A Story of Riding and Camping in the Cowichan Valley
As I exited my camper van at the Mount Tzouhalem parking lot, I was greeted by the cool fall air and a canopy of yellow and orange leaves. Fall is one of the best times to mountain bike on Vancouver Island. The air is a mild temperature for pedalling, and fall rain ensures the trails are pristine with the tackiest hero dirt imaginable. Considering the mild climate and unique trails, which can be ridden almost year-round, I understand why many professional mountain bikers have chosen to make the Cowichan Valley their home and off-season playground. My partner Chloe and I, along with our friends Chancellor and Nina, were beyond excited to spend a few days camping and checking out the trails in the Cowichan Valley.
After gearing up, we began pedalling our bikes up the Mount Tzouhalem Main Road. While pedalling up a road isn’t always as enjoyable as taking the climb trail option, this road maintained a pleasant grade, and about midway, there was a fun, challenging skinny with views of Mount Baker in the background.
After pedalling the road most of the way to the network’s summit, we finished our climb with some XC-style single track and hopped onto Field of Dreams. This trail has plenty of fun little tech rock sections, a beautiful mossy forest, and a few sneaky views of Cowichan Bay through the trees.
Field of Dreams brought us back to Tzouhalem Main briefly before we connected onto Rocky Mountain Ridge. From this access point, I recommend pedalling up to the proper start of Rocky Mountain Ridge, where you will find a viewpoint with the most epic views of the Cowichan Valley. We stopped there and enjoyed a snack on the cliffside before starting our descent. The ride down Rocky Mountain Ridge was full of techy rock rolls and smooth, flowy sections set alongside arbutus trees.
About halfway down Rocky Mountain Ridge, we hopped onto a connector trail and pedalled up the D-Road to a trail called Double D. Double D is a machine-built blue flow trail considered a must-ride trail when visiting the valley. Unfortunately, the bulk of the trail was closed during our visit for a major rebuild, so we will have to return to check out the fresh berms once it’s done. After riding the top section of Double D, we traversed onto Showtime, which was an easy compromise with its unique wooden features and flowy berms.
We finished our ride on Fluid and Resurrection before crossing over to the bottom third of Double D, which was open. This whole lower half was super fun, with lots of nice berms, little jumps, drops and tables. With a good mix of flow, tech, and XC, Mount Tzouhalem truly has something for every riding style. As we hopped into our vehicles, I was already thinking about my next visit to Mount Tzouhalem. But that thought was quickly interrupted by a rumble of hunger in my stomach.
We departed Mount Tzouhalem and drove into downtown Duncan, where we parked and walked our bikes to Craig Street Brew Pub. We locked our bikes to a bike rack right in front of the pub and found ourselves a seat on the street-side patio where we could keep eyes on the bikes. The food and drinks hit just right after a good day of biking. I had the Pacific Cod burger while Chancellor and Nina both had Jake’s Gourmet Burger, and Chloe enjoyed the Pacific Cod wrap. After dinner, we headed to our campsite at Osborne Bay Resort in Crofton and set up our camp in the dark, not knowing the beauty we would be greeted by the following morning.
We woke up early and watched the sun rise over Salt Spring Island, shining a soft golden light over the bay at low tide. We enjoyed a slow start with coffee and breakfast before going for a short walk along the boardwalk that bordered our campsite. We returned to our camp on the black-sand beach and checked out the tidal zone.
Once back at our campsite, we got organized and drove into Duncan to visit the farmers’ market. The Duncan Farmers Market has been taking place since 1915, and apparently, they have learned a thing or two over the years, as it was one of the best farmers’ markets I have been to. Over 100 vendors filled the street with a colourful array of fruits, vegetables, and other local products. We were pleasantly surprised by how much good-quality, local produce was available, considering we were nearing the end of October. In my opinion, this is a must on any trip to Cowichan.
After the Farmers Market, we quickly stopped at the local bike shop, Cowichan Cycles, to grab a few things we needed before starting our ride at Maple Mountain. The Climb trail at Maple Mountain is broken into three sections: Lower, Middle, and Upper Xylem. The trail gently winds up the mountain through some beautiful sections of mossy forest, and on this day, the fall colours were popping off! We had initially planned to climb to the top and ride Upper and Lower Maple Syrup, which I was told have some great rock rolls set in a lush mossy forest, but being a bit short on daylight, we instead opted to ride Phloam, which consisted of tons of fun tight berms that wound their way down the mountainside and a handful of fun wood features and jumps to spice things up! Phloam led us onto the lower section of Solar Coaster, which was a more XC-style trail that meandered through a mature forest floored with ferns. After our ride, we beelined our way back to Osborne Bay to get dinner cooking.
We took all the fresh ingredients we purchased at the farmers market and a few items from a local grocery store to make street tacos. All the local produce, paired with locally made salsa verde and local cheese, made for some of the best tacos I have eaten in a long time. There is nothing like sharing a good meal with friends at a beachfront campsite on the Salish Sea. As the sun went down, we let our dinner settle while we sat by a campfire, watching gentle waves roll into the bay.
The following morning, we ventured to our third and final riding destination of the trip, a newer trail network called Fairservice Fun, located in Lake Cowichan. As we entered the small town of Lake Cowichan, it was pouring rain, and we decided to delay our ride in hopes that it would settle. We filled our time with a visit to Gordon Bay Provincial Park. Had the weather been better, it would have been great to have stayed an extra night because the campground at Gordon Bay was so beautiful, with large mossy trees separating relatively private campsites.
As we walked down to the beach at the Gordon Bay day-use area, the sky seemed to open up a bit, and rays of light beamed across the lake, illuminating the mountains across the water. It was both beautiful and hopeful for our riding plans. We wasted no time getting to the trailhead at the Salmon Run parking lot. As we started riding, the weather took a turn for the worse, and our planned 15km ride turned into a smaller 4km loop. We rode Twa Dogs, Upper Twa Dogs, Dry Socks, and Wet Stone Bed. From the limited time we had riding in this network, it seemed like an excellent place for someone looking for an epic adventure ride with unbridged creek crossings and a more raw style of trail building. Had there been less rain, we would have loved to ride Chainsaw, Scotts Cruiser, and Upper and Lower Steam Donkey, as I was told these were some of the best trails in the network.
Completely soaked, we returned to our cars and drove to the local community centre to use the washroom and change into dry clothes before going to lunch. We pulled into Jake’s at the Lake and were grateful to find parking in the back, which you could see from the dining room, so we could keep an eye on our bikes while we ate. The restaurant is located at the headwaters of the Cowichan River and offers beautiful views of the lake and surrounding mountains. We all enjoyed our food and drinks after the rainy bike adventure. Chloe and I both had the Crispy Yam and Candied Salmon Wrap, Chancellor had the Beef Dip, and Nina had the Korean Kimchi bowl. The food was delivered quickly and tasted so good that we ate it all in a hurry.
After eating, we said goodbye to each other and the Cowichan Valley as it was time to head home. Sometimes, a weekend getaway is the perfect way to step away from our regular routines and connect with nature and each other. The small-town charm and slower pace of life we experienced in the Cowichan Valley were just what we needed to achieve this end.
