Westwood Ridge, Nanaimo
Westwood Ridge is a spectacular hike between Westwood Lake and Mount Benson. It affords both a panoramic view of the city and a breathtaking view of the slope of the mountain, if you want to turn your back to the city's lights. "City lights!?" Yes indeed. Westwood Ridge is just as pretty in the dark. Most of the trail is not treacherous, so anyone with a headlamp or a full moon is encouraged to try the night-hike version of Westwood Ridge.
Photos of Westwood Ridge
The Cesspool
There are more photos and a great map in one of the threads on our forum. (The map is linked to from the second page.)
Westwood Ridge Cautionary
In the winter of 2001/02, two people died on Mount Benson, during the biggest snowstorm to hit Nanaimo in recent memory. Apparently it was an epic nightmare, involving two separate groups of hikers and snowboarders who aimed to climb the mountain in daylight and return before nightfall. As they struggled on that pitch-black, lonely slope, I was celebrating the weather below on Westwood Ridge with friends, sharing bottles of warmth and tramping through unblemished powder. It has occurred to me since that, aside from the difference in temperature and the distance from warm civilization, my own situation was not much less perilous than those other hikers'. The point I wish to make is that, bravado is all well and good, but there is a very real death waiting for anyone who does not adequately respect the fickle changes in Nanaimo weather. One more thing: don't trample on the daffodils up there. They were planted as some kind of vigil for cancer victims and survivors, I think.
Map of Westwood Ridge, Nanaimo
Map pending...here's a shoddy, temporary map of Westwood Ridge for now (don't actually use it!).
