One of my favourite places on the Island, Cumberland is known for their community forest, world-class mountain biking, extensive trail network and huge glacier-fed lake. We drove up pretty early through dramatic Island weather; one minute pouring rain, next minute sunny. Cumberland Lake Park is a popular spot in the summer, full of campers and …
Drove out to Cedar for a flat walk along Morden Colliery Regional Trail to Hemer Park. As you can see, there were lots of crunchy fall leaves along the trail. So many, in fact, the regional district sent out a couple of leaf blowers, to blow the leaves off the path. This was weird and …
This is a neat little park along a stream in Nanaimo. It’s accessed behind a plaza and I never would’ve guessed there was a forest here. Walk along the park and you pop out at Departure Bay – there’s a beach and access to ferry parking lot. Who knew? Lots of stairs.
Open Air Classroom & Watt’s Walk This is a short loop along a boardwalk over a marsh area in Duncan. Lots of benches and bird viewing spots. I wish it was a bit longer, I just kept lapping around. It was very warm and sunny.
This is a flat, peaceful 2.3 km loop trail around the marsh. This is a bird sanctuary with a number of viewing platforms off and a tower for birdwatching. There are turtles here too, but I didn’t see any. It felt like fall today and there were crunchy leaves on the path.
My Comeback: After a very exciting afternoon involving a school cafeteria and stairs, I found myself at the hospital waiting for an xray. I missed a stair and landed funny (hilarious) on my ankle. This was exactly what I did when I broke my other ankle many years ago. I thought I broke it. It’s …
A few hundred metres off the shore of downtown Nanaimo is an island shoreline dominated by steep sandstone cliffs and sunny beaches. Saysutshun Newcastle Island Marine Park is a short 10-minute passenger ferry ride from Nanaimo. The island has an extensive network of trails leading to various historic points around the island. Walk or ride along …
Schooner Cove Trail is a beautiful out-and-back hike through the lush rainforest in Pacific Rim National Park. The series of stairs and boardwalks take you over streams and moss and fern covered forest floor. It is a spectacular green everywhere you look. Following the path through the forest, sounds of the ocean get louder and …