Trail: Pi:txel, Chilliwack Community Forest
Date Completed: May 26, 2019
Distance: Approximately 2.5 km
Location: Chilliwack, British Columbia
Distance from Vancouver: Approximately 2 hours
Directions: Click here for google maps
Adults: 1
Ages of Children: 2, 5, 8, 11
Stroller friendly: Not particularly
Dog Friendly: Yes! Off leash friendly!
Bathrooms: Yes
Cell Service: Yes
Jellybean Rating: 2/5
Oh, Chilliwack. You’ve done it again!
Fairly recently, the Chilliwack Park Society and the Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association developed 100 acres of land for hiking, biking, trail running, and general enjoyment. They call this area: The Chilliwack Community Forest.
In short, it’s absolutely amazing.
We headed up there one Saturday morning with the pooch. When we got to the parking lot I was pumped to see a bathroom available.
We made our way across the parking lot to the trailhead where we took our trailhead photo and sent it to Grandma. She knew we were going to the Chilliwack Community Forest, but we wanted to make sure she knew exactly where we were.
After checking out the trail system on the map we decided that we were going to do the Pi:txel trail. I took a photo of the trail so that I could refer back to it if it was necessary to do so.
We started on the trail. The beginning winds you through some low bushes, but soon enough you’ll be walking within the beautiful trees.
FYI
The Chilliwack Community Forest is a dog off leash trail. There is a sign at the beginning of the trail informing you that you may encounter dogs roaming off leash (they still have to have an owner close by who is in control of their dog and able to call them back with a leash ready).
There are some great signs along the way. You know how you constantly remind your kids that there are cougars and bears around but they kinda look at you like “ya, right” and continue to think it’s funny to run way up ahead?
Thanks Chilliwack Parks Society and Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association for putting signs up to confirm what we’ve been telling them all along.
This spot was a great resting spot to have some water and have yet another chat about safety on the trail.
The signs on this trail are great. They’ve done a really good job keeping you posted about where you need to go. If you ever are questioning which way you need to go at each fork make sure to check the photo of the map that you took at the beginning of the hike!
As you begin your way back to the parking lot you’ll reach a beautiful bridge and platform area. Kids love bridges, so this was kind of a big deal.
The kids were getting hungry at this point, so we continued our descent until we found a lovely bench to sit at and have a snack.
Once you’ve hit this bench you don’t have a far ways to go until you reach the junction to go back to the parking lot.
Jellybean Rating Summary
I’m giving the Chilliwack Community Forest a 2/5. The hike was lovely, there was a lot to see, and the kids were motivated to keep going. It was a tad long, so the little guys did get a bit tired at the end. That said, it’s absolutely beautiful and is WELL worth the trip!
Happy adventuring!!