Below is a list of just some of the best trails and mountains to play on around Nanaimo.

Hiking Trails around Nanaimo

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  Extension Ridge from Extension Road, Nanaimo [Trip Report]
  The Great Trail (Trans Canada Trail) sections on Vancouver Island offer so much variety. I’m always keen on new trails… Read More »Extension Ridge from Extension Road, Nanaimo [Trip Report]
• 
  Nanaimo Lakes Road to Whisky Lake
  Being part of hiking groups online is a mixed blessing. On the one hand there’s a constant supply of assistance,… Read More »Nanaimo Lakes Road to Whisky Lake
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  Trans Canada Trail: Haslam Creek to Christie Falls
  I had one section left to complete the Spruston Road to Christie Falls portion of the Trans Canada Trail near… Read More »Trans Canada Trail: Haslam Creek to Christie Falls
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  White Pine Trail
  I recently hiked the White Pine Trail near Nanaimo. It’s part of the Trans Canada Trail near Nanaimo. Years ago,… Read More »White Pine Trail
• 
  Hiking Mount Gemini
  In July I had the chance to get up the modest peak of Gemini Mountain at 1516m. I’ve seen it… Read More »Hiking Mount Gemini
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  Hiking Mount Benson
  Mount Benson is an icon of Nanaimo. Everywhere you go in town, you can see it’s rolling green ridges.The small… Read More »Hiking Mount Benson
• 
  Hike in Nanaimo: Haslam Creek Trail
  I love going for hikes. I love just wandering around in the bush aimlessly taking in the sights, smells, and… Read More »Hike in Nanaimo: Haslam Creek Trail
• 
  Summiting Mount De Cosmos
  Ahh, the elusive Mount De Cosmos.A couple weeks ago fellow adventurer Ryan and I headed out to the Nanaimo Lakes… Read More »Summiting Mount De Cosmos
• 
  Hike in Nanaimo: Ammonite Falls from Doumont Road
  Ammonite falls is a beautiful decent-sized waterfall right very close to the heart of Nanaimo. This route from Doumont is… Read More »Hike in Nanaimo: Ammonite Falls from Doumont Road
• 
  Hike in Nanaimo: Ammonite Falls from Jameson Road
  Ammonite Falls is a hidden gem tucked away in Nanaimo. It is so easy to find yet so many people… Read More »Hike in Nanaimo: Ammonite Falls from Jameson Road
• 
  Finally Summit Green Mountain
  After almost 2 years trying to get to the top of Green Mountain near Nanaimo, I’ve done it. I’ve spent… Read More »Finally Summit Green Mountain
• 
  Bonnell Creek Falls in Nanoose
  My girlfriend and I wanted to go for an adventure of the hiking type on Valentine’s Day. More specifically, we… Read More »Bonnell Creek Falls in Nanoose

The post Hiking near Nanaimo first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Travel just a little further south and you’ll bump into Nanaimo River. A fantastic way to beat the summer heat, it first runs through the 4 Nanaimo Lakes; First, Second, Third and Fourth. The large undeveloped area around the lakes offer a refreshing view into the scenery the island has to offer, even it has been partially logged.

There’s so much you can do around Nanaimo Lakes. You could spend weeks exploring. There are 4 campsites on First lake, fishing on First, Second and Fourth, beautiful spots to swim on the river and epic views to hike on the surrounding hills.

Camping near Nanaimo Lakes

First Lake is home to 4 different campsites. Mosaic Campsites has the official information for the sites in the area and how to book ahead of time. The Nanaimo Lakes campsites are in the Central Island section.

Deadwood Campground is near the gate to the area at the east end of first lake. Riverside and Windy Point are located at the west end of the lake where the river flows in from Second Lake. Old Mill campground is further along the road on the south side of the lake.

All 4 campgrounds are open April 1 to October 11th. Recently it’s been $29-$33 per night to stay in the area. This can change without warning so check the online booking site.

Keep in mind that the campsites and hiking tails are on private land owned by Mosaic. They control this land and can close it at any time if they run into problems. In the past the entire area was closed after some equipment was damaged or fire risk is high.

There is one gate before First Lake that controls access to the campsite and another at Second Lake. The second gate at Second Lake is often open only for logging.

Treat the area with respect and it will be open more often.

Hiking near Nanaimo Lakes

A lot of the Nanaimo Lakes area has been logged. This has it’s pros and cons. The active roads give good access to the remote areas around the Nanaimo Lakes. The very reason the roads are there though, is to give the loggers a way in to remove trees from the hills.

Clearcuts aren’t the prettiest thing to look at. Areas that have had a chance to grow back but still have logging roads for access can make for good places to hike.

As soon as you enter the Nanaimo Lakes area you’ll be surrounded by medium-sized mountains. Second Lake is straddled by Mount DeCosmos at 1531 meters to the north and Mount Hooker at 1263 meters to the south. As you get past Second lake you’ll start to see Mount Moriarty to the north. Drive a little further and turn south you’ll end up with Green Mountain, Gemini Mountain and Butler Peak to your left.

Fishing on the Nanaimo Lakes

If you have your own boat, you can do some fishing in one of the Nanaimo Lakes. Each of the lakes has a boat launch for anyone to use. First and Fourth Lake are stocked with Rainbow and Cutthroat trout each year. A few other species have been found in the lakes as well.

All the lakes are limited to 10 HP engines.

Be sure to check the local regulations for fishing the river as it’s different than the lakes.

Swimming in the Nanaimo Lakes

The Nanaimo Lakes are perfect for swimming in during the warmer months of the year. There are many different places to access them but most are through the campsites. Some of the lakes have smaller access points as well that make for great places to cool down during the summer.

Skiing near Nanaimo Lakes

If you’ve got ski touring gear or snowshoes, you can make use of the hills around the Nanaimo Lakes area. For years, Green Mountain was a community run ski hill. They ended up shutting down in 1984 but the old ski runs remain and are still a great place to get some turns in. You just have to get yourself to the top!

Getting to Nanaimo Lakes

Nanaimo Lakes can be reached by travelling south from Nanaimo and taking a right onto Nanaimo River Road.

You can also reach them by travelling south on Nanaimo Lakes Road off of Wakesiah Ave in downtown Nanaimo. Check out a Google map out of how to get to Nanaimo Lakes from Nanaimo.

Get Outside!

I highly recommend checking out the Nanaimo Lakes area. It’s a beautiful area so close to Nanaimo and is rarely busy like the pretty spots close to town. This post is only a taste of the places you can go and things you can do out there. I’ll be updating this post when I find new and exciting information so check back often!

As always if you’ve got any questions or comments, message me through the contact form, email me, or leave a comment below.

The post Nanaimo Lakes first appeared on Pack & Trail.

The Trail Up Mount Gemini

Gemini Trail

It’s nice and easy to get to like Green and Gemini if you’ve got a 4×4. Head out to Nanaimo lakes and continue past second lake. Take the bridge with the painted rock that crosses the river. (Need to find branch number of Green turnoff) Hang a right on Branch number and continue on that road right to the top.

Snow on Gemini Mountain

The road is 2 wheel drivable all the way to the washout that’s about half way up the back of Green. It’s a fairly big ditch that only recently has had some logs piled in it to make it a bit easier. 2 wheel drive trucks might be able to make it through but lower vehicles definitely wouldn’t.

From here the road takes you up to Green. Just before you hit the trailhead for the trail up Green there’s a road that takes off to the right. Take that and follow it all the way up Gemini. You end up at the top of a clearcut with the trail, if you could really call it that, leading up into the forest.

Pay careful attention to the flagging, it is the easiest route up but hard to follow. I started just heading straight up the hill not realizing there was flagging until about half way up. It’s quite steep the whole way up but nothing requiring any ropes.

Half way up there was a bit of snow started to show itself and a little past there. The open ground was covered with 15-30 cm. The thick treed sections were still clear underneath. I covered the open snow-covered ground in good time with easy kick-steps but had to work harder finding a route through the trees near the top.

It was a welcome reprieve from all the mosquito’s when I broke out of the trees onto the snow. I have no idea where they all came from but the little bloodsuckers were out in force. Don’t stop for a rest stop for too long in the woods, you might be carried away by the long-nosed troops.

On ridge up Gemini

Cutting around to the left and up onto the ridge it was an easy jaunt to the top to hang out in the bright, warm sunshine. Great views led off in every direction. Green Mountain’s greenery was almost entirely void of snow. Looking back towards Nanaimo, De Cosmos, Hooker and Benson had lots their white coverage weeks ago.

View from the top

On the hike up to the top, I was pleased to see that the actual summit is only about 1 km from the clearcut. Researching the trail, I was under the impression the summit was over 2 km from the start, the taller peak just to the south. I’m not sure why the taller one is not the actual summit but after finally getting to the top I’m glad they named them the way they did. Another kilometer down and up the far peak would have been pushing my time that day.

Peak next to Gemini

The trip back down to the truck was a quick and easy one. The flagging was easy to follow all the way without much trouble and it seemed to be an easier route. I had already hiked most of it once though so we knew it better than on the way down.

What I liked about Mount Gemini

Gemini Sunset

It’s relatively easy to get to. There aren’t many places that you can drive an hour and hike an hour and be on top of a beautiful snow-covered peak with great vistas in the background. Green is similar if you want don’t care to fight off the bugs while you’re hiking.

The views are spectacular. If you’re looking for some unique views of snow-covered peaks in the Nanaimo Lakes area, check out Gemini. For extra view points camp in the area and watch the sunset over the mountains to the West. I camped in the truck in the clearcut the night before the hike and was thoroughly impressed with the views of the sun falling behind the peaks in the distance.

What I didn’t like about Mount Gemini

The bugs were horrible. The night before and during the hike the mozzies were everywhere. Any time to rest and 3 or 4 more bites were added to the pile. Some good bug spray might have helped. I highly recommend taking something to ward off the little critters.

For how nice the views were at the top, the hike to get up there wasn’t terribly impressive. There were a lot of trees packed tightly together so there weren’t any views on the way up. The trees break 3/4 of the way up and you get a bit of a sneak peak at the views from the top but hardly anything before that.

The trail was hard to follow. I found the way no problem since I just had to go up but the flagging left a bit to be desired. I removed some flagging from dead brush on the ground and placed it higher up in the trees. Some of the flagging had been placed when there was a ton of snow so they were 12 or 15 feet in the air and tough to see from the ground. I’m assuming there isn’t much traffic up there since the trail was hardly visible. Some sections resembled a trail but it could have been where the water runs down the hill.

What gear to take up Mount Gemini

Breakfast on Gemini Mountain

I only spent a few hours on Gemini so I had minimal gear. I was wearing my full Scarpa Baron hiking boots to get them ready for more hiking later on this summer. They proved very helpful with kickstepping in the snow and keeping my feet warm and dry. The stiff soles made the ascents through the snow nice and easy. Anything from runners up to full mountain boots would work for this trail.

On my back I had my Osprey Talon 33 pack which has served me so well the last 2 years. I was just carrying some food, water and a shell for the top so there wasn’t much weight in it. I used a platypus water bladder to keep hydrated on the go. I find I rarely need to stop for a break unless it’s incredibly steep so I just drink on the fly.

The sun was out blazing and with the snow doubling it’s effect sunglasses and sunscreen are a must. I had my Julbo Nomad’s with Zebra anti-fog lenses on my eyes and some cheap sunscreen. They both did their job well.

Get out and hike Mount Gemini

Even with the numerous bugs competing for blood as I trudged up he steep hill, the views at the top were worth every second of it. If there weren’t so many other hikes in the area that I haven’t done yet, I’d be out exploring Gemini more.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about hiking Gemini or any of the mountains in the Nanaimo Lakes area, please let me know. You can use the Contact Form or leave a comment on this post.

The post Hiking Mount Gemini first appeared on Pack & Trail.

All trucked up and ready to go, the drive in was the same old. Up the Green road and through the washout, we hit the snow quite a bit further down the mountain than we had on our trip a few weeks previous. The snow was slushy and gross and the trucks were definitely not going anywhere near the trail head parking lot. Not to be discouraged though, snowshoes on and boards on our backs we headed on up the hill. Hez and I were stuck trudging through with snowshoes on our feet and our board on our backs. Jerrett on the other hand was happily gliding along on his splitboard. Breaking trail for him was no problem but we sunk above our ankles and carried the heavy snow up and over with every step. Did I mention there was 10 new inches of thick, wet snow on the ground.

By the time we reached the creek below the fern meadow, I was nearly pooched and ready to pack it in. The lure of one run through the thick powder was enough to keep me going though and we made it up around the fern meadow without any issues. Being one of the steeper places on the mountain, we skirted around the meadow to play it safe in case something slid.

Stopping to catch our breaths multiple times on the way up, we finally made to within site of the summit. From just below we could even see the top and elected to save it for a nicer day to see the view from the summer. This trip would have been white, white and more white.After lunch and some hydration we were ready to hit the slopes. My Dad hurried down just below where we were starting to set up with his camera. The idea was to fly  down through the powder, big grins on faces, mere feet from the tail of the guy before. Umm, right. Between getting our snowboarding legs, finding our way through the trees and wrestling our bodies out of the powder after bails, we looked like a band of snowy misfits coming out of the bush.

Not to let looks deter me though, we headed as far down the hill as we could, stopping only at the bottom of the main run just above the fern meadow. I couldn’t stop grinning. Despite the incredible amount of work to get to the top and the 2 minutes it took to get down, I was as happy as a clam. Or maybe a yeti in the snow?

I had no idea before the trip how many runs we’d be able to get in. I wasn’t sure what the snow was going to be like, the weather, everyones energy levels and the runs. Gliding over everything strapped to a snowboard gives a very different perspective than hiking with boots on dirt.

Giddy with excitement, I headed back up for 2 more runs. One about half way up and another to about the same level where we had lunch the first time. We could go anywhere, we had first tracks on the whole thing, but we only had the energy for one more. Time to make it good. Unfortunately the snow was so wet and sticky we had to stick in our previous tracks to make it through some sections. The steeper sections offered a little more freedom to play in the deep white stuff and in doing so I almost took out Hez on the way down our third time.

Hez had decided that the 5 days of climbing previous were catching up to him and he was going to sit out the last run. Jerrett headed up one more time while Hez took pictures from below. I’m not sure if I was too focused on staying upright and not flailing headfirst into the snow or Hez’s beard made him blend into the foliage, I didn’t see him until I was almost on top of him coming down. Luckily I hit our previous track near the bottom and was able to get over the flat section.

Almost falling into numerous tree wells across the access road, I accidentally launched myself out of the woods and onto the fern meadow. Taking it safe we cruised down the side near where we ascended and through the stream. Near the bottom of the fern meadow, though, I tried to be cool and do a couple turns. Apparently this was a bad idea as my board got stuck and I ended up flying backwards through the air and getting stuck in the deep snow. It felt like someone had taken a bucket of snow and shoved it down my pants and jacket. Not a great feeling.

I’m hoping that mother nature will make the access road back to the truck a little more angled. Near the stream it’s quite flat and trying to descend that on a snowboard doesn’t work very well. Hez and I kept ours on hoping to catch a little bit of a hill and slide right back to the truck. I felt like I was paddling a little boat along with my one hiking pole and moving about 1 k an hour strapped into my board. Once through the flat section it does angle down a bit more and we got a bit of a break. Don’t ride all way to the rocks though! Snowboards don’t like that.

All in all, an awesome trip and hopefully one I can repeat again very soon, hopefully with some beautiful blue sky above us.

The post Snowboarding on Green Mountain first appeared on Pack & Trail.

While a very nice car with loads of power and traction, I wasn’t sure if it had the ground clearance to make it over the many small ditches that littered the approach to De Cosmos.

The second thing was that even though the weather looked promising for the next 12 hours, I couldn’t help but wonder if the weather magicians had called this one right. Rain was closing in fast on the forecast and I couldn’t shake the anxious feeling we’d get stuck out on some bluff in a foggy, snowy storm.

Valley behind De Cosmos

The third reason was that my friends and I have been trying to knock of De Cosmos for a while now and something always comes up. Gates are closed, we don’t know the way, motorcycle chains break, we run out of time. The reasons we’ve turned back already planning the next attempt a great in number.

I’m happy to say we finally accomplished what we’ve been gazing at for years from Nanaimo and Mount Benson.

Izzy, Ryan’s Impreza, handled the road and ditches wonderfully although we did put a little crack and a couple scratches into the paint coming back down. A truck or higher vehicle is highly recommended for the road that we took. That said, we were only able to make it up all the way to where we parked because Izzy was so short. A tree had fallen across the road and any taller vehicle wouldn’t have made it through. Magically on our way back, it had been sawed in half and removed from the road.

We got to within about 3 km from the peak of green on the road. Let me remind you that this was as the crow flies. We definitely couldn’t hike as the crow flies! We followed the road as for as we could go and then summited the small peak next to De Cosmos. Luckily there is a high ridge in between this secondary peak and De Cosmos. The hike would have probably take 2 additional hours if the ridge wasn’t there and we had to descend into the valley and up the other side to the peak. The ridge dropped maybe 20 meters total as we traversed and definitely saved our backsides from the otherwise steep terrain.

The snow ranged from soft and powdery letting us sink through to past our knees to solid ice. The snow that was out in the open was quite soft while that in the trees had melted more and frozen making for a tough hike over sections on the ridge. Snowshoes would have helped a great deal but we might have had to take them off for the steeper sections. I think it would have cut 10 to 15 minutes off our trip time but our legs would have thanked us!

The post Summiting Mount De Cosmos first appeared on Pack & Trail.

I’ve spent even longer dreaming of getting to the top, surveying the vistas, and chasing the marmots (don’t actually do this). But this elusive peak was always just outside my grasp.

At first I didn’t know where it was. After doing some research and realizing it was only by Nanaimo Lakes I no longer had an excuse. Actually finding the damn place was another matter. Anyone who’s done any travel around Vancouver Island, knows you can get lost on the logging roads pretty quick. Luckily I had a nice pretty GPS track my dad had made a few months previous to follow.

My first trip to Green Mountain went well. We followed the route to the base of the mountain and took the proper turn off to start the long gradual climb. A few times I wasn’t sure if we were on the right track since it was taking so long but we eventually hit the “parking lot”. There is a large round area that everyone parks in before heading off into the hills. We were only a week before hunting season when we were up there this time and were a little nervous because of it. I didn’t get shot so I’m happy.

Old ski runs overrun by ferns

A few weeks ago we headed up for another try. The day was beautiful, warm and promised not to show us to any hunters.  The trip up was beautiful. We wandered past the old burnt down lodge and played Sherlock Homes in the rubble.

Almost at the top it gets quite a bit steeper, requiring very good balance to an additional 2 limbs to clamber up the slope. Above this though, the top flattens off into a plateau of sorts surrounded by trees. Run to one end and you’ve got beautiful views of the mountains behind Nanaimo lakes and off into the distance. Run to the other and it gives you the sprawling landscape between you, Mount Benson and Nanaimo in the distance.

Not ready to call it quits yet, we spied a neighbouring peak and decided to head that south to visit. Down off Green and into the bush for a bit of hope-theres-a-trail-and-follow-it-for-a-bit hiking. Tensions were rising as we were about to summit the next peak but to our surprise the land dropped away with our destination on the other side of the gully. After a short inspection of bottom and the other side, it looked doable by my hiking party and we pushed on. Grasping the limbs of horizontal trees and bushes we hauled ourselves up the other side of the gully and onto the top of the Green Knob as we now affectionately called it.

With the ground dropping away hundreds of feet on all sides, being on top of the Knob as like floating on a cloud. Maybe not that day because the clouds were very high but the views were nonetheless spectacular.

Elated that we had actually made it up Green and the Knob to boot, we merrily skipped our way down through the meadows and back to our transportation.

Tick that one of the list, time for a winter ascent!

The post Finally Summit Green Mountain first appeared on Pack & Trail.

As soon as I heard about Green Mountain I wanted to go. It used to be an old ski hill. I thought there would be an abundance of information on this place on the internet but there seems to be very little. We never did see the lodge, or what’s left of it as it was quite foggy and our route didn’t take us close enough. Next time.

As for the rest of the hike….it was fantastic. The drive is quite long. It look us just over an hour to drive from the main manned gates to the ‘parking lot’ where you start to hike from.

It takes you on the right-hand side of first and second lake and then across a bridge and along the left-hand side of fourth lake. From there you turn off the main logging road and uphill towards Green Mountain. Most of the side road is treed but you get a glimpse every now and again of the hills that rise up all around you.

The road up the mountain is quite tame for the most part. You could go a fair ways in a car even. There are a few washouts though that even my Toyota Tacoma had to work a bit at though so I wouldn’t recommend anything less than a 4×4 for the trip. Once you get to the ‘parking lot’ you’ll be able to see the ferns that cover the open hills of Green Mountain.

We hiked for a while up the hill (it’s a steep one, you’re hiking up a ski hill) when it started to rain, and then snow. About 500 metres from the top we stopped and had lunch. We were so close to the top but had to turn around because of time. The gates into the Nanaimo Lakes area closed at 5pm on Sundays. I believe this is the summer schedule so it might change during the winter. To get to the top and back out in a day, I’d recommend either driving like crazy on the pothole-riddled roads or leaving quite early in the morning. I haven’t yet been stuck in the gates there after hours and don’t plan to push my luck.

Questions or Comments? Post them below or email me!

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