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Best 4x4 Trails on Vancouver Island
If you're looking for some of the best 4x4 trails on Vancouver Island, I'll tell you which roads you'll definitely want to try exploring! I don't do any extreme 4x4ing. BUT... I love challenging trails and that's what these are! We'll help you find the active (and non-active) logging roads, which offer up some really excellent 4x4 driving adventures. THE PICTURE HERE is a good example of the kind of roads open for 4x4ing. This road on the northern Island leads to some beautiful wilderness recreation areas!
The driving is the fun part, but guess what? You'll be in awe with some of the Island beauty that you'll stumble upon from some of these remote roads and trails. Rugged forests, silent lakes... gorgeous wilderness areas that have never been seen by most locals! It'll be just you, your 4x4 and nature. So here's my list of best off-road 4x4 trails I recommend you try:
Northern IslandThe 4x4 trails around Port Alice (about 30 minutes southwest of Port McNeill) is great if you can throw in a tent and a canoe (or kayak).The area logging roads provide great access to Alice Lake, Victoria Lake, Kathleen Lake and Benson Lake. Excellent camping here too, as well as good paddling and fishing in both the area lakes, and at Neroutsos Inlet (where the salmon bite!) The area around the Benson River is well known for it's karst formations (pools and interesting rock formations formed by flowing water). If you're going to be in this area, I highly recommend you head over to see the very interesting "Eternal Fountain" and "Devil's Bath."
Central IslandThe area between Courtenay and Port Alberni contains some of the best off-roading 4x4 trails on the Island in my opinion!Heading south from Courtenay, the Comox Lake main travels along the west side of Comox Lake. There's many spurs that travel off of this main route, up into the surrounding hills. Here you'll find some great scenery and challenging trails. At the south end of Comox Lake, the Cruickshank Main heads west, following the Cruickshank River. There's some great 4x4 trails here. If you get tired of driving, definitely get on your feet and head to one of the hiking trails that lead into (gorgeous) Strathcona Park. Keep going south, and Comox Lake Main connects to Toma Main and the Valley Link, which will get you into Port Alberni via Beaver Creek Road. Tons of great activities here: dirtbiking, hiking, mountain biking trails, and snowmobiling in winter. Kayaking and canoeing are good here. If you want to stop and fish, you'll have better luck fly-fishing in the area rivers, as the lakes around here aren't stocked well.
Southern IslandCowichan Lake (just west of Duncan) is a good jumping-off point for many adventures west and south of here. From the west end of the Cowichan Lake, Nitinat Main takes you to Nitinat Lake. This is a very popular site for windsurfers as it's famous for it's strong and consistent winds.There are lots of off-road 4x4 trails into the nearby hills as well as kayaking in the Nitinat River and good paddling in Nitinat and surrounding lakes. If you're going to stay for a few days, there's plenty of camping here that you'll like. One of the most popular 4x4 trails on the Island is from Cowichan Lake to Port Renfrew (on the Island's southwest coast). Here's where to go: Travel from the Village of Cowichan Lake along South Shore Road until you reach Robertson Main. Heading south, Robertson Main becomes Hillcrest Main, then Harris Creek Main, which leads you to the Village of Port Renfrew (if you like to surf, this is the area to do it!) The area just east of Port Renfrew, along Harris Creek Main is full of really good camping, mountain biking and hiking areas. There's good kayaking in the San Juan River and surrounding lakes. The return from Port Renfrew can be taken along Old Port Renfrew Road, which turns off Harris Creek Main just a short way from Port Renfrew. This route loosely follows the San Juan River and brings you out to the Village of Shawnigan Lake. Here's something I highly recommend when you reach the area near Shawnigan Lake: get out of your truck and hike a short way up the Trans Canada Trail to the Kinsol Trestle. This is one of the world's largest and highest wooden train trestles and is really worth a look! From Shawnigan Lake there's easy access to the Island Highway, with Victoria being just 20 minutes now to the south.
A General Recommendation:
There are so many great places on the Island that a four-wheel drive will get you to - I just can't list each and every place. But the above-mentioned areas are my favourites!
My recommendation? Get the Vancouver Island Backroad Mapbook (we LOVE this book - we have 2!), study the area you want to head to, and go for it! If you're looking for vancouver island logging road maps, this book lays out each and every road... a MUST-HAVE resource if you want to know the Island inside out! One more thing: If you really want to get the most out of your 4x4ing trip, toss in some hiking boots, a tent and some fishing gear and have a full adventure! It's great out here!
More 4x4 Information4x4OffRoads.com 4X4 OFF ROADS ! - Enjoy Your 4x4 And Experience Off Road 4 Wheeling. For serious 4x4 off roads travel. Practical no nonsense information. Experience joy and adventure and get off the highway!
Have a great time exploring our 4x4 trails here on the Island! If any of you guys are trying out new trails, drop me a line with your story!
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