Finally got the Pajero out into Glenora today. Did some sight-seeing up high before going to Lois Lake and then Wild Deer Lake. Man we love this little Pajero, we were calling it a mountain goat today. It climbs anything and can turn around in the tightest spots. Plus it's a really comfy ride (adjustable suspension and the driver's seat has air-ride as well).
This looks great! I haven't done nearly enough exploring in that direction, but I'm putting those lakes on my list! Do you get in from Shawnigan or the Cowichan valley?
You enter on Waters Rd. in Duncan, at the Island Timberlands yard/gate. You have to sign in and out so that they know no one is lost out there. There are lots of places to get firewood there so there's quite a bit of traffic on the main road (and logging trucks sometimes of course). There were 4 trucks at Lois Lake, guys out fishing in their little pontoon boats, but there was no one at Wild Deer so that's where we sat and had our tea and cookies (we're old farts). The roads were all really good, we only used 4x4 while we were climbing.
Looks fun! Wild Deer is a great spot, peaceful out there. I was also out in Glenora yesterday. Usually we go in the Island Timberlands gate, this time we went in the Skutz Falls entrance and up the powerlines to Long Lake. The Skutz Falls entrance has no gate so there is no need to sign in, but man that climb up the powerlines is sketchy, even for a little vehicle like the tracker. Next time I'm out in glenora I'll contact you, maybe do some more exploring!
ive been to lois lake but not wild deer lake. is it any good and also how easy is it to get there? I know to lois lake the strail gets pretty tight so I couldn't take my camper, is the trail to wild deer lake anything like that?
Wild Deer is much easier to get into, it looks like people have camped there. But I haven't been there this year yet. If you look at our picture #4 above, you can see how open it is there.
Is LocalGuru back under a new name ????
Ummm........ k bud
Wow sorry about the spam guys, that was ridiculous.
Hey guys, new to the site and exploring these backroads in general. My friend showed me the Island Timberlands blog about their gates being open for recreational use on the weekends. My friend knows where some of the gates are, but I was particularly interested in the Shawnigan gate because it's close by; my parents are in town for the weekend and I thought it'd be fun to take a quick drive and do a little exploring with my old man one morning.
This discussion is the only reference I've been able to find on the internet about the location of the gate. Where exactly on Waters Rd is the Island Timberlands gate? I tried street view on google maps and didn't see it, but the street view images were from 2012 so maybe it wasn't in yet?
Any help would be much appreciated. My dad's really looking forward to some exploring.
if you are in glenora, headed up waters road till you see the island timberlands sign in a big empty lot head in there areound a corner and the gate is right there, you cant see it with street view
Thanks BeRadical! Found it and had a great day checking out the area. Even found our way to Lois Lake!
hey does the skutz falls entrance still have no gate? and can u find your way up to shawnigan area like the kapoor or west jordan m/L? any info would be awesome heading back to town soon and ive heard the kapoor hill gate is still locked up thx
there is no gate at the bottom but the top was blocked off for a while, buddy of mine punched through with his xj. I am unfamiliar with Kapoor hill, Google tells me its in shawnigan easier to get there threw renfrew rd.. on the maps A rd is supposed to connect the two areas way behind wild dear lake but havent had the opportunity to check it out yet.