adventure awaits
30 kilometres of lake, trails that start where the pavement ends, and enough good food within a couple of blocks to build a weekend around. Most people find this place by accident. You don't have to - start anywhere below.
Do you have a favourite local?
Recommend your favourite local business to appear in the spotlight. Each month we'll switch it up, and keep a record of them all.
worth the stay
Many pass through on their way somewhere else. This is the case for stopping instead: what's on, where to sleep, what to do with a day, and why the town is better than the drive-by suggests.
Heritage
The railway reached the lake in 1913 and the mills followed. Youbou, Honeymoon Bay and Mesachie Lake grew around them, worked by Japanese, Punjabi and Scandinavian crews whose part is only now being told properly. The station still stands. You can still read it in the notched stumps.
still making • hand crafted
Coast Salish carving and weaving, Cowichan knitting, and whatever's coming out of the studios and sheds this month. This valley has made things by hand for a very long time and hasn't stopped.
kaatza • local heritage
The Ts'uubaa-asatx have lived on these shores for thousands of years, their name means People of the Lake. The valley is Quw'utsun territory, and the word Warmland was theirs long before it was a magazine.
fresh contributions
Everything published so far, newest at the top. Days out, places to eat, festivals, history, and the occasional piece that only makes sense once you've spent a winter here.
days like this
The best images from around the lake - the river, the trails, a morning paddle, and a cold plunge nobody enjoyed as much as they claimed. More every month, submissions welcome!
acknowledge
This magazine is created on the traditional, unceded territory of the Ts'uubaa-asatx Nation, whose people have lived on the shores of Cowichan Lake since time immemorial. We recognize their ongoing connection to this land and water, and extend that respect to the Quw'utsun (Cowichan) people, whose traditional territory encompasses the wider Cowichan Valley this magazine covers.
We're grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and share stories about this region, and we're committed to listening, learning, and building respectful relationships with the Nations whose home this has always been.