3,325) is a town located near the eastern end of Cowichan Lake and, by highway, is a little over one hour northwest of Victoria, British Columbia.

Lake Cowichan is today best known for its summer tourism industry, with the lake, river and surrounding mountains providing ample outdoor recreational opportunities, with some of its primary natural attractions being nearby Cowichan River Provincial Park, popular for hiking and fly fishing, and Gordon Bay Provincial Park, popular for camping, kayaking, paddleboarding and swimming.

The town is also known for its rich cultural history, with Japanese, Punjabi and Scandinavian loggers pioneering the area's vibrant forestry sector.

Lake Cowichan is surrounded on all sides by the Pacific temperate rainforests, containing some of the largest, oldest and tallest trees in the world.

Because of this sheltered location, the reverse is true during the other half of the year, when lower average winter nighttime temperatures within the town cause the community to receive more snowfall than the island's coastal population centres.