Leaving our vehicles behind, we will meet at Tsawwassen ferry terminal Friday morning for the 9:00am ferry to Swartz Bay. After arriving at Swartz bay at 10:30am we will follow the Lochside Regional Trail to Victoria where we will join with the Cowichan Valley 8 (route details here: https://bikepacking.com/routes/cowichan-valley-8/). We will stop to camp at Goldstream Provincial Park, and the next evening we will camp at Stoltz Pool Campground in Cowichan River Provincial Park. On the last day of the trip (Sunday), we will take the 2:25pm ferry from Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay, and from there we will head to Swartz Bay (via the Lochside Regional Trail) for the 5:00pm ferry to be back at Tsawwassen at 6:35pm.

Trip Difficulty

According to Bikepacking.com, this route is not too technical, though there is a fair amount of climbing. The majority of off-road riding will be on wide, gravel paths. 

- A gravel or mountain bike 

- The 10 essentials

- All equipment necessary to fix a flat tire (I also strongly recommend bringing a bike chain quick link/master link to mend a broken bike chain).

- Camping gear (e.g., sleeping bag, tent, bivy)

- This is a self-supported trip, so bring food (and any needed food prep. equipment) and water (and water filtration, if needed).