The Trail:
The Cowichan Rail Trail is currently the only section of the Spirit of 2010 Trail located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The trail follows a 47 km stretch from Shawnigan Lake to the town of Lake Cowichan, along the former "Galloping Goose Rail Line". This line was operated at one time by Canadian Pacific Railway as part of a network of rail lines on Southern Vancouver Island. Currently this historic rail route is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation with management responsibility under the Cowichan Valley Regional District (between Sooke Lake Road and the Deerholme Wye) and BC Parks (between the Deerholme Wye and the Town of Lake Cowichan).

Rail History:
In 1910 Premier Richard McBride won an electoral victory on the promise of establishing a third transcontinental railway in BC. The dream was to lay steel to form a rail line that extended through the Rockies and to the very end of the West Coast. The result was the creation of the Canadian National Railway (CNR) line on Vancouver Island which formed part of the short-lived Canadian Northern Pacific Railway (CNPR). In an effort to exploit timber reserves on Vancouver Island, further work began on a line from Victoria to Nootka Sound, passing through Cowichan Lake, Port Alberni and Duncan Bay. The major stakeholders of this venture were the Canadian Western Lumber Company which was the largest lumber company in the world at that time. The line was dedicated in February 1911.

Construction was slow, and only four miles of track had been laid on the main line when the Canadian National Railway (CNR) assumed nominal control of the CNPR in 1918. The line posed many challenges including crossings at a number of creeks with wooden trestles. One of the most challenging was the Koksilah River with the Kinsol Trestle which stands upwards of 70 metres high over its 300 metre length. Other major bridge crossings along the route included Marie Canyon, Holt Creek and the Mile 61 Bridge, all of which are passable on foot, bicycle and horseback. The rail line reached Cowichan Lake in 1924 at which point, plans to reach Port Alberni were abandoned. The final station now resides at Youbou, 132.8 kilometres from historic Point Ellice in Victoria, British Columbia.

The major role on the CNR was to transport freight and forest products, between Youbou, Cowichan Bay and Victoria. The competing Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway was also in the business of freight transport and by 1913, had successfully constructed a branch line to serve Lake Cowichan from Duncan. Competition intensified, and in response to the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway expansion, the CNR constructed a branch line from Deerholme to Cowichan Bay, diverting the majority of their freight from Patricia Bay to Cowichan Bay. The Cowichan Bay branch, known as the Tidewater Subdivision, was completed by 1925. Following World War II, rail transportation of lumber gave way to truck transportation and the once seemingly endless supplies of timber began to diminish. The CNR service between Deerholme and Lake Cowichan was discontinued in 1979 with complete abandonment of all rail service in 1988.

Communities:
This section of the Spirit of 2010 Trail resides in the Cowichan Valley Regional District on Southern Vancouver Island. Forty-five minutes north of Victoria, the name Cowichan means "warm land" in a native tongue, and benefits from one the warmest and longest growing season on Vancouver Island. The route encompasses over 100 km of rail trail. The trail includes the abandoned CNR section from Shawnigan Lake to the Town of Lake Cowichan, and rail sections from the Town of Lake Cowichan to Duncan / North Cowichan on the north side of the Cowichan River. It also includes a rail trail paralleling the historic Esquimalt &Nanaimo Rail Line from Duncan / North Cowichan through the communities of Chemanius / Saltair to Ladysmith.

Trail Highlights:
The Cowichan Valley Rail Trail section of the Spirit of 2010 Trail provides a unique tourism opportunity by accessing links it also links by ferry to two Gulf Islands (Saltspring and Thetis/Cooper), the Saanich Peninsula and Horseshoe Bay in British Columbia's Lower Mainland (via Nanaimo's Departure Bay and Duke Point ferry terminals). For more information on the Gulf Islands, visit HelloBC.com. The trail network also allows access to the stunning Cowichan Valley where visitors can access regional cachets such as local winery tours, bed and breakfasts, fishing and kayaking tours and agricultural tourism operations such as farm tours, harvest festivals and farm fresh culinary events.

The Cowichan Valley section of the trail starts at the south end of Shawnigan Lake, runs up the lake's west side and beyond to the Koksilah River on a gentle grade averaging 1% or less. Currently, there is a temporary bypass trail around the Kinsol Trestle - the largest wooden rail bridge in the British Commonwealth, currently undergoing restorative work. Please note that Kinsol Trestle Bypass route is for experienced hikers/mountain bikers only, as it is not the best of trails due to the terrain and ground conditions. The bypass route is not possible by horse, due to the gate at the Burnt Bridge crossing in Koksilah River Provincial Park. After the Kinsol trestle, the  rail trail swings northwest to the proposed Glenora Staging Area on the outskirt of the City of Duncan. Fresh water lakes are accessible along the trail to Cowichan River Provincial Park and continue westward as you enter the Town of Lake Cowichan at the eastern end of Cowichan Lake.

The rail trail passes through rural communities, forest lands and protected areas that provide habitat for several mammal and bird species including cougar, black tail deer, Pileated woodpecker, salmon and trout. The area is within the Coastal Western Hemlock Zone and is characterized by warm dry summers and mild wet winters. Western hemlock, broad-leaf maple, arbutus, pacific dogwood and Douglas fir are the main forest species. Shrubs include salal, Oregon grape, red huckleberry, dwarf rose, Saskatoon berry and false boxwood. In 2004 the Cowichan River was designated under the National Heritage River Systems program recognizing the river's significant cultural, environmental, social and heritage attributes.

© 2004 Tourism British Columbia