Cowichan Bay

Cowichan Bay is a single street of buildings standing on pilings over the water, houseboats and working fish boats moored alongside, at the mouth of the Cowichan and Koksilah rivers. In 2009 it became the first community in North America accepted into Cittaslow, the Italian slow-food movement's network, on the strength of a concentration of small producers in a village of a few hundred people: a bakery running a wood-fired oven, a cheesemaker, a butcher and farms in the valley behind. The Maritime Centre on the pier holds wooden boats and models. The estuary is a major stop for waterfowl and eagles in winter.

What you actually see

• The village on pilings - buildings and houseboats standing over the water.
• The food producers - wood-fired bakery, cheesemaker and butcher in one street.
• The Maritime Centre - wooden boats and models on a pier over the bay.
• The estuary birds - waterfowl and wintering bald eagles at the river mouth.

When to go

May to September for the village and boats; November to February for eagles and waterfowl on the estuary. The Cowichan Valley wineries inland run tastings through summer.

Honest expectations

It is one short street, walked in twenty minutes. Parking is very limited in summer. Some businesses keep short or seasonal hours.

Nearby

Duncan lies north; the Kinsol Trestle is west in the valley.