Welcome to Cowichan Valley ATV Club's Website. Prospective Club Members routinely ask:
* What is the Club all about? Who runs it? How much does it cost? Are there Club meetings? Where and how often do they ride? Will the club give me a set of maps and trails? Can I get a key to some of the gates that block the access routes to the outback territories?

Our Aim is simple..."To Ride Quads".

The Club is an affiliate of a Provincial ATV association, ATVBC. There are four other ATV clubs on Vancouver Island (Port Alberni, Ladysmith, Nanaimo / 'Mid-Island', and Campbell River), and 28 more ATV Clubs on the mainland. Altogether we form an organization that:
* Meets regularly to ride ATVs, and organize ATV rides & related events;
* Provides a forum for social interaction between like-minded outdoor enthusiasts;
* Educates other riders on useful ATV ideas, safety and environmental diligence;
* Is united in its approach to private landowners and government leaders to gain ATV access to private / restricted lands; and
* Promotes sustainability of the 'sport' for Members and future generations.

The CVATV has approx 124 Members. The Executive (for 2010/11) consists of President: Larry Olsen, Vice President & Secretary: Mike Lees, Treasurer: Mark Impett, Rides Director: Zan Boyle, Social Directors: Irene Soares, Sharon Anderson & Jean Cozens; and Directors-at-large: Doug Best, Randy Huene

One must be a Member of ATVBC in order to be a Member of the Cowichan Valley ATV Club.
* The cost of an ATVBC membership (2010/11) is: $40 Primary & $25 Secondary (spousal) or $90 family; and
* The cost of a CVATV Club membership is $15 per person (max $35 per family).

Memberships can be purchased online at the ATVBC website. However, we recommend that you purchase from a local supplier since joining online costs an additional $10 to $15 per membersip. Memberships can be purchased locally at:
* at any Club meeting;
* see Zan Boyle, Budget Brake & Muffler, Duncan 250-715-1573;
* see Dave Webb, Fernhill Financial, Victoria 250-595-1616;
* see Don or Mike, Duncan Motorsports, Duncan 250-746-7148.
Meetings are held when necessary (approximately 5 per year). They are always on a Tuesday evening...most often in one of the meeting rooms in the Travelodge Motor Inn that is on the east side of the Island Highway, just north of 'the bridge' in Duncan.
Club Members organize rides, mostly in the Cowichan Valley area, and mostly during the months of October thru June (outside of the 'dry-forest season'). The Club facilitates ride events by establishing the venue for organizing rides, by training & outfitting Ride Leaders, and by establishing land-access agreements with landowners and civic governments.

Members explore upcoming ride opportunities by participating in the Club meetings and by registering their preferences on the "Rides" topic within the website Forum.Note that while anyone can seet he generic "Forums", the most important "Rides" topic can only be viewed online by Club Members that register onto the site.
There is no single-source map-of-trails that is used by the Club. Rides are routinely sponsored by Club Members that know the areas and volunteer to lead. Over time, many Members build and maintain individual GPS tracks. These are routinely shared between riders. However, routes change regularly due to logging operations and/or dangers such as high fire-risk. The Club monitors these events and advises Members on what areas to avoid. It is important that riders be responsive to the ‘No-Go’ areas that are identified by Landowners with which the Club has Access Agreements, such as with TimberWest Forest Corporation, which is the major landowner in the Cowichan Valley.

Key-access to TimberWest gates is available to only Club-designated Ride Leaders A Club Member can become a “Ride Leader”. However, there are training and equipment prerequisites, and there is a need to provide a commitment to lead other Members on rides.

Hope this helps to clarify what the CVATV Club is about and I look forward to seeing you at the next meeting. Till then...

Have a safe ride.

Larry Olsen
President CVATV