Vancouver Island Bikepack
I’ll be honest in saying I had pretty high hopes for some cool adventures this past summer, but life felt really hectic and overwhelming. To the point where the idea of packing up my bike and all of the little things that go along with it felt like a bit much for my brain to handle. So, instead of overcomplicating things, we decided to pack up the necessities and head to Vancouver Island with the plan to spend a night at a motel to help keep things simple. We took the route from Cowichan Valley 8 on bikepacking.com. Between the three of us, we had ridden lots of sections of this ride, so we knew what to expect.
Day 1: 120km Swartz Bay to Lake Cowichan
Strava link HERE
We opted to drive to Tsawassen and park at the long-term parking near the waterslides (a cheaper option than parking at the ferry terminal). It’s a 5-minute ride to the ferry from there. The first day was 120 km from Swartz Bay to Lake Cowichan and makes for a very approachable bikepacking adventure. The route is very rideable, with only one larger climb that makes up most of the elevation for the entire day: climbing the Malahat. This climb, while maybe seeming daunting, is very manageable depending on fitness and gearing on your bike. It's also very walkable if need be! After the “hard” part comes my favorite part of the entire ride. The route winds you through some beautiful open feeling forests and is what I would consider the most interesting part of the ride. After this part, it does get a bit tedious, and dare I even say… boring? The Cowichan Valley Trail is very beautiful, but its straight and somewhat slow grade does get a bit boring for those who like interesting and technical rides; this definitely ain’t it. But for this reason, I think it makes for a great beginner-friendly bikepacking route! A highlight was stopping at Cowichan Lake for lunch and a cold beverage. We rolled into Lake Cowichan in the early evening to stay at Lake Cowichan Lodge (nothing special TBH, but a great place to rest). We got a bunch of snacks from the grocery store and called it a night.
Day 2: Lake Cowichan to Swartz Bay
Strava link HERE
Nobody talks about how great it feels not having to wake up at an ungodly hour on your adventures or trips. Another great reason to chose your version of an approachable adventure/challenge! Having a slow morning is great. So we slept in, rolled to the local coffee shop, hung out there for a bit, I got to pet a french bulldog - which if you know me is always the highlight of my day if it happens. We then went to Tim Hortons for a bagel, some timbits. The second day was 90km and requires the timing of 2 ferries (which can make things interesting). This day again consists of mostly a slow grade down and a few shorter climbs. Again, I would consider the terrain a bit boring depending on what gets you going. Taking the ferry from Mill Bay to Brentwood bay was probably the highlight. Its an open car deck ferry so you get to lie out on car deck. Make sure you give yourself ample time to make it to Mill Bay or else you may end up doing a TT like we did to make it in time. The home stretch from Brentwood to Swartz Bay is a quick one! By this point you’ve probably worked up a bit of an appetite for a salmon burger (my favourite BC Ferry meal) and a soft serve.
So there you have it! A fun, approachable, bikepacking trip that can be done from Vancouver. This trip was also a great reminder that fun can still be had when you choose the chiller options. Things don’t always have to be extreme, and sleeping in motel is glorious.
For reference I did this on my Ibis Hakka MX with size 42mm tires (you could definitely do with smaller) and a 11- 42 cassette.
My fav gear for this trip: