Photo: Rob WilsonDuncan, BC

Cowichan Valley: Stoltz Pool to Nanaimo

A ride described at Gravel Buddies

How we describe routes →

Moderate One step up. Some real climbing, or a rougher surface.

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 second leg of a Cowichan Valley crossing: 78 km from the swimming holes at Stoltz Pool on the Cowichan River north to Nanaimo, mostly paved with gravel stretches and about 400 m of climbing. Pairs with the Swartz Bay leg for a car-free island traverse ending at Nanaimo's ferries.

Get the route on Gravel Buddies →Free route map on Ride with GPS ↗

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 4 km of Cowichan Lake Road · near Paldi
about 3 km of Cedar Road · near Boat Harbour
about 3 km of Trans-Canada Highway · near Cassidy
about 3 km of Adshead Road · 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 for193 along this route

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 118Ladysmith 37 North Cowichan 22 Duncan 4 Cedar 3 Chemainus 3 Paldi 2 South Wellington 2 Sahtlam 1 Saltair 1

Nanaimo (118)

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

+91 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 →

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

Sahtlam (1)

Wake Lake Nature ReserveInfo· Park / Nature · Free

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: 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, 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 Gravel Buddies →Free route map on Ride with GPS ↗Got the GPX? Add BC Bike Stops to it →