The town of Lake Cowichan, BC, is located 31 kilometers west of Duncan at the beginning of the Cowichan River at Cowichan Lake. Cowichan Lake is one of the largest bodies of fresh water on Vancouver Island.

Before the arrival of the Europeans to the region Cowichan Lake seems to have been left largely untouched by local Native tribes other than for hunting and fishing. The two surveys of the region ordered by Governor Douglas in Victoria only mention one lone deserted village at Skutz Falls. Small groups had apparently set up camps and hunted in the region but had more or less left before these surveys took place.

Cowichan Lake's settlement history begins in about 1883 with the arrival of William Forest to Cowichan Bay. In 1884, he and James Tolmie (older brother of a later premier of British Columbia) toured the lake with the help of the native Ikilass brothers. Mr. Forest impressed by, "the most beautiful spot he had ever seen", later lobbied the premier for a road to the lake. The premier decided that if ten to twelve settlers were to move to the lake then a road would be built. Mr. Forest assured the premier this would not be a problem and thus was authorized to build a road.

Thanks to Mr. Forest's efforts a rough road was finished to the head of the Cowichan River in 1886 and settlement began. A fair number settlers, sensing the value of being at the gateway to the Cowichan Lake region, built their homes at the end of the road. This settlement is what became the Town of Lake Cowichan.