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Rolley Lake Park – Best Kept Secret Family Fun Spot in Mission BC

Discover Rolley Lake Park in Mission, BC: warm lake for ultimate family fun, cozy camping, and a cute waterfall hike – Rolley Falls – this Provincial Park has it all!

Summers in British Columbia are beautiful! Once a nice hot sunny day hits the weekend, you certainly want to get outside and spend your time in the fresh air at a nearby lake. The challenge is – everybody in Vancouver is out in search of that perfect swimming lake! Hence the problem: most of the lakes near Vancouver are jam-packed. Luckily with this post, you are about to discover the best kept secret family spot we love to enjoy: Rolley Lake Provincial Park in Mission, BC. Rolley Lake offers the warmest waters to swim with your kids, cozy camping, many easy hiking trails, and a cute little waterfall – Rolley Falls.

The challenge we've experienced a number of times – you get to the lake, but the gates are closed as there are too many people trying to get in. A park runs out of parking and the beach is overcrowded – happened at our favourite Sasamat Lake, Belcarra, Buntzen Lake, and Alouette. Not the case at Rolley Lake Park though! You can almost always get a spot here and enjoy your family outdoors time!

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Day Use Area, Beach, Camping and Trail Amenities

The Rolley Lake Park has a well-paved three-section parking lot for day-parking + they have a separate camping area. If you are interested in camping here, check out this resource. In addition, if you consider camping with a baby, this post will give you a list of six camping baby gear essentials to bring with you: Camping With a Baby – Six Baby Gear Essentials To Take With You

The Rolley Lake beach is not too large, but hey, there are not too many people either! There is a sandy part and there is a grassy picnic area. Maybe a dozen wooden tables are scattered around. There are washrooms here: the park-wooden-hut type. There is no running water, nor proper bathrooms.

The BBQ is allowed, including coal BBQ – and there are special bins to dispose of hot coal. There are no food options, other than the food you bring with you. The closest place to get food is an Italian restaurant 9 min drive from the park.

Stay SAFE in the sun & when hiking with kids + Outdoor Ethics:
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The ABSOLUTE BEST thing about Rolley Lake Park: motorized and powerboats are NOT allowed!!! I mean, this is such a relief especially when you are looking to get some downtime with small kids. No annoying motorboat noise! yey!

There are plenty of fishing boats and kayaks in the water – actually we'd rate this place the perfect spot to teach your children kayaking.

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Rolley Falls and Lake Trail – Quick Facts

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There are two parts to the trail – the Rolley Lake trail and the Rolley Falls trail.

The Rolley Lake hike (marked RED below) is a very easy refreshing comfortable trail. This part of the Rolley hike is definitely kids-friendly, even stroller-accessible for the most part – some areas are a bit rough, but overall it is a well-walked park-like trail.

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The Rolley Falls trail (marked BLUE above) is a different story. Yes, it IS possible to get through that loop with little children – in fact, we've done just that. We had 3.5 yo Cosmos and his 4 yo, girlfriend, with us on this hike. It took us almost 3 hours to do the whole two-parts.

If you decide to do the Rolley Falls hike, get ready to climb over large trees and take on a very steep elevation drop to the bottom of the falls, and then a similar steep climb back to the lake level.

Take clock-wise direction on the Rolley Falls trail: you'll get to the first set of waterfalls quite quickly (marked with a yellow cross on the map above).

The section marked with black on my map of Rolley hike above is the wild-steep-climb over a narrow sandy slippery trail. Frankly, there is not much to see there, especially in the summer when the thick greenery around the waterfalls obstructs the view.

Unless you love climbing trails for the sake of climbing, we recommend that you turn-around at the first waterfall and walk back to the beach to enjoy the weather and a nice family picnic.

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Directions

GPS / Google Maps anchor point: Rolley Lake Provincial Park, Bell St, Mission, BC V4S 1C6

If you are heading to Rolley Lake Park from Coquitlam Centre, it will take you about 50 minutes to an hour to get there.

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Other Swimming Lakes Near Vancouver

This summer we made it our priority quest to discover as many uncrowded new places to go to with the family, as possible. May I present to you our first summer report: Top Kids-Friendly Swimming Lakes Near Vancouver For Your Best Family Summer Experience!

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Fun Family Outdoor Learning

Want to have even more family fun and are looking for kids' outdoor activities? Spice up your Rolley Lake hike with our PerfectDayToPlay FREE printable Scavenger Hunt sheets! Get your kids entertained and learning through a fun Treasure Hunt game!

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Things to Do in Mission, BC

There is however much more to see and to do near Mission, BC! Mission, British Columbia, is home to some of the easiest yet most beautiful outdoor adventures:

• Hunter Trail – the hidden gem of Mission, BC hikes locals don’t want you to know about! Easy trail with breathtaking views of Stave Lake and Mt. Baker.
• Hayward Reservoir trail will lead you to breathtaking and easily accessible Steelhead Falls, and if you go further, you’ll eventually hit Ruskin Dam.
• Devil’s Lake is a cool find that overwhelms you with its special mystic vibe.
• Hoover Lake is one of the most serene places we’ve been to; its trail is the perfect place to enjoy the symphony of waterfalls in the spring.
• Check out our guide to hiking near Mission: Top 6 Awesome Hikes in Mission BC to Take Your Kids On This Season

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Do you know other hidden gem swimming lakes or kids-friendly hikes near Vancouver? Send us a note!

Enjoy!

Cheerfully yours,

Alexandra, Alex & Cosmos

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Share your pictures on social media! tag #PerfectDayToPlayHike to be featured on our Instagram!

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