Cowichan Crunch
Sep 5–8, 2025
Mostly gravel rides on Vancouver Island
This three-day, mostly gravel, credit card “tour” took us from Victoria through the Cowichan Valley, around Lake Cowichan, and back via the Sooke Hills and Galloping Goose. A mix of ferries, rail grades, forest service roads, and trails made for crunchy and rewarding riding. Some bad stuff: dust and steep walkups. But plenty of beauty: endless gravel, old-growth forest, truss bridges, hills, sunsets, snacks, and good company.
| Day | Start | End | Miles | Elev. (ft) | GPS (Strava) |
| 1 | Victoria | Duncan | 33.1 | 1,591 | link |
| 2 | Duncan | Lake Cowichan | 64.5 | 2,953 | link |
| 3 | Lake Cowichan | Victoria | 58.6 | 3,533 | link |
Day 1 — Friday, September 5
Victoria to Duncan (33.1 mi, 1,591 ft)
Took the Victoria Clipper out from Seattle on a hazy morning (residual forest fire smoke). The fog lifted as we crossed the water. I love the end to end riding: bike from home, bike from ferry, bike to ferry, bike to home. We arrived in Vic around 11a and left around noon after customs, immigration, errands etc. Took a second ferry at Brentwood Bay, easy riding through Cowichan Bay, and stellar french fries and soft serve at a roadside BBQ joint.
Day 2 — Saturday, September 6
Duncan to Lake Cowichan and Loop (64.5 mi, 2,953 ft)
The Cowichan Valley rail grade is amaaazing. I wasn’t sure about road quality around the lake itself, and it was indeed pretty mixed/meh. The north shore of Lake Cowichan was dusty (once we lost the pavement) and quite busy with traffic, but the south shore was pretty nice. Some of the roads around the lake were quite rocky and challenging, definitely made for cars and not bikes. We were excited to get back to pavement and services.
Day 3 — Sunday, September 7
Lake Cowichan to Victoria (58.6 mi, 3,533 ft)
Easy until it was not! South stretch of Cowichan Valley Trail was arguably even nicer than the north stretch. There was one minor detour around Shawnigan Lake where one of the bridges was out.
The area before and after Sooke Hills was super challenging, just lots of steep ups and downs with loose gravel; need a more powerful engine :’) First few pitches I could still get up with lots of effort but had to walk the bike quite a few times. Nonetheless, really fun and beautiful riding, some of my favorite kind of terrain. The descent was bomb. Easy cruising back to downtown Vic.
Day 4 — Monday, September 8
No biking, just a nice morning in Victoria before taking the Clipper back to Seattle in the evening.