The Cowichan Valley Trail: This wonderful recreation corridor created as part of the Trans Canada Trail links most of the region through bike- and foot-friendly trails. For the most part it is wide gravel, but with some use of roads. It begins (or ends) at Cowichan Lake, but this section describes only the lower portion from Sooke Lake to the Kinsol Trestle. A good way to plan trips is by figuring out which staging area to start from, with the main entry points being Sooke Lake Road, Glenora Trails Head Park and the Kinsol Trestle. The Kinsol, Holt Creek, Marie Canyon and McGee Creek Trestles have been restored for hiking, cycling, and equestrian use and so combine the rail history with the current use of the trail. It will connect to the Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail to reach Victoria.
Explore Cowichan: Cowichan Trail and Kinsol Trestle
The Kinsol Trestle: The Kinsol Trestle is a marvel started in 1911 and completed in 1920 as one of the tallest free-standing timber rail trestles in the world. To span the Koksilah River, it is 200 metres in length and 44 metres tall. It was closed off to even foot traffic for years over safety concerns for its deteriorating condition, and when an engineer's report concluded there was no option but to tear it down, enough people proved that falseto see it preserved. Through a concerted community effort the trestle was refurbished and reopened, and is now a major attraction of the Cowichan Valley Trail.
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Cowichan Trail and Kinsol Trestle |
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Cowichan Lake |
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Cowichan River |
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Mount Tzuhalem |
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Stoney Mountain |
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Old Stone Butter Church |
