Rowbotham Lake

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theshanergy's picture
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Shane
Alberni Valley
Rowbotham Lake

Here's a trip we did a while back - up the Englishman river towards the backside of Arrowsmith and then up and over the ridge to Rowbotham lake. This particular route was very thick bush so not recommended for anyone who cares about their paint. The backside of the mountain has several really nice view spots, one in particular that would be great for camping up on the top of a large rock bluff. Over the ridge, Rowbotham is a nice lake at elevation with two access points. I included the old way up coming from the powerlines on the Errington side as well, though last we were there it had recently been dug out quite extensively. There may be a bypass by now though. Overall it's a really nice area to explore, if the gates don't get in your way!

GPS file (Google Earth): 
iruninca's picture

Alex
Duncan

Thanks for posting the pics! My paint will never recover from that trip. Worth it though.

Ryno's picture

Nanaimo

Nice photos! The old route was a no go last time I checked but it's been a year or so. I'm really surprised the gate was open a little ways after crossing the Englishman and turning left.

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Seth
Lantzville

This was an awesome day, a little crazy with that grown in trail but great views all around and that side of Rowbotham was really nice too.

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Mark Bachynski
Victoria

Would you recommend using the first option (right by the Englishman river) or the 2nd option (towards Arrowsmith/Cokely) to access Rowbotham? Would it be possible in a Subaru Forester?

Thanks :)

Moose's picture

Seth
Lantzville

I don't think it's doable in a Subaru Forester. Especially this time of the year.

iruninca's picture

Alex
Duncan

Depends how much you care about your Forester :)

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Adrian Jay
Victoria, BC

Nice run! Looks like it was fun!

roamingwestcoast's picture

Heather Hutchinson
Courtenay BC

We tried to get up there last weekend, but there was a gate across the road at the first bridge - is that open sometimes??

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Seth
Lantzville

Where was that gate? I can't remember there being anything but a busted gated on the other side of rowbotham.

roamingwestcoast's picture

Heather Hutchinson
Courtenay BC

On the map above, if I'm remembering correctly, it's right at a bridge that crosses a creek that leads to the Englishman River. I've downloaded Gaia so I'll try to make it back up soon and confirm where.

roamingwestcoast's picture

Heather Hutchinson
Courtenay BC

I'm certain it's this one

Moose's picture

Seth
Lantzville

I didn't know there was a gate there to be honest. I was in that area about a month ago and it must have been open when I crossed over. That's annoying though. You can come in the long way from Whiskey Creek, that's all I can think of.

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Heather Hutchinson
Courtenay BC

Oh well! We'll try again later.

We're just trying to get out as much as possible to check out all these cool spots. I haven't done any off-roading on the Island other than the last couple of weeks since owning our Jeep, so there's lots to see and learn!

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