a couple of hours on one of our many rivers.
Years ago a few local kids would beg a old tractor tire tube from the local Tire Shop or Service Station, put a
quick patch on it and spend the afternoon floating down the river. That was then, over the years the popularity
of this pastime has exploded. Now on a hot summer day you will see hundreds of people floating down the
river on anything that floats.
The Cowichan River runs approximately 50 Km (30 miles) from Lake Cowichan, BC, to the Pacific Ocean at
Cowichan Bay. You can tube on the majority of it with the exception of Marie Canyon.
A popular run is from Lake Cowichan to Little Beach on Greendale Rd, it takes between 2 and 4 hours,
depending what time of the year and how fast the water is flowing.
There are now two local Tube Rental companies which will rent you a tube and provide you a ride back from
Little Beach (Greendale Rd) to Lake Cowichan or you can bring your own floatation device and walk the 3km
back to the start.
You can also float from Little Beach to Skutz Falls at the bottom of Mayo Rd, approximately 6 to 8 hours again depending on the flow.
The Skutz Falls area is home to the Skutz Falls fish ladders, it has a couple of quick little rapids exciting enough
to make the under 1km walk back to the start over and over again all part of the fun. The area is a rocky
playground with pools deep enough for diving and lots of places to park yourself for the day.
Skutz Falls is just way to much fun anytime, spring and Fall kayaking, summer swimming and tubing the rapids. Winters good for Search and Rescue practice...and probably cold water kayaking. But lets get back to summer. .
A little farther down the river there's more nice runs, Cowichan River park to Sandy Pool Park on Riverbottom Rd,
then to Heritage Rd off of Gibbins Rd, continue past Paradise by the Cliffs Rd Water Pump Station then float into
downtown Duncan by the Native Heritage Centre. Break up the runs to make them shorter, spend some time swimming or relaxing on the beachs along the way.
The run from Heritage Rd (off Gibbins Rd) into The City of Duncan is mostly wide and calm with the odd little
rapid thrown in for excitment. There are lots of rocky ledges for diving and sand and gravel areas for relaxing.
I would recommend exiting here by the railroad tracks next to the Native Heritage centre, it is an easy walk
into the downtown Duncan area. Don't for get to wear a hat and bring sunscreen you will be in the sun for a
long time. Depending on the beverage I would also recommend a driver at your pick up area.
There are so many wonderful trips one could spend a week and not make the same trip twice. Spend some
time at each of those wonderful beaches along the way for a picnic.