Kinsol Trestle

Definitely a place to visit. We went on a rainy day, and it was a different vibe. It’s not that far to walk from the parking.

The Kinsol Trestle was recommended to me on a reddit forum for things to do with families near Victoria. Even with a toddler and wife with knee issues the hike in was fantastic! The light rain added to the mystic. The bridge, a free attraction, is unique and well worth the visit. Plan for a heroic drive if coming from the south. The mountains can be treterious.

Very pleasant 15 minute walk from the parking area to the bridge. Great views on beautiful August day.
Not many people visiting which only adds to the serenity of the place.
The bridge itself is an impressive piece of infrastructure if you're into that sort of thing.
There are paths down to the river below and a couple of families enjoying playing in the water.
A great example of Super Natural British Columbia.
Certainly worth the visit if you are in the area. Access is free so you can't be that price.

Very nice place to look at a reconstructed wooden bridge. The view is great and you can also walk into the valley and see the bridge from below.

It is very much worth seeing this amazing historical piece of engineering. To think of what it took to build this without today's heavy equipment.

Aug27/2020
The bridge is interesting, although it it's the trail that I came here for and without the bridge the trail may not be here.
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Feb. 17/2020
Great trail system. I biked over from Glenora Trails Head Park with a ebike approx. 16 km. Watch close and perhaps you’ll see somebody’s sculpture artworks do enjoy and don’t destroy.
The trail conditions are great. Don’t expect a workout because this trail is too flat. Maybe you won’t mind. The area around the bridge has many trails to venture about. For a nice atmosphere go down to the rivers edge. Play safe and enjoy.

Aug 27/ 2023.31°C & humid, some sun no wind. This time we crawled & hicked down to the trestle’s foundation. The structure is huge & well-built to last.

Cool experience. I hope to return when the lower hike trail has completed. It can get super windy so bring a good jacket with a hood (long line up for the slide)

Great family fun spot West Coast style. Should have another sign of a map of the trial area not just at the parking lot, especially for visitors not from our local area. Also, there isn't a gate to contend with for access after hours. Easy difficulty. Cheers

Great walk, easy stroll from the parking lot and amazing views. Fantastic mountain biking up ahead at burnt bridge also

Beautiful place. Would've explored more if we had been in better company. Under the trestle there are little paths and trickling waters that my husband and I will explore on our own at another time.

Un lieu à voir absolument si vous passez dans ce coin. Attention la route est un peu « rough » mais ça doit dépendre par où on arrive car il y a deux routes pour s’y rendre.
Bonus: La rivière en contre-bas. Nous nous y sommes baignés. Beaux paysages.

Worth the walk in and stop and read about the history.
If you're going their for photos, go early I the morning for sun rise to get the best light or sunset for the light setting on the other side.

An absolutely beautiful place with a good amount of benchs and shaded areas during the hotter days. Perhaps some public bathrooms could be put somewhere (or maybe I missed any that are there) but its a must see if you are visiting the cowichan valley!

A wonderful pit stop on The Great Trail. Outhouses, picnic tables and an lovingly restored trestle. The trail is good for walking, running, cycling and can be part of a longer trip from Victoria to Cowichan.

Was nice to visited, but the bathroom facilities were an absolutely disgusting horror. It being a public park you would think they would have maintained the outhouse/bathrooms better, it was absolutely disgusting.
It wasn't a nice way to start the adventure!
The train trussell had a beautiful view, it was a very pleasant bike ride but the washrooms put a negative spin on the adventure: (.

Great trails and picnic areas. If you sit for 15 minutes, try to count the number of birds you see! Even owls swooping down to the river!

It really is a cool experience! Make sure to not wear slippers here as it is a gravel road. And must bring water here! It can get hot really quickly. (lack of shade! Especially in the afternoon time)

An easy 1 km walk to the Trestle from the Shawnigan Lake side. An interesting piece of our Cowichan history. Great way to spend a sunny day.

It's a bit of a trail before arriving at the trestle, so bring a stroller for the little ones. Stroller and wheelchair accessible. There's the option to go down to the streams too, but it's steep with lots of rocks and on foot.

Great little walk to the trestle. On your way there grab some rocks to throw from the top but make sure to look for people before you throw them. Don't be stupid

This is a different place than other places I've been to. There isn't much of a spectacular view but I would still tell others to stop here. From the parking lot I walked one km. Little to none elevation so this trail is enjoyed by everyone. There is a river down below and lots of trees. Got a rain forest vibe from this place.

Amazing work and Thankyou for keeping it in a state for generations to continue to experience and enjoy. A big part of the islands history! And the view!

The drive in from Victoria was on paved roads. The parking lot was gravel and there was no charge to park. There is a porta potty type toilet at the parking site with some billboards explaining about the site. The walk to the trestle was about 1 km on compacted crushed limestone over level terrain. It was suitable for pushing a child in a stroller. The trestle itself was impressive from an engineering perspective and suitable for anyone who enjoyed lego or mechano as a kid! There were prepared walking paths to see the sides and under the trestle, too. There was another porta potty and billboards at the far end of the trestle. There were picnic tables, too.

Had an amazing day here, we came before but it was getting late and too dark to see anything thru the camera. Today we lucked out because there were about 4 cars in the lot and we passed two couples coming back so we almost had it all to ourselves. We took the lower path next to the trestle and go some good pics, by the time we were done everyone had left and we got some great pics. Small hike to the trestle on a clear pathway, just remember to keep you animals close by as there are several properties around the park with no trespassing signs.

Love the nature walk to the restored trestle. Really enjoyed the trails leading down to the stream below the bridge. The water is so fresh and clear!

Kinsol trestle is a 1km walk from the parking lot. Part of the galloping goose
It's an easy walk except for the snow covered path but there is picnic tables and bathrooms. Views and lookouts
Intetesting place. Worth a visit.

Short hike from the parking lot to this spectacular trestle bridge. Was once for a train but now is part of the Trans Canada trail.

Definitely check this out when visiting Victoria! Very kid friendly, not a super long walk (flat, gravel) to get to the bridge, but give yourself some time.

Lots of parking, well maintained walking path, clean toilets. I was impressed as some places don't keep up with the upkeep.

Wow, so glad we made the effort to visit Kinsol Trestle. Spent two hours in awe of what effort it must have taken to build and probably without modern maths to take load bearing etc into account.

There seems to be an original bridge at the bottom by the river as the wood is much older though built on concrete slabs.

I remember seeing bridges like this in the old westerns and especially in Back to the Future. If I were a 10 year old child I would be heading home to try and replicate the bridge with Meccano.

So pleased I made the effort to visit.

Ice nice easy walk with an option to go down under the trestle and work a little harder. Good info signs at the start and even better ones at the far end of the bridge.