Lake Cowichan and Saanich 2025
- Bob Dalton
- Apr 25
- 4 min read
In April of 2025 I did my first bikepacking trip! That may not be quite true, I did some "touring" when I was in my late teens and 20s but that was so long ago I don't think it counts. I chose an easy one in an area that I am familiar with in order to avoid getting myself into trouble. I chose the Cowichan Valley 8 loop as defined on bikepacking.com and extended it to allow me to start at home in Burnaby and take in Saltspring Island on the way to Vancouver Island. I followed the route defined on bikepacking.com quite closely though I had to skip a long section on the west side of the Cowichan River due to closure of the Holt Creek trestle bridge while it was being rebuilt (it reopened in the summer of 2025). That meant I missed one long section of the Cowichan Valley trail but overall it didn't change the route very much other than forcing me to do an out and back on on the same section of trail from Duncan to Lake Cowichan - but it's a beautiful trail so I'm not complaining. It just means I need to go back again next spring for a do-over!
This route is a great introduction to bikepacking. The gravel is smooth and packed, there is no tricky single track and it is RELATIVELY flat. There are some steep pitches especially between km 15 and 25 as you cross the Malahat. It's not brutal but be prepared to push your bike on at least one section that is over 20% unless you are doing this super light and fast.
Here is a quick summary.
Day 1 - Burnaby to Saltspring Island (79 km, 880m of climbing)
3.75 hours riding time (21.5 kph)
9 hours elapsed time : ) - clearly I had a lot of stops.
Day 2 - Saltspring Island to Cowichan River Provincial Park (137 km. 1,750m climbing)
7.25 hours riding time (18.7 kph)
10.25 hours elapsed time
Day 3 - Cowichan River PP to Burnaby (153 km, 1,200m climbing)
7.25 hours riding time (20.4 kph)
10 hours elapsed time
Day 1 - Burnaby to Saltspring Island (79 km, 880m of climbing)
Today was an absolutely perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and my mind was in a euphoric state. I rode from Burnaby to Tsawwassen on a route I know well and took the ferry to Long Harbour and headed straight to my favourite coffee shop in Ganges - Switchboard. From there I rode to the south end of the island along the defined bike route all the way to Ruckle Park. It is much better than riding the Ganges-Fulford road which has a narrow shoulder and lots of traffic. It is hilly but the hills are short and the road is quiet. There were a few campers at Ruckle but it was pretty quiet as the full summer season had not started yet - I avoid Ruckle in the summer.
Day 2 - Saltspring Island to Cowichan River Provincial Park (137 km, 1,750m climbing)
Today was a pretty epic day with awesome riding. I started early from Ruckle to make the first ferry out of Fulford Harbour and then rode the Lochside trail until until it connects up with the Galloping Goose trail and followed the GPX file I loaded from bikepacking.com. It is all excellent riding but as I mentioned, and as mentioned on bikepacking.com there are some steep pitches that may require you to push your bike but it's not too bad and well worth the effort.
You can see on my Strava that I had to get off the Cowichan Valley trail at the intersection with Waters Road due to the closure of Holt Bridge beyond there and head unto Duncan to continue the ride on the north east section of the Cowichan Valley Trail so I missed a very nice section of the south west trail. If I do this again I will make an effort to stay at Sandy Pool regional campground.
I camped at the Stoltz campground in the Cowichan River Provincial Park. It is quite a minimalist and unremarkable campground but it's fine - typical provincial park, no running water (water from a hand pumped well), no showers. It is located down in a gully by the river which meant it got much colder than I expected over night. Down to 0C and I was not geared for that so I had a cold night and got going early in the morning to warm up!
Day 3 - Cowichan River PP to Burnaby (153 km, 1,200m climbing)
Today was another awesome day of easy cycling. I followed the Cowichan Valley Trail (south section) east from Stoltz to Lake Cowichan and then continued back towards Duncan on the north section of the Cowichan Valley Trail. It is all excellent riding with very gentle grades. I followed the Cowichan 8 Valley route back to Swartz Bay which covers some of the same ground I rode on day two but then takes you through Shawnigan Lake to the Mill Bay ferry and across to Brentwood Bay which eliminates the need to ride all the way back to Victoria and around the Saanich Inlet. It's all excellent riding and super easy. A great trip, I'll do it again for sure.
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