the bridge and turn left at the next light on to Cultus Lake road.
Once you know where Cultus Lake is, the directions to Vedder Mountain Ridge Trail are: After 1.5 km past the stop lights en route to Cultus Lake, you'll see a "Welcome to Cultus" sign on the left. Pass this sign and turn right onto Parmenter Rd. (If you get to the waterslides you've missed the road, so turn around and go back, as Parmenter road is before you get to Cultus). On Parmenter Rd (gravel) travel 600m then turn right, then after an other 600m turn left (Vedder Mountain Forest Service Road). Continue uphill for 3km. Watch for trailhead signpost on the right. Park beside the road. (Note: as of March 2004, the Vedder Mountain Forest Service Road is in pretty bad shape, so if you've got a city car (ie not a truck and limited clearance) loaded down with people you'll need to be careful as you negotiate large dips and potholes in the road.)
