Roberts Roost - Nanaimo Hikes
One of Nanaimo's best-kept secrets in terms of hikes, Roberts Roost is a big lump rising out of Mt Benson's oceanside slope. The Roost is effectively a southern appendage to the Westwood Ridge trail system, separated from them only by a small clearcut valley.
Roberts Roost is higher than any of the Westwood Ridges, and features beautiful views of South Nanaimo, the Nanaimo River Estuary, Gabriola Island, Protection/Newcastle Islands, south to Ladysmith, and the climbing slopes of Mt Benson and Wolf Mountain.
Roberts Roost seems to be within the territory of the Department of National Defense, and certainly there are signs surrounding it, warning against intrusion, probably because the firing range is (far) beneath the Roost.
(The bluffs north of the Roost are simply called "Westwood Major" by my friends - does anyone know the true name of this hill? I met a man up there who said his names for the various peaks of the Westwood Ridges are just numbers - drawn from their elevations.)
For the best directions to the Roost, I recommend the link at the top of this page. The map and discussion there is more reliable than what follows here.
I've only left these old directions here because they might help as a supplement to the forum linked to above.
To get to the Roost, enter the trailhead across the power lines from the south end of Morrell Sanctuary. This trail through beautiful second-growth forest climbs steadily to a fork; turning right and upwards would bring you to the highest of the Westwood Ridge peaks; instead, go left and down, and you'll quickly find yourself at a meeting of four trails. The first one to your right just winds back west under the Westwood Ridge bluffs. But the next trail to the right (it's not a crossroads, as the four trails' meeting forms a letter K) takes you south, toward Roberts Roost. You'll know it's the proper trail if you cross a creekbed (usually with a creek in it) after a few meters. Then a steep hike begins. Go up to the road, turn right, and watch for the trail on your left after a few meters. This time, you'll know you went the right way by a pair of ropes that help with climbing a small bluff, about 2 minutes up the trail. After the ropes, the trail will take you to the left and down a bit, into a sort of depression with lots of ferns. Stay to the right and you'll be right under the imposing edifice of Roberts Roost's eastern cliff, and hiking steadily upward, toward the south. After a strenuous trek, behold!, the city of Nanaimo and Gabriola Island, and Ladysmith, Galiano Island, and the Winchelsea Islands.