Photo: Rob WilsonDuncan, BC

Duncan to Chemainus

A ride described at Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society

How we describe routes →

Ambitious A real undertaking. Demanding on a couple of fronts, like rough surfaces plus steady climbing, or a long stretch on busier roads.

Difficulty Our overall read of how demanding a route is. We score surface roughness, climbing, singletrack, and how far it runs from services. The route publisher's own rating, a lot of busy road riding, or sheer scale can push the tier up, never down.

Derived from OpenStreetMap. Good data, not perfect. Spot something wrong? Tell us.

How we describe routes →

A rolling 108 km paved day ride between Duncan, the City of Totems, and Chemainus, famous for its outdoor murals, through the Cowichan Valley's farmland. About 730 m of climbing on shared roads; the two towns' public art makes better-than-average turnaround entertainment.

Get the route on Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society →

Where this ride goes#

Approximate lineGet the real route ↗

Map key & layers

Show stops Mute other bike trails

Food & DrinkAttractionsSuppliesCampingAccommodationBike Services

Riding near fast trafficFastest stretches

Dashed line = our rough sketch of where the ride goes. The rideable route lives at get the route from Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society.

Fast-road stretches#

We believe these are the fast, unprotected roads on this route. We can tell you which roads and roughly how far, but not the order you will ride them. If you see an error, tell us and we'll fix it.

about 23 km of Trans-Canada Highway · near Cassidy
about 13 km of Yellow Point Road · near Boat Harbour
about 7 km of Chemainus Road · near Saltair
about 6 km of Cedar Road · near Boat Harbour
about 3 km of Lakes Road · near Tzouhalem
about 3 km of Adshead Road · near Cassidy
about 2 km of Haslam Road · near Cassidy
short stretches on other roads · 1 km total

☕Stops worth stopping for129 along this route

BC Forest Discovery Centre: Open-air forestry museum in Duncan; ride the steam train through a 1930s logging camp. · North Cowichan

Chemainus Theatre: Chemainus' professional festival theatre, anchor of the mural town's renaissance. · North Cowichan

The Raptors: Daily free-flight raptor shows and hawk walks in the woods near Duncan. · North Cowichan

Westholme Tea Farm: one of Canada's very few commercial tea-growing operations. · North Cowichan

Communities along this route#

Duncan 41 Ladysmith 37 North Cowichan 37 Chemainus 4 Eagle Heights 4 Boat Harbour 2 Cassidy 1 Cedar 1 Koksilah 1 Saltair 1

Duncan (41)

Cowichan Valley MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

The DoghouseInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Coffee On The MoonInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Corner House CafeInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Craig Street Brew PubInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Cycle TherapyInfo· Repair Shop

Duncan Butcher ShopInfo· Specialty / Health Food

Duncan GarageInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Experience CyclingInfo· Repair Shop

Green Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant.Info· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Plus the fast-food chains — Burger King, Domino's, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken +7 more

+21 more in Duncan →

Ladysmith (37)

Country GrocerInfo· Grocery Store

Ladysmith GalleryInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Ladysmith Maritime Society MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Old Town BakeryInfo· Bakery / Donuts · $ · Cheap eats

Bayview Brewing CompanyInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Dragon CityInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Fox and HoundsInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Ironworks Café & CrêperieInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Kaede SushiInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Ladysmith Library BranchInfo· Library · Free

Plus the fast-food chains — KFC, Ladysmith A&W, McDonald's +5 more

+19 more in Ladysmith →

North Cowichan (37)

BC Forest Discovery CentreInfo· Museum / Gallery · $$$

Chemainus TheatreInfo

The RaptorsInfo· Activity / Experience · $$$

Westholme Tea FarmInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Chemainus Valley MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Chemainus Visitor CentreInfo· Visitor Centre · Free

Cowichan Regional Visitor CentreInfo· Visitor Centre · Free

TeafarmInfo· Activity / Experience

Best Western Cowichan Valley InnInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$ · Mid-range

Bonnie Martin RestaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Plus the fast-food chains — Subway, Subway, Tim Hortons +1 more

+23 more in North Cowichan →

Chemainus (4)

Best Western Plus Chemainus InnInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$ · Mid-range

Chemainus Library BranchInfo· Library · Free

Country Maples RV ResortInfo· Private Campground

Eagle Rock Bed and BreakfastInfo· B&B / Inn · $ · Rock-bottom

Eagle Heights (4)

Buckerfield'sInfo· Farmers' Market

Community Farm StoreInfo· Farmers' Market

Van Isle Cowichan RV Park & CampgroundInfo· Private Campground

Plus the fast-food chains — Grub Shack Allenby

Boat Harbour (2)

Yellow Point ParkInfo· Park / Nature · Free

Zuiderzee CampsitesInfo· Private Campground

Cassidy (1)

Chakalaka Bar & GrillInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Cedar (1)

Crow & Gate English PubInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Koksilah (1)

Red Arrow BreweryInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Saltair (1)

Campers CornerInfo· Private Campground

Slice and dice these stops in the directory →

These stops come from our directory of welcoming places across BC. Spot something wrong, missing, or closed? Tell us and we'll fix it.

⛴Getting here, bike and allDuncan

Getting to this ride, bike and all#

Duncan is the handiest transit doorway for this ride. Buses and ferries will carry you and your bike there:

North Cowichan (Chemainus & Crofton)best: bus
Victoriabest: bus
Nanaimobest: bus
Vancouverbest: ferry + bus

Also on the bike-transit map: Ladysmith · North Cowichan

Or pick any two places on To & Fro →

🪶Traditional territories

This route travels through the traditional territories of the Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (W̱SÁNEĆ), Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Halalt, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, Quw’utsun, Semiahmoo, Snuneymuxw, Stz’uminus, and Ts’uubaa-asatx.

Territory data from Native Land Digital, for educational purposes only.

Ready to ride it?

Get the route on Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society →Got the GPX? Add BC Bike Stops to it →