For thousands of years, humans have studied trees to learn how they too can provide suitable housing for squirrels and grow lemons from their fingertips. Branch out with this Groupon.
Choose Between Two Options
- $16 for two adult admissions with unlimited train rides (a $32 value)
- $27 for a family day pass, which includes admission and unlimited train rides for two adults or seniors and up to three kids (a $55 value)
A seasonal train schedule enables visitors to take scenic tours via the rails. View the museum's activity schedule to learn about all upcoming events.
BC Forest Discovery Centre
At the beginning of the 1960s, logging businessman Gerry Wellburn started collecting trains and forestry-related artifacts. He pulled locomotives from scrap yards and rescued tools that had been buried in the bush. Eventually, Gerry's collection grew large enough to spark discussions of him moving it to a site open to the viewing public. In 1965, he secured a six-acre property in Drinkwater, which just so happened to be the same location of Cowichan Valley's first public building—a combined schoolhouse and chapel.
Over the past six-plus decades, the museum has continued to grow, both in number of pieces and sheer size. Today, it stretches across a total of 100 acres on the Somenos marsh. Current exhibits continue to follow Gerry's original mission of honoring the past: You can check out logging machines, antique trains, and even intact bunkhouses, where loggers spent time ringing the guthammer and caring for their pet branches. Collections are located both indoors and outdoors. You can even hop on a historic train for a ride over the Somenos Lake trestle.
