UPDATE: This park has fallen into disrepair; the boardwalks and wooden staircases have been removed. It is still a lovely place but many trails are overgrown and there are "campers" occupying much of the area as of July 2024.

The Chase River estuary is within a wonderful park with 1.2 km of trails (two loops).

The shorter loop includes a boardwalk through tall grasses nearly at water level, in a sort of natural amphitheatre. The longer loop goes up some wooden stairs to a ridge where the railway runs, and a trestle where the tracks cross over the mouth of the Chase River as it enters the Nanaimo River Estuary and the ocean. 

This was an active site in previous times when the nearby Chase River coal mines were operating; you can still walk along a spur that was formed/filled just inside of the main track. This spur is barely visible in the historic photo below, with wooden crossbeam structures appearing along its length.

Historical black and white photo showing the Chase River in Nanaimo's early days with a distant steam powered train visible

Nearby Neighbourhoods

Where to Park

Parking is near the Bold Knight steakhouse.

Aerial photo showing a trestle over a small river in Nanaimo

Back to the list of Nanaimo parks and places