Lake Cowichan River Tubing

The overall experience was quite enjoyable. However, there are a few things I'd like to share with others like myself:

Be prepared for some hand fatigue when you leave, haha. We expected to effortlessly float down the river with the water's flow, but that's accurate for only the last third of the journey.
You'll actually need to paddle for the majority of the trip, around 2/3 of the way. This can be quite challenging, especially for those of us who don't work out regularly.
The final third of the journey was truly amazing. It featured some mild rapids, but you could simply lie on your tube and relax until reaching the end.
I highly recommend that everyone gives it a try at least once.

Always nice to be back. This family local business always busy during Summer holiday season.

This was our first river float, and we had a blast! The price is extremely reasonable for the time and experience. The only advice I have is, upgrade the tube to one with a bottom for kids under 80lbs. And rent the cooler float if you have any extra things, so worth it.

Quite possibly the worst outdoor recreation experience I've ever had. Staff didn't warn us that we would need paddles as the water is either stark still or the wind pushes you the opposite direction. We floated in the main area for about 45 minutes before we managed to get back to the dock to ask for paddles. Then we basically had to paddle for 2.5 hours until we FINALLY reached the rapids that gave us a tiny bit of current.

We were a group of three parents and we had to manage stray children who couldn't paddle themselves and if they tried were completely motionless.

This is not a relaxing or fun float. Had to paddle the whole time (which is awkward with a half paddle on an inner tube). I love being on the water and am an avid paddle boarder but this experience was absolutely ridiculous.

Staff should warn you in advance and give you a paddle and tell you there is no current. Would not recommend doing with small kids.

Staff sent a young mother and two young children out without appropriate safety gear. Didn’t warn them of bad currents and back winds to battle occurring that day even though they admitted to knowing about them in an employee group chat afterwards.
I received one of their calls for help after the tubing staff didn’t answer multiple phone calls during open hours and left the family stranded.

Not a single apology from staff or owner and seems like they somehow removed her own review. Really sad practices. Boycott this place.

We floated this past Saturday and it was so nice. The check in to get the float didn't take long despite the line up. The shuttle did not take long and the driver was so happy and personable. We had one of our floats delate on the trip and will only be using the easy services of the Tube Shack going fwd. Thanks for a great day!

It's the Cowichan River. Grab a floatie, some good friends and drinks and just enjoy the water.

This was my first time tubing and I had an absolute blast. What a great way to cool off on one of the hottest days of the year. No wait times and plenty of space for everyone. Bring sunscreen!

Beautiful lazy river route. Takes around 2.5 hours from start to finish at a leisurely pace. Once you go under the first two bridges, the river opens up into a large area that gets kinda busy when the weather is nice. Beyond that, the route to Little Beach is relatively quiet, and there's a few places where the river gets shallow and fast. Nothing that'll tip you out of your tube, and kid friendly. Recommend that book your tube at the Tube Shack, and use (free, when you rent a tube) their ride service to get back.

A relaxing 3-4 hour tour. Hundreds of people were there the weekend we were there, but no lack of rings or dinghies. The ride back up was quick and easy.

It was a memorable experience, starting with two of the kids falling out of their tubes right at the dock. (New core memories unlocked hahaha) We will probably try again another time with a longer timeframe.

Tips!
1. Try to stay local. By that I mean look for a place to stay overnight in the area (or at least on Vancouver Island). We attempted to make this into a day trip and while we did manage it, trying to catch two different ferry rides to get here felt too much like the Amazing Race - especially considering you can't hurry the river tubing portion!

2. They have sunscreen, but you can find your own mineral based ones that are river-safe.

3. They sell nifty little drybags that make for great souvenirs! (Although we did bring our own)

4. You can also wear rashguards to up your sun protection. Bringing water guns to keep us cool was also fun.

5. Be prepared for a long trip. Besides, you're going tubing to chillax right? Hahaha

Tons of fun. Managed to get a huge dinosaur raft all the way down the river. Ride back was only $10 and it took no time. Excellent ice cream across the street too.