Long Weekend Adventure Ideas in the Cowichan Valley

There is always so much you can do over a couple days but when it’s a long weekend the options get even more diverse. Here is what a fun time for me looked with these long weekend adventure ideas in the Cowichan Valley.

Long Weekend Adventure Ideas in the Cowichan Valley

The plan came down to the wire on Friday like it usually does for me. This is mostly because the roller coaster weather we can see here on Vancouver Island in spring. The long weekend adventure ideas in the Cowichan Valley that were decided on were hiking and mountain biking.

Maple Mountain Mountain Biking

This was actually a pretty special day as I planned to attend the grad ceremony for the students in the Story Trails program here in the Cowichan Valley. The Story Trails program offers local First Nations youth an opportunity to work in an outdoor school environment while embracing the traditions of their past and keeping them inspired to stay involved in a learning environment. (Here is a bit more info on Story Trails at Coast Mountain Culture Magazine)

I wanted to show support for my friend Riley McIntosh, who is a passionate individual and puts his heart into this project as creator and instructor for this course. ( FreeHubMag – Riley McIntosh ). During this event I would also be shooting photos for my role in social media as a Director for the Cowichan Trail Stewardship Society .

This was a special day with the unveiling of the trailhead Totems, recognition of the students as well as performances by Tzinquaw Dancers and the Kwumut Lelum singing group. In attendance as a treat for the local riders and students, top Canadian world downhill racer Mark Wallace and legend Wade Simmons would be in attendance.

It was a wonderful day with happy faces, proud students and riders from all over the island excited to get in a day of riding. I reached out to Jill Collins from Get on the Beaten Path to have her son Ben and husband Joel join who are big MTB enthusiasts. My friend Luke (crazy that we live on the island and met in Utah) and son Brandon would also be riding with me.

Such a wonderful day and proud of our community here in the Cowichan. To learn more about what we are doing in the Cowichan Valley at the CTSS check out this article by Canadian MTB .

Maps can all be found easily at Trailforks for all the mountain bike trails and descriptions on Maple Mtn.

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Maple Mountain Hiking Trails

Sunday would see me returning again to Maple Mountain, this time hiking the trails on the opposite side of the mountain. This is a beautiful route that traverses the length of the mountain parallel to majestic views of Salt Spring Island and the Sansum Narrows.

My day of putting foot to trail was shared by the ever energetic and happy Kayleigh and the passionate outdoors adventurer Jain. These ladies are terrific friends that make spending time in nature very easy with good laughs and delightful conversations.

We started in Maple Bay at the trailhead at the end of Maple Mtn road. He we took the blue trail north until we reached the yellow trail fork. At the fork we dropped down on the yellow trail follow the bluffs and coastal trail. Amazing views across to Salt Spring Island we experienced the whole way until we connected back up to the blue trail. Here we would head back south on the blue trail and back to our vehicles. The entire route takes about 4 hours at a decent pace and almost hits 10km total distance

The greens were vivid, the creeks alive and the forest calming while overlooking the Salish Sea. For hiking in the region this is a must for long weekend adventure ideas in the Cowichan Valley.

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Daytrip to SaltSpring Island on the Vesuvius Ferry

For the official BC Family Day holiday , as I usually do, reached out to make a new friend and expand my network of rad people. I had been following Tom Parker (an amazing photographer – check out his work TomParkerPhoto ) for almost a year now on Instagram. I contacted him to join in on our hike to the summit of Mt Maxwell on Salt Spring Island of which he eagerly said yes. Kayleigh would be joining me for a second day and we had our trio.

Tom and I met at sunrise on Crofton to take the Vesuvius Ferry across to Salt Spring and were treated with a glorious sunrise as the sun crested the peaks across the narrows from us. A quick photo session and then off to the Island adventure. We drove south on Salt Spring to pick up Kayleigh at the Fulford ferry from Victoria and then made our way to Burgoyne Bay as our starting point.

Hiking Mt Maxwell from Burgoyne Bay

The weather was magnificent feeling more like a summer day than winter , we were complaining and basked in the sun on our backs as we hiked steadily to the summit. The views all day made the ferry trip across worth it and eventually relaxed for a snack on the summit.

Mt Maxwell is a great choice for a day hike, as you navigate the southern rim of the peak your views extend for an apparelled opportunity. From the Cowichan Valley, Gulf Islands, Vancouver all the way to Mt Baker, Mt Rainer and the Olympic Peninsula we were spoiled indeed.

After getting back to the truck we enjoyed a delightful lunch in Ganges to look back at our day and chat about future possible fun. Good day and good people.

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Rounding Up Long Weekend Adventure Ideas in the Cowichan Valley

I hope these long weekend adventure ideas in the Cowichan Valley helped you. I can’t urge you enough to always try and get outdoors and see new places and meet new people. More information on fun things to do on Vancouver Island you can always check out the great resources at Tourism Vancouver Island.

You can also check out my posts for great weekend ideas around Vancouver Island

The Top Tofino Road Trip Must Do Stops

Two Port Alberni Day Hikes You Should Do

Campbell River : Connect with the Wild Side of Vancouver Island

Thanks for visiting and remember to always #ExploreBeyondTheUsual

Cheers

Chris