Lakefront Homes, Lake Cowichan, BC

The town of Lake Cowichan is the gateway to some of the most spectacular camping and hiking available on Vancouver Island. Other communities such as Honeymoon Bay, Mesachie Lake, Skutz Falls, and Youbou are within easy reach by road. All have access to scenic Cowichan Lake, one of the largest fresh-water lakes on the island. The south arm of the lake is a heat trap, boasting the highest average summer maximum temperatures in Canada - over 24 degrees Celsius!

Population: 3,118

Location: Lake Cowichan is located on Highway 18 on southern Vancouver Island, 17.5 miles (28 km) west of Duncan.

• Kaatza Station Museum & Archives in Lake Cowichan

  Visit the Kaatza Station Museum & Archives, a community heritage museum housed in an old E&N Railway Station. Displays include a store, post office, mine shaft, logging display, and a 12' high mural depicting pioneer life at Lake Cowichan in the 1920s. Also on site is a renovated 1925 school house with a 1940s era classroom display. The museum is located in the village directly behind the Visitor Centre.

• Visit a working forest and learn about forest management at the Cowichan Lake Forest Research Station on Forestry Road in Mesachie Lake, established in 1929 by the BC Forest Service. Over 200 examples of "international" trees imported from all over the world are studied here, and the experimental station has become renown for its work in forest genetics and tree physiology.

• Stroll along the Cowichan River Footpath, a sensational 20-km hiking trail following the scenic Cowichan River from Glenora to Skutz Falls. Originally built for anglers, the Cowichan River Footpath is now a popular spot for hikers and naturalists.

• Cowichan River Provincial Park is a 750-hectare area stretching almost 20 kilometres, from the village of Lake Cowichan to Glenora, just south of Duncan. This spectacular Provincial Park protects significant stretches of the Cowichan River, known as a first class recreational corridor. The park is internationally recognized for its wild salmon and steelhead trout, and for the historic Cowichan River footpath that winds through dense Douglas-fir and Western Hemlock forest.

• Maple Tree at Caycuse on Cowichan Lake Photo: WebStorm Solutions

  Visit Gordon Bay Provincial Park - the rewards for being here in April and May in advance of the summer crowds include having your choice of campsites and witnessing the spectacular display of wildflowers that begin blooming in April.

• Gravel roadways from Cowichan Lake provide access to Bamfield and Port Renfrew, trailheads for the world-famous West Coast Trail.

• One of the best places to launch a boat when fishing in Cowichan Lake is at Gordan Bay Provincial Park. There are dozens of parking places next to the ramps from which anglers pursue rainbow and cutthroat trout and dolly varden char. Springtime is best for trout fishing, before the lake really warms up.

• Experienced wilderness paddlers and windsurfers can explore Nitinat Lake and the smaller lakes in the Nitinat Triangle canoe route. Follow the road along Cowichan Lake's northern shore to this outdoor adventureland.

• Lake Cowichan Visitor Centre

  The Trans Canada Trail starts in the heart of the town of Lake Cowichan and continues down the river, winding its way to Duncan. This is one of many hiking trails that visitors can take, from easy to difficult, there is a trail for every level and interest.

• Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park is home to some of the world's largest spruce trees. Take a side trip to this old-growth forest, located southwest of Lake Cowichan, and view first hand the pristine wilderness that has made British Columbia so famous. The Carmanah Valley is accessed from various directions via the Caycuse River Bridge, and can be reached by vehicle from Lake Cowichan.

• East of Lake Cowichan is the town of Duncan, the civic centre of the Cowichan Valley. Since 1985, Duncan has transformed itself into the "City of Totems", a unique urban forest with distinctive hand-carved cedar poles from local native artisans on public display in parks and downtown streets.

• The nearby small community of Mesachie Lake was a mill town from 1942 to 1968, and has since been transformed into a tranquil place to live or escape to.

• The Cowichan Valley ranges north across the Malahat Ridge from Victoria through the Cowichan and Chemainus Valleys to Nanaimo, including a cross-island trip to Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park.

• The Pacific Marine Circle Tour is an excellent way to explore the historic West Coast of Vancouver Island. The wilderness route traces the coastline from Victoria through Sooke and Port Renfrew, continuing onto the Cowichan Valley and looping back down the Trans-Canada Highway via Duncan to Victoria.

• More Photographs of Lake Cowichan