Tubing on the Cowichan River

rural~babe · by **rural~babe** on Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:27 pm

How do you get there, where do you get tubes, is there a charge, is it safe for kids (7 - in lifejacket of course) and is the water cold! Do you bring 2 vehicles and park one at the top location? I wannna do this! Any info would be great! And if anyone has any tubes we can borrow that too would be awesome!

Thanks!

BigDaddy · by **BigDaddy** on Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:49 am

There is no charge, I know that answer

But for where to start, make sure you talk to someone who is totally informed. There are many dangerous parts of the river, so where you start is very very important.
Taking a 7 yearold, I think would totally depend on YOUR 7 yearold and his/her swimming capabilities and being comfortable on the water. What about contacting a tourism place in Duncan? They might be able to give you more information.
As for taking 2 cars. Totally! Because then you are stuck at the end.

HTH

oceania · by **oceania** on Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:50 am

haha I was signed in under hubbys name! I posted that response above!

tweetmobile · by **tweetmobile** on Mon Jul 21, 2008 12:09 am

The water should be decent by now with the warm weather we've had lately. There is no charge, you supply your own life jackets and tubes. Tubes you can get from any tire shop, they are usually between $10-$20. A good place to start is up at Vimy. It depends on what time of the day you start to determine how far you go along the river. There are some spots that can get really shady and it can be cold later in the afternoon. There are several spots to get out and if you start out at Vimy, you would get a good 2-3 hour ride. I can answer more questions tomorrow if you have any. My brain is tired! Oh yeah, and definitely you need a car at the top and bottom.

Happyasamomma · by **Happyasamomma** on Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:07 am

http://www.rainforestexpeditions.com/tubing.php
we always just rent a tube. so much fun!

cnoelle · by **cnoelle** on Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:02 pm

I bought our tubes from one of the tire places in town, but I was at Canadian Tire on Saturday in Langford and they had BIG Tubes for Sale right as you walked in the front door.... I think they were about $24. Have Fun!!

tweetmobile · by **tweetmobile** on Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:19 pm

To get to Vimy, mapquest Heritage Road. You go up Gibbins, turn left on Vimy, right on cambrai, left on Winchester, stay left at the fork, then right on Heritage. You go all the way till you can't go anymore and you've come to Vimy.

We used to start there around noon and float all the way down to either Allenby bridge, or Malaspina College. You clearly know where you are when you get to that part of the river, so you don't have to guess along the way, and there is lots of parking at both spots.

Happy floating!

organic momma · by **organic momma** on Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:22 am

My husband just fished this river last weekend with a guide. The guide owns the lodge on the river and says that in the summer there is not a day that goes by that he is not pulling someone out who has a burst tube, has been hurt or is now been on the water to long. The river is full of snags and in my opinion not even safe for adults, not a chance my children would be allowed to tube it.