Chase River Estuary Park

Just south of downtown, above the Chase River estuary, there is a wonderful park with 1.2 km of trails (two loops).

The shorter loop includes a boardwalk nearly at water level, amidst the tall grasses of a little valley. The longer loop follows an interesting path on the other side, parallel to an old rail line, into a set of unnatural ridges and coal slag (now lush and grown over), and some rocky outcrops.

This trail provides two kinds of views; there is the Chase River and its boardwalk on one side, and the Nanaimo River estuary and ocean on the other side of the tracks.

There is a powerful sense of Nanaimo's industrial history in this place, or so it seems. There is the coal slag, and a pile of vintage car hulks, and strange boulders. It's easy to imagine artifacts of all kinds in the muddy stones of the river, which empties into the sea underneath an old rail trestle.

See the district's map of the park trails

 

Directions to the Park

The park is accessed just south of the Bold Knight Steakhouse, near the Calico Cat tea house, at the south end of Haliburton Street (just north of Southgate Mall and Rona). If you're coming up the highway from the south, you can just turn right as if you're going to the Bold Knight. If you're coming down the highway from downtown, turn onto Haliburton after Petroglyph Park, and then take the first right (also on Haliburton) toward the Bold Knight.

Back to the list of Nanaimo parks and places