Bald Mountain Park near Youbou is 75 hectares larger, after an additional chunk of land was purchased by the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
The land was acquired for $2.5 million from Cowichan Lake Holdings Ltd., owner of the Woodland Shores development, a multi-phase project including a marina and housing between the lake and the park.
The purchase price was “well below” the land’s appraised value, the regional district said in a statement Friday. The acquisition included the owner’s donation of a portion of the land valued at $800,000.
The deal is the largest parkland purchase by the CVRD since the regional parkland acquisition service was established in 2008, said regional district chair Kate Segall.
The new parcel brings the total size of Bald Mountain Park to 425 hectares.
The park was established in 2008 as part of the Woodland Shores development and supports the region’s goal of a regional trail in that area.
Most of the park is rugged, with steep slopes in a mountainous area, but the new section runs along bench land — relatively flat terrain — on the Bald Mountain Peninsula between Marble Bay Road and the north arm of Cowichan Lake.
The addition includes approximately 850 metres of lake-front foreshore, the regional district said.
Bald Mountain Park has more than 7.6 kilometres of hiking trails and views of the communities of Lake Cowichan, Youbou, and Honeymoon Bay.
The district said 11,000 people used the main trail in 2023.
