The best family-friendly hikes and walks in Cowichan River Provincial Park

Kelvin Creek runs through the woods near Mountain Park, close to this section of the Cowichan Valley Trail. Listen for the water as you pass, or if time allows, it's a great place to stop and take a short break to enjoy the creek before continuing on along the trail.

Mountain Park is a small natural area along the Cowichan Valley Trail, set among the forested landscape of the Cowichan Valley. It's an easy place to step off the trail for a few minutes, with tall trees all around and the sound of nearby Kelvin Creek drifting through the woods. It's an ideal spot for a peaceful rest before continuing along the trail.

This section of the Cowichan Valley Trail runs between Waters Road and Mountain Park, following the former railway corridor through the Cowichan Valley. It’s a beautiful, mostly flat route that passes through forest and rural surroundings, with plenty of access to several parks and waterways along the way.

The City of Duncan calls the river and its adjacent riparian areas defining features of the parks and important habitat for fish, birds, and other animals, including trout, salmon, otters, beavers, ospreys, bald eagles, and herons. It is best walked when river levels are low, since it floods seasonally.

The park has a practice field, tennis courts, and a walking trail along the dyke, with educational boards about local plants and wildlife. A footpath along the river passes through a sensitive ecological area, so it's best to stay on the trail.

The park has one fenced field, change rooms, washrooms, and free parking, and local groups use it, including Cowichan Bulldogs Youth Football, Cowichan Women's Flag Football, the Cowichan Valley Soccer Association, and Classic Soccer. The park is gated and open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The Greendale Trestle Bridge was once part of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and has now been converted into a pedestrian and cyclist footbridge, part of the Cowichan Valley Trail and Trans Canada Trail. Beneath the bridge is crystal-clear water. In summer, the water is dotted with colourful inner tubes. In the autumn, it's a great vantage point to peer down and watch salmon spawning in the Cowichan River gravels.

The Cowichan Valley Trail, which spans 122 kilometres, is divided into a handful of sections. The Malahat to Shawnigan Lake stretching 19 kilometres, Shawnigan Lake to Duncan spanning 25 kilometres, and the Duncan to Lake Cowichan section coming in the longest, 28 kilometres. There are also the northern extensions of the trail, Duncan to Chemainus, and then Chemainus to Saltair. This is the Duncan to Lake Cowichan segment which follows the 1913 CN railway grade up to the Trans Canada Trail western terminus. It passes through Cowichan River Provincial Park, crosses the Holt Creek and Marie Canyon trestles. The surface of the trail is made up of mostly hard-packed crushed gravel, rather than pavement or loose dirt. The trail is also pretty wide and flat since it's a rail trail.