Island highway. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension. Rome2rio is a door-to-door travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. Modest climbs and gradients. An excellent trail map is offered by the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD). Transit bus (Route 7) to Duncan. Lake Cowichan to Duncan yet. Best Duncan, British Columbia parks, trails and places explored, documented, photographed, and published by participating Canadian Travel Influencers. This ride starts in Duncan, heading south on the wonderful Cowichan Valley Trail (CVT, aka Trans Canada Trail), including Kinsol Trestle, one of the world's largest wooden trestle bridges. From Lake Cowichan Follow Highway 18 towards Duncan. Then, south to the gorgeous SW coast for some great riding west to Port Renfrew. You'll be riding up to Cowichan Lake. You have the option of cutting back to Duncan at ~km67 if you wish, or continuing to Kinsol Trestle and Shawnigan Lake. Follow signs to Riverbottom Road. Turn left on Skutz Falls Road, then left on Riverbottom road. Then, nearly 4kms further to the NW corner of Shawnigan Lake, then ~9kms south, mostly along the west shores of the lake, to the end of the trail at Sooke Road, where there's parking and toilets. If you need a swim break, you can stop at West Shawnigan Lake Provincial Park. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, and nature trips and is best used from March until November. The 2nd map shows the start / finish in Duncan, and the bottom map shows the trail heads up in Cowichan Lake village. From Duncan Follow Highway 18 towards Lake Cowichan. Highway 18 Connector/Middle Access: Located off Highway 18, the Highway 18 Connector provides access to the Stoltz Pool campground, group campsite and day-use areas. DUNCAN, BC – The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) and its member municipalities are keeping parks and trails open to the public to provide outdoor spaces for residents to recreate responsibly. I'm recommending this, though, as an overnighter: up to Cowichan Lake on the segment paralleling the highway. The Cowichan Valley Trail is open to hikers, bikers and horseback riders that want to experience all of the wonderful views available. You may want to skip this part unless you're planning to tackle the ride, as it gets pretty detailed. Search teams were successful last weekend in locating a lost Duncan man. If you want to camp at Stoltz Pool Provincial Park along the way back to Duncan (a favourite campsite - recommended), you need to get off the trail onto Riverbottom Road ~9kms east from Cowichan Lake, just after the junction with Skutz Falls FSR. What We Stand For. It's only ~1/2km south to the trailhead for the leg heading back east along the Cowichan River. Cowichan Valley trail, Lake Cowichan: See 46 reviews, articles, and 41 photos of Cowichan Valley trail, ranked No.3 on Tripadvisor among 12 attractions in Lake Cowichan. If you want to return to Duncan by road, I've included several likely route options, in blue (map below). Check out this link for a more info on Cowichan Lake and nearby camping options. Most all of this ride is on the well maintained CVT, often forested, away from vehicle traffic. Follow signs from Skutz Falls Road via Cowichan Lake Road and Mayo Road to Riverbottom Road. Terrain: Moderate rolling except for steep hills near the Duncan (east) end. The top map shows the overall route. It's then ~25kms up to the trailhead at the NE entrance to Cowichan Lake village. This pic is from the CVT trail segment south from Kinsol trestle, set in from the SW shores of Shawnigan Lake. The track starts at the trailhead off Tansor Road in NW Duncan (~3kms west of the highway), but there are a number of points one can access the trail. There is a small amount of parking near Mayo Road. A new rail track link was recently established by the CVRD from Cowichan Lake to Duncan in the spring of 2011. ... TCT No. Cowichan River Trail is a 5.2 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Cowichan Valley F, British Columbia, Canada that features a river and is good for all skill levels. Cowichan River Footpath and Cowichan Valley Trail from Glenora Trails Head [CLOSED] is a 8.1 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Cowichan Valley, British Columbia, Canada that features a river and is good for all skill levels. The link here is to the Blog page, where you'll find the post on this fabulous new Trail opened in summer 2017. This is a uniquely direct route to start - just following the CVT. No description for Great Canada Trail. If you want a fantastic ride through the forests, no vehicles about, this ride's for you. From Duncan, Tofino Bus travels to downtown Victoria. Nature’s. Our first night was spent in Lake Cowichan and second night in Shawnigan Lake. Safety: Country roads without bike lanes, sometimes busy. From Sooke Lake Road, the Trail heads north along the west side of Shawnigan Lake, following a well-graded natural gas pipeline right-of-way and the abandoned rail grade of the 1913 Canadian Northern Pacific Railway, which now carries both the Great Trail (former Trans Canada Trail) and the Vancouver Island Trail all the way to the town of Lake Cowichan. Days for Ride:  Starting & finishing in Duncan, this could be done as a good one day ride, up to Cowichan Lake & back. The left elevation scale only goes up to 250m, so things look hillier than they really are. Next day, keep following the trail south, branching SW to Kinsol Trestle & the end of the trail. There are no guarantees with any information provided in this website. Stoney Hill Trail. There are no guarantees with any information provided in this website. There are a number of road access points off the trail into town. If this is full park at the Skutz Falls Day Use Area. Turns out the rides around Cowichan Lake are very popular, so I thought I'd best link in a little more local info on the town of Cowichan Lake as well as nearby camping options I like. The next morning, backtrack along this 7kms stretch, including an initial nasty little climb. Cowichan Trails Stewardship Society Building. Continue below pic for more directions.... Kinsol Trestle, high above the Koksilah River, reminiscent of days of old. no reports have been added for Great Canada Trail. ​This page gives details on the Lochside Regional trail (and other trail connections like the Galloping Goose) to get cyclists from Victoria to Swartz Bay ferry terminal. Map Printable guide Distance: an 8 km loop with a 3.8 km (one way) connector to the Cowichan Valley Trail Estimated Time: about 30 minutes or more. 10-0092-03 Cowichan Valley Trail (Cowichan Lake to Duncan) Distance 27 km Ascent 286 m Descent 175 m Duncan, British Columbia, Canada 1. Or - if you want to continue south on the new Sooke Foothills Wilderness Trail, check out the link below. Cowichan Valley trail: Wonderful leisurely bike ride - See 47 traveler reviews, 41 candid photos, and great deals for Lake Cowichan, Canada, at Tripadvisor. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors. This website does not encourage anyone to undertake activities in the backwoods without considering fully issues of safety, access and readiness. This takes cyclists south around the 'Malahat' to reach near Victoria. Additional trail segments from Duncan to Ladysmith include vast sections of "Rail with Trail" that runs alongside the … The map below shows several locations to get on the trail in and around Duncan. Robertson Road/South East Access: Located on Robertson Road in the Glenora area south of Duncan… Find the right bike route for you through Lake Cowichan, where we've got 25 cycle routes to explore. Now you can keep riding from the south end of Shawnigan Lake. Some local art along the Cowichan Valley Trail (aka Trans Canada Trail). Finally we turned north and connected with the Trail in its area north of the river, without reaching Lake Cowichan, since we did not have time to get there and be in Duncan at 17:30 to return the bicycles, and at that price, we could not risk having to pay another day. From Lake Cowichan, the end of the trail, there is a B.C. This multi-use trail can be used both directions and has a easy overall physical rating with a 125 m green climb. Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail. From the Water Road junction, it's ~11kms SE along the trail to Kinsol Trestle. This news comes in response to the announcement today by BC Parks of the immediate closure of all provincial parks in ‘We need hiking trails, we need walking trails, we need mountain bike trails, we need urban trails.’” Cowichan Valley trail, Lake Cowichan Photo : photo2.jpg - Découvrez les 632 photos et vidéos de Cowichan Valley trail prises par des membres de Tripadvisor. The Cowichan Valley Trail is a spectacular multi-use trail that is an integral part of The Great Trail (Trans Canada Trail) route on Southern Vancouver Island. Lake Cowichan to Duncan yet. The map zooming in to Duncan also shows a track (blue) that can get you back into Duncan if you choose not to go south to Shawnigan Lake. Since I packaged this ride page, several new Trans Canada Trail sections have been built. 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