Get to know Laketown Ranch!
At over 260 acres, our beautiful venue in Lake Cowichan has so much to take in and explore. With multiple stages, camping and parking for thousands (and with expansions planned), along with amenities such as 65+ flush toilets, upper and lower camping area showers, cell phone service, wifi, and many others, Laketown Ranch is a world class entertainment and recreation complex that offers creature comforts not typically found at many other festival venues in Canada.
Read on to learn more about the Ranch and all it has to offer.
GA Festival Bowl
The General Admission area, being the largest, is broken into two zones; The GA Flats and The Hillside. The Flats area is home to food and marketplace vendors, as well as exciting activations from our partners.
The Hillside is where great views of the mainstage are found. At the summit of The Hillside, you’ll find The Plateau, which is our family friendly zone as well as the access point to our own zipline. Don’t miss the opportunity to take this in. The GA area also has a forested zone, where people can find refuge from the hustle & bustle or the sun.
The Pit / Lawn is our up close and personal zone. For some events, we use the lawn for reserved seating, while for others it is used in combination with the Pit so that patrons can roam and find the best place for them to take in the show. All views are incredible in this area. The Lawn is also home to our Front of House, which is where the show is technically run from, as it’s the home for all the sound, lighting and video techs.
Our VIP area is accessible from the Pit, and offers those who are into it perks such as food, elevated and side stage views, and sometimes even opportunities to mingle with artists.
The mainstage itself is one of the largest permanent stages in Canada. Spanning over 120ft side to side, and over 60ft tall, it is capable of hosting the largest acts in the world.
At the back of the concert bowl is the Lakenight Stage. Made permanent during the pandemic downtime, this concert zone is now the second largest permanent amphitheater on Vancouver Island. Be prepared to get your dance on in this zone!
Beyond The Bowl
The Laketown Flats is our country village, and is the home to our box office, guest services and some great food options. The Flats Stage plays host to some of the region’s best up and comers, as well as the Cowichan Valley Bluegrass Festival.
Across from the flats is our slip n slide, a place to cool off during those hot summer days. This area is also home to our very own wedding chapel. Many nuptials have taken place in this beautiful area. Will you be next?
The camping areas are divided into two zones. Upper and Lower. Seen from Youbou Rd, the lower camping area is a vast, wonderfully located area that can play host to thousands. Our Lower area provides easy access to our day parking and offsite shuttle pick ups. Occasionally, you might see one of our artists arriving via helicopter to our very own onsite helipad, also located on the Lower part of the ranch.
‘Up the hill’ as we say, is our Upper Camping. Rolling pastures nestled amongst trees provides a different experience, as well as tenting only sites in our Backwoods area.
Also ‘Up the hill’, you’ll find our newest stage area, the Hanner Stage. This stage will play host to some amazing daytime vibes during this years Sunfest and Laketown Shakedown. The Hanner stage is also available for private events. Future plans for the up the hill include a fully serviced RV park, pump track and clubhouse with a pool.
Year round hiking and biking trails can also be enjoyed when the festival days provide some downtime. Accessible from both the upper and lower parts of the property, trail venturing never goes unrewarded, as the vistas of Lake Cowichan and Laketown Ranch are amazing once at the top.
As Laketown is also home to many other animal species, such as the majestic Roosevelt Elk, we always encourage people to clean up after themselves and never approach wildlife should you be lucky enough to have an encounter… including those wild animals sometimes spied dressed in onesies.
Because of the vastness of the property, during most events onsite shuttles are offered for certain times of the day. Walking is encouraged, however, to make sure you don’t miss any of the action.
Laketown Ranch is full of surprises. Make sure to check the maps while onsite and explore all it has to offer.