Park overview
Less than an hour drive from Vancouver, Rolley Lake Park provides a quick escape from urban life.
The park is a predominately flat, wilderness area blanketed with tall, second-growth conifers. The small, warm-water lake provides opportunities for swimming, fishing, and canoeing.
Sixty-four campsites are nestled in the trees just minutes from the lakeshore. Visitors can also enjoy picnicking and short hikes.
Advisories
Dates of operation
The park gate is open year-round
Current status:
Open
- Facility type
- Vehicle-accessible camping
- Number of campsites
- Reservable frontcountry sites: 64
- Vehicle-accessible sites: 64
- Main operating season
- 2023: April 1 to October 15
- Off season dates
- 2023: January 1 to March 31, October 16 to December 31
- 2024: January 1 to March 31
- Reservable dates
- 2023: March 31 to October 14
- Service note
- 7:00 am to 11:00 pm
- Winter note
- Campground is closed during the off-season.
Safety info
- When the campground is closed, visitors can walk into the park to use the trails and day-use area, however camping is not permitted when the campground is closed.
- No powerboats or other motorized craft are permitted on the lake.
Camping
All campsite reservations must be made the BC Parks reservations system. When reservations are not available all campsites function as first come, first served.
Campsite reservations
Campsite reservations are required for all campsites in this park.
This park offers vehicle-accessible campsites. Rolley Lake is an extremely popular campground, and fills most nights during the summer. You can find photographs and descriptions of all the campsites in the BC Parks reservations system. Maximum two vehicles per campsite (both must register), there is no day parking for extra vehicles within the campgrounds, and no overnight parking for extra vehicles within the park. Campsite reservations are required for all campsites in this park. Camping fees are payable at the park by cash, only. Campers must have a designated sleeping accommodation (RV, camper, tent trailer, RV trailer) on site in order to register.
- Campers with reservations: check the reservation board at the entrance to the campground for your last name and site number, and proceed directly to your reserved campsite. Staff will come by to complete your registration.
- Campers without reservations: locate an unoccupied campsite that does not have a 'reserved' sign, staff will come by to complete your registration. If you cannot locate a vacant campsite, check the reservation board at the campground for campsites that may be available on a one or two-night basis, or check with staff in the park.
Winter camping is available at Rolley Lake Park (unless park road is closed due to hazardous conditions).
Campsites are available on a first come, first served basis. Reservations are not available. An attendant will collect the fee and complete registration on site. Payment is accepted in cash, only.
Facilities
Accessibility information is available for this park.
Cold water taps are located in the campground area only. Drinking water from taps is tested on a regular basis. Water taps are shut off in the winter season. For water testing information, please contact the park operator at 604-466-8325.
There is a playground near the washroom and shower building in the campground area.
A sani-station is available April 1 to October 15.
Campfires are permitted in designated fire rings only. While campfires are allowed and campfire rings are provided at each campsite, we encourage visitors to conserve wood and protect the environment by minimizing the use of fire and using campstoves instead. Please do not move the fire rings from where they are dug into the ground.
Firewood can be purchased in the park or you may bring your own wood. Fees for firewood are set locally and may vary from park to park. Limited burning hours or campfire bans may be implemented. To preserve vegetation and ground cover, please don’t gather firewood from the area around your campsite or elsewhere in the park (this is a ticketable offence under the Park Act). Dead wood is an important habitat element for many plants and animals and it adds organic matter to the soil.
This park has a day-use and picnic area. There is a grassy area and a somewhat sandy beach with small swimming area, no lifeguards on duty. Pit toilets are available. Some of the picnic tables have barbeque stands. Bring briquettes and barbeques, fires are not permitted. Parking is available in the day-use area. The day-use area can be accessed by foot when the park gate is locked in winter. The nearest stores are in Mission and Maple Ridge.
Activities
A sandy beach and seasonal roped off swimming area is located in the day-use area. Please note, there are no lifeguards on duty.
Canoeing is welcome at this park. There are no rentals available in the park.
Kayaking is welcome at this park. There are no rentals available in the park.
Rolley Lake is stocked with Coastal Cutthroat trout and rainbow trout. All motors, including electric, are prohibited on Rolley Lake. Anyone fishing or angling in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence.
Pets and domestic animals must be on a leash, no longer than 2 metres long, and under control at all times, including in campsites, campgrounds. Pets and domestic animals are not allowed in the day-use beach and picnic area or park buildings. Pet owners are responsible for their behaviour and must dispose of their excrement.
Bicycles must keep to roadways. Bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are not allowed on the trails within Rolley Lake Park. E-bikes are restricted to park roads and areas where motorized use is permitted. The only exception to this policy will be for authorized and identified trail maintenance bikes conducting work on behalf of BC Parks.
Rolley Lake Park is 23km (13.8 miles) northwest of Mission, BC. Take Highway 7 to Maple Ridge and turn north at 287th Street. Turn right onto Dewdney Trunk road and then turn left onto Bell Street and drive north to the park.
Park and activity maps
Learn more about this park
Park details
- Date established: February 3, 1961
- Size: 115 hectares
Park contact
This park proudly operated by:
Alouette Park Management Ltd.
For information on campgrounds and day-use and picnicking areas of the park only:
info@alouetteparks.ca
1-604-466-8325
www.alouetteparks.ca
Nature and culture
History
Rolley Lake was named after newlyweds, James and Fanny Rolley who first homesteaded on its shores in 1888 and stayed for 10 years. Since then the area has been the stage for a great deal of activity. In the early 1900s the lake was used as a holding pond for shingle bolts (short logs). A wooden flume sped the bolts 5km downhill to the Stoltze mill at nearby Ruskin. In the early 1930s, the park area supported a small Japanese-Canadian hand logging operation typical of many that existed throughout the province. If you look closely within the surrounding second growth forest, you may find some of the wooden flumes used to float the bolts, or a plank road of the latter logging days.
Cultural Heritage
This area was once used by the Sto:lo of the Coast Salish Nation.
Conservation
The park lies within the wet subzone of the coastal Western hemlock biogeoclimatic zone. Typical vegetation in the area includes Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western redcedar, and Pacific silver fir. The west end of Rolley Lake supports a relatively eutrophic fen with sedges, coarse grasses, and other aquatic vegetation.
Wildlife
The park provides habitat for species including Douglas squirrel, blacktail deer, and pileated woodpecker. Rolley Lake is stocked with Coastal Cutthroat trout and rainbow trout.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.