Nanaimo Petroglyphs
There are several petroglyph sites in Nanaimo and nearby – most notably on Gabriola Island, on the Harewood Plains, and at Petroglyph Park just south of Downtown Nanaimo.
Harewood Plains
These petroglyphs are on Extension Ridge, just south of Harewood, most accessible via Harewood Mines Road.
The age of these petroglyphs isn't known for certain, but most people seem to think they're between 500 and 3000 years old.
They may have been carved by someone with a shamanistic connection. Petroglyphs are not common on other inland sites around the Mid-Island, so it's possible that this site was chosen because of the great crack in the earth a couple hundred meters away. A lot of rock art worldwide is found in places that could be thought of as transitory between our world and another one. Caves, fissures, overhangs, waterfalls, tidal shorelines – usually near water.
I've seen about 6 glyphs up at the Harewood Plains, and I know there are more at a similar site nearby. Some are more conspicuous than others.
The sites are near the powerlines, with the glyphs appearing on bare stone where the bedrock isn't covered over by soil and foliage. It looks almost like a paved road.
Unfortunately, it IS the road, for hikers and bikers and ATV riders. Boots and wheels are compounding the natural processes that already erode these non-renewable heritage resources.
For this reason, we've chosen to avoid giving specific directions to the petroglyphs, until there is a better initiative for preserving them. For more info and explanations, see my blog post about this issue: