Youbou

Youbou is a water front community located on the north shore of Cowichan Lake in the Cowichan Valley just about 38 km west of the Trans Canada Highway on highway 18. The town of Lake Cowichan which is the gateway to some great camping, boating and hiking in and around Cowichan Lake. At the intersection Town of Lake Cowichan, following the right fork will take you to Youbou which is another 10 km for this intersection. Other communities in the area around Cowichan Lake including: Alder Bay, Caycuse, Honeymoon Bay, Mesachie Lake, and Lake Cowichan.

There is a gravel logging road that is graded and maintained by logging companies heading west out of Youbou. The road condition, which leads to Nitinat Lake, Bamfield and Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, can vary considerably, as the maintenance and repair is determined by logging activities in the area.

The town of Youbou had its beginnings in 1907 when two timber cruisers working for the American Finance Company came into the area. This company, which later became the Empire Lumber Company, guaranteed that the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway was soon to build.

After the E&N Railway arrived in 1912, the Empire Lumber Company began to establishing logging camps. Equipment was brought in and logging was underway the following year. The logs were to taken out of the area to tidewater by E&N Railway.

A small mill was built at "Cottonwood", as Youbou was originally known but didn’t really start operating until after the war. At this time the Cottonwood mill, also known as the Medina Mill, began sawing again and shipped the first load of sawn lumber.

US-owned TimberWest closed the Youbou Mill in favour of exporting the raw logs to sawmills in the US. In a sweetheart backroom deal with the BC Government of the day (1997), the legal and contractual obligations to the Youbou community and its mill workers simply disappeared with the stroke of a pen.

Youbou was named after the original mill owners, Mr. Yount and Mr. Bouton. The Youbou Sawmill officially closed in January 2001 but the town lives on.

The Community Hall is a center point for community events such as dances, playschool, 5 & 10 pin bowling, sports and children's programs and much more. There is a public beach at Arbutus Park and extensive recreational opportunities, including swimming, canoeing, kayaking, boating, fishing, and hiking on Bald Mountain at Marble Bay. Or you get away from it all on the secluded beaches of Price Park and more.

Come see for yourself. Youbou on Vancouver Island where the people are friendly, time slows to a halt, the air is fresh and the water is blue.