Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia

Shawnigan Lake (pop. approximately 4,040) is a village on British Columbia's Vancouver Island.

A popular recreation destination, its population typically doubles during the summer, as the lake and village are summer vacation spots for residents of Victoria, who commute between the city and Shawnigan Lake while staying in their summer cabins.

Several new residential developments have been built, both in the Shawnigan Lake area as well as in surrounding areas. Shawnigan Lake village itself contains two small general stores, three restaurants, several beaches and various small businesses including a barber, clothing store, video store, and a museum. Residents of Shawnigan Lake also have access to nearby communities such as Mill Bay and Duncan that offer more shopping, employment, and educational opportunities. With the exception of Shawnigan Lake School, Maxwell International School and Lakeside Preparatory Academy (all private boarding schools), and two small grad schools (one of which has been closed down as of mid-2006), all students from Shawnigan above grade six must travel by bus to either Duncan or Mill Bay.

Shawnigan Lake is located approximately 48 km north of Victoria, and borders the communities of Cobble Hill and Mill Bay. The only active railway on Vancouver Island, the E and N Railway (ex-CP Rail) serves the community with a twice daily passenger train service operated by VIA Rail Canada, the "Malahat", although as of 2006, the train rarely stops in the village.

The west end of Shawnigan Lake sits on an abandoned CN Rail line that was torn up in the 1980s. This line includes the historic Kinsol Trestle which stands as one of the world's largest wooden railway trestles, and is currently in danger of being dismantled by the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD), although grassroots efforts to preserve the trestle are ongoing.

Originally a logging area, Shawnigan Lake's forestry industry closed in the early twentieth century due to both the loss of a mill, which was destroyed by fire, and the logging methods of the time, which used oxen to pull the felled trees. Since the loads of raw timber were very heavy, the oxen could only pull for a short distance, which quickly depleted the area surrounding the mill of any 'active' timber. Portions of the mill can still be seen in Shawnigan's Old Mill Park, a popular beach for swimming, mostly overgrown.

The village of Shawnigan Lake is located on the eastern shore of the lake and is a small shopping and service centre. The north-east end of the lake consists of a residential development (Shawnigan Beach Estates) as well as the area's only remaining elementary school, Discovery Elementary School. Elsie Miles Elementary, located within the village proper, was closed in mid-2006 due to age and declining enrollment. The north-east end of the village also includes many summer cabins and a large lakeside park. The south end of the lake is largely undeveloped, discounting the lakeshore itself, with scattered farmland and numerous hiking trails.

Shawnigan Lake has no significant parkland outside of the park noted above and one small regional park in the village itself. Several beaches and small day-use areas are scattered around the lake, and a large island in the south end of the lake, dubbed 'Memory Island' in honor of two lake residents that were lost in World War II, is one such area.

One unfortunate side-effect of the lake's immense popularity as a summer vacation spot is the slow degradation of the local watershed, due primarily to runoff and urban pollution. Adding to the impact is the popularity of water-skiing on the lake, especially during the summer months. The high speed of boat traffic on the lake causes strong waves to impact the shore, damaging both natural lakeside flora and artificial retaining walls by eroding the shoreline that supports them.

External links

* [http://www.vancouverisland.com/Regions/towns/?townID=42 BritishColumbia.com page (unofficial)]