Photo: Jordan DyckLadysmith, BC

Rally Day 3 alternative (Victoria)

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 final day of the Gravel Buddies 2025 Rally: 86 km around Greater Victoria with about 770 m of climbing and less gravel than the main route. Most of the views, fewer of the hills.

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 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 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 Vesuvius Bay Road · near Vesuvius
about 2 km of Chemainus Road · near Osborn Bay
about 2 km of Haslam Road · near Cassidy

☕Stops worth stopping for208 along this route

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

Communities along this route#

Nanaimo 85 Ladysmith 37 Ganges 34 North Cowichan 20 Salt Spring Island 11 Beaver Point 4 Cedar 3 Chemainus 3 Gabriola 3 Vesuvius 3 South Wellington 2 Crofton 1 Long Harbour 1 Saltair 1

Nanaimo (85)

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

Nanaimo Art GalleryWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · Free

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

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

Bar LunaInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

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

Bold Knight RestaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

Country GrocerInfo· Grocery Store

Miner's CottageInfo· Activity / Experience · Free

Nanaimo MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · $$

Plus the fast-food chains — Pizza Mia, Mambo Gourmet Pizza, Mary Brown's +9 more

+63 more in Nanaimo →

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 →

Ganges (34)

Buzzy's LuncheonetteWelcoming· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Oystercatcher Seafood Bar & GrillWelcoming· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Seaside RestaurantWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Golden Island RestaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Mahon HallInfo· Community Centre · Free

Rainbow Road Aquatic CentreInfo· Community Centre · $

Salt Spring Wild CiderInfo· Winery / Cidery · $$ · Casual

Salt Spring Wild Cider House KitchenInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

OutSpokinAccredited· Repair Shop

Wisteria Guest HouseAccredited· B&B / Inn · $$$ · Mid-range

Plus the fast-food chains — Ox Eats Grass, Dagwoods Diner, Sushi 2 Go

+21 more in Ganges →

North Cowichan (20)

Chemainus TheatreInfo

Chemainus Valley MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Chemainus Visitor CentreInfo· Visitor Centre · Free

Bonnie Martin RestaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Citrus CyclesInfo· Repair Shop

Country GrocerInfo· Grocery Store

Little Town PizzaInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Osborne Bay ResortInfo· Resort · $$$ · Mid-range

Owl's NestInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Pho Triple 7Info· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Plus the fast-food chains — Subway

+9 more in North Cowichan →

Salt Spring Island (11)

ArtSpringWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · $$$

Salt Spring Island Visitor Information CentreWelcoming· Visitor Centre

Steffich Fine ArtWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · Free

Cassette Cafe and Dive BarWelcoming· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

Glad's Ice CreamInfo· Ice Cream · $ · Cheap eats

Salt Spring Island Multi Space (SIMS)Info· Community Centre · Free

Uptown PizzaInfo· Restaurant · $ · Cheap eats

BCLIQUOR GangesInfo· Liquor Store

Paco's TacosInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Switchboard CafeInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Plus the fast-food chains — Pizza Cavern

Beaver Point (4)

Alfred HouseInfo· B&B / Inn · $$$$ · Upscale

Group CampsiteInfo· Public Campground

Ruckle Park, Walk-in CampingInfo· Public Campground

Ruckle Provincial Park RV Sites 1-8Info· Public Campground

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

Gabriola (3)

Descanso Bay Regional ParkInfo· Public Campground

CyquleInfo· Rentals

Vesuvius (3)

Seaside restaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Duck Creek FarmInfo· Farmers' Market

Vesuvius Cafe&StoreInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

South Wellington (2)

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

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

Crofton (1)

Croft Inn MotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

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: Ladysmith · North Cowichan · Salt Spring Island · Gabriola

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, MÁLEXEȽ (Malahat), Quw’utsun, sc̓əwaθenaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsawwassen), Semiahmoo, Snuneymuxw, Stz’uminus, and Te’mexw Treaty Association.

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 →