11 Best Sights in Vancouver Island, British Columbia

One of Vancouver Island's oldest estate vineyards, this family-owned, sustainably farmed winery is a favorite with the locals. Award-winning estate wines include Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Black Muscat, while the Quill label wines are blended with grapes from the Okanagan Valley. Locally made cheese and charcuterie boards, which pair perfectly with the wines, are served daily in the architecturally stunning Tasting Room. Lunch for two, including five wines, is $50.

Victor Vesely and Margit Nellemann have proven agriculture officials, who said tea couldn't be grown in Canada, wrong. They planted two terraces of Camellia sinensis on about half an acre overlooking an old dairy barn in 2010. The barn has since been converted to a tea shop and gallery and their first crop of single-origin spring harvest tea, Swallow Tail Oolong, was released July 1, 2016. Also available are imported artisanal teas blended with herbs and flowers grown on the farm and popular Chinese zodiac–sign teas. The adjoining gallery features Margit's exquisite ceramic teapots and more. Book in for a Tea Tasting workshop or Tea Experience, including a guided tasting and tour of the tea garden.

Father-and-son duo Stephen and Jeremy Schacht built this craft distillery from the ground up, including designing and building their own unique stills. The award-winning gin and vodka they produce here are made with certified organic wheat from the BC mainland and botanicals from around the world, such as Albanian coriander, African grains of paradise, and juniper berries from Bulgaria. They now grow their own wild-harvested botanicals on the five-acre site. Don't miss the "Nocino!", a seasonal green walnut liqueur which was awarded best nonfruit liqueur in the 2019 Pacific Northwest Sip Awards.

It's all about the Pinot Noir at this estate winery. Even the rosé is 100% Pinot Noir. In the tasting room, take the Pinot glass test to learn why the shape of the glass makes a difference to where you taste the wine on your palate (mid-palate being ideal for the delicate nature of Pinot). Try the Charme de L'Ile and Prevost Foch Cab before heading out to the patio overlooking the ocean with your favorite bottle and something off their snack menu or your own picnic. This is the perfect place to start or end a trip through the Cowichan Valley.

Kids adore riding the rails at the British Columbia Forest Discovery Centre, a 100-acre outdoor museum just north of Duncan. Pulled by a 1910 steam locomotive, a three-carriage train toots through the woods and over a trestle bridge across a lake, stopping at a picnic site and playground on the way. Forestry-related exhibits around the site include a 1930s-era logging camp, historic logging equipment, and indoor exhibits about the modern science of forestry. Interpretive trails through the forest lead to ancient trees, one dating back more than 500 years. During July and August, a gas locomotive runs every hour. In May, June, and September, the train may be replaced with a gas locomotive.

This small estate vineyard on a south slope overlooking Somenos Lake is a labor of love for husband-and-wife team Mike and Robin Nierychlo. The pair purchased the property, which has some of the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vines on the island, in 2013. Since their first vintage the following year, the Sauv Blanc continually sells out. The property includes The Tractor Shed guest house, a 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom guest house, complete with a six-guest hot tub on the deck overlooking the lake. The tasting room is open three days a week or by appointment.

Small-batch beers, handcrafted using local seasonal ingredients are on tap here. Located in a brick building that formerly housed a motorcycle shop along the highway, this popular craft brewery launched in 2015 with signature brews like Sweet Leaf IPA and Piggy Pale Ale. Feature beers, such as a mushroom-infused Lion's Mane Golden Ale and Idle Hands Oaked Orange Ale, change regularly. The Midnite Umber Ale won bronze at the 2019 BC Brewing Awards. A flight of three beers is C$6.

This small brewery, housed in a former garage, is an homage to classic cars and craft brews sourced from local ingredients. In the taproom, local couple Cate and Aaron Scally pour core brews, such as Hornet Blonde Ale and Green Goblin Irish Red, alongside rotating seasonal offerings. Snacks are available. In summer, Friday nights feature wood-fired pizza from the Vancouver Island Pizza food truck. Across the parking lot at Stillhead Distillery, distiller Brennan Colebank is producing gin, wild blackberry–infused vodka, and whiskey from BC-grown fruits and grains.

At this conservation center about 10 minutes northeast of Duncan, you can see owls, hawks, falcons, and eagles in natural settings. Free-flying bird demonstrations are held daily at 10:30, 12:30, 2:30, and 4:30; you can also join a trainer on a brief falconry or ecology course.

A local favorite is Zanatta Winery (formerly Vigneti Zanatta), Vancouver Island's first estate winery which produces lovely Ortega, Pinot Grigio, and Damasco entirely from grapes grown on its own 25 acres. If you can, time your visit for an Italian-style lunch on the veranda at Vinoteca, a restaurant and wine bar in the winery's 1903 farmhouse.