Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ofLakeCowichan, 250/749-3350,$34pernight)or
Gordon Bay Provincial Park,
onthe
south side of the lake 23 kilometers (14.3 miles) farther west ($28). Both campgrounds
have hot showers.
On the waterfront is
Cowichan Lake Visitor Centre
(125 South Shore Rd., 250/
749-3244,
www.cowichanlake.ca
,
10am-5pm daily in summer, 10am-2pm daily fall and
spring, closed Dec.-Jan.). The center is a good source of information on fishing conditions
and on the logging roads leading to the Carmanah Valley and Port Renfrew. Next door is
the
Kaatza Station Museum
(125 South Shore Rd., 250/749-6142, 10am-4pm daily in
summer, donation), at the end of a rail line that once linked the lake to the main line along
Vancouver Island's east coast.
Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park
If you're looking for a day trip to escape the tourist-clogged streets of Victoria, you can't
get any more remote than the
Carmanah Valley.
Eyed by logging companies for many
years, the Carmanah and adjacent Walbran Valley were designated a provincial park in
1995, providing complete protection for the 16,450-hectare (40,650-acre) watershed. For
environmentalists, creation of the park was a major victory because this mist-shrouded
valley extending all the way to the rugged west coast holds an old-growth forest of abso-
lute wonder.Many 800-year-old Sitka spruce and 1,000-year-old cedar trees—some ofthe
world's oldest—rise up to 95 meters (300 feet) off the damp valley floor here. Others lie
wherethey'vefallen,theirslowlydecayingmoss-andfern-cloakedhulksprovidinghomes
for thousands of small mammals and insects.
The only way to reach the park is via Lake Cowichan, following the south shore of
Cowichan Lake to Nitinat Main, a logging road that leads south to Nitinat Junction (no
services). There the road is joined by a logging road from Port Alberni. From this point,
NitinatMaincontinuessouthtoabridgeacrosstheCaycuseRiver.Takethefirstrightafter
crossing the river. This is Rosander Main, a rough road that dead-ends at the park bound-
ary. The park is signposted from Nitinat Junction, but the signs are small and easy to miss.
From the road's-end parking lot, a rough 1.3-kilometer (0.8-mile) hiking trail (30
minuteseachway)descendstothevalleyfloorandCarmanahCreek.Fromthecreek,trails
lead upstream to the Three Sisters (2.5 kilometers/1.5 miles; 40 minutes), through Grunt's
Grove to August Creek (7.5 kilometers/4.6 miles; two hours), and downstream through a
grove of Sitka spruce named for Randy Stoltmann, a legendary environmentalist who first
brought the valley's giants to the world's attention (2.4 kilometers/1.5 miles; 40 minutes).
