Photo: Landon CopplestoneDuncan, BC

Rally Day 1 alternative (West Vancouver)

A ride described at Gravel Buddies

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 →

The alternative first day of the Gravel Buddies 2025 Rally: 150 km on the same West Vancouver-to-island journey with a bit less gravel and about 950 m of climbing. Same destination, slightly kinder legs.

Get the route on Gravel Buddies →

Where this ride goes#

Approximate lineGet the real route ↗

Map key & layers

Show stops Mute other bike trails

Food & DrinkAttractionsSuppliesCampingAccommodationBike ServicesTransport

Riding near fast trafficFastest stretches

Dashed line = our rough sketch of where the ride goes. The rideable route lives at get the route from Gravel Buddies.

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 3 km of Cedar Road · near Boat Harbour
about 3 km of Adshead Road · near Cassidy
about 2 km of Trans-Canada Highway · near Cassidy
about 2 km of Chemainus Road · near Osborn Bay
about 2 km of Haslam Road · near Cassidy
about 1 km of Cowichan Valley Highway · near Somenos

☕Stops worth stopping for278 along this route

Troller Ale House: first pub in Canada to serve micro-brewed beer since Prohibition — pouring Bay Ale from Horseshoe Bay Brewing in 1982. · West Vancouver

Ancora: appeared on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list and earned repeated Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence. · West Vancouver

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

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

Communities along this route#

Nanaimo 119West Vancouver 85 Ladysmith 37 North Cowichan 22 Duncan 4 Cedar 3 Chemainus 3 Paldi 2 South Wellington 2 Saltair 1

Nanaimo (119)

Hullo FerriesAccredited· Ferry

Saysutshun Newcastle Island FerryAccredited· Ferry

The Coast Bastion InnAccredited· Hotel / Motel · $$$$ · Upscale

Bistro TaiyoWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Nanaimo Art GalleryWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · Free

Nanaimo Ceramic Arts Studio & GalleryWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · Free

The View Oceanside GrillWelcoming· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

AsterasInfo· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

Bar LunaInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Best Western Dorchester HotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$ · Mid-range

Plus the fast-food chains — Pizza Mia, Mambo Gourmet Pizza, Chachi's +14 more

+92 more in Nanaimo →

West Vancouver (85)

Troller Ale HouseWelcoming· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

AncoraInfo· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

Beach House RestaurantWelcoming· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

Delany's Coffee HouseWelcoming· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Ferry Building GalleryWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · Free

MereonWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Persia Foods Produce MarketsWelcoming· Grocery Store

Thai PudpongWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

West Vancouver Art MuseumWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · Free

West Vancouver Memorial LibraryWelcoming· Library · Free

Plus the fast-food chains — Freshslice Pizza, Panago, Starbucks +4 more

+68 more in West Vancouver →

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 (22)

Chemainus TheatreInfo

Westholme Tea FarmInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Chemainus Valley MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Chemainus Visitor CentreInfo· Visitor Centre · Free

TeafarmInfo· Activity / Experience

Bonnie Martin RestaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Citrus CyclesInfo· Repair Shop

Country GrocerInfo· Grocery Store

Country GrocerInfo· Grocery Store

Little Town PizzaInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Plus the fast-food chains — Subway, Tim Hortons

+10 more in North Cowichan →

Duncan (4)

Deol Family Estate WineryInfo· Winery / Cidery · $$ · Casual

Sundays Coffee and ProvisionsInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Mid Island LiquorInfo· Liquor Store

Plus the fast-food chains — Roundabout Pizza

Cedar (3)

Mahle House RestaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$$$ · Fine dining

AarkulInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Country GrocerInfo· Grocery Store

Chemainus (3)

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

Chemainus Library BranchInfo· Library · Free

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

Paldi (2)

Stoltz Pool CampgroundInfo· Public Campground

Stoltz Pool Group CampgroundInfo· Public Campground

South Wellington (2)

The Cranberry Arms Hotel & PubInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Cranberry Arms Pub & HotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

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 allNanaimo

Getting to this ride, bike and all#

Nanaimo is the handiest transit doorway for this ride. Ferries, buses, and the SkyTrain will carry you and your bike there:

Gabriola Islandbest: ferry
Vancouverbest: ferry
Victoriabest: bus
Kelownabest: bus + SkyTrain + ferry

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

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, S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), Semiahmoo, səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish), Snuneymuxw, Stz’uminus, šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ (Musqueam), and Ts’uubaa-asatx.

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

Ready to ride it?

Get the route on Gravel Buddies →Got the GPX? Add BC Bike Stops to it →