Nanaimo

We took our trip to British Columbia in late May & early June of 2025. Our kids were 13, 11 & 6 at the time.

Little Qualicum Falls 

It was really pretty. We found one of the 2 falls easily and then the hike was supposed to be a loop. It was not marked anywhere that we saw. We came across multiple intersections and went the wrong way and wound up having quite the hike before finding the second waterfall…that was right by where we parked. Lol. We should have looked at the map again before we did the hike. I liked both waterfalls, but the one with a big pool half way was really pretty.

MacMillan Provincial Park 

We went to see the Giant Douglas Fir trees that are over 800 years old. We tried to go there first, but there was no parking. So we went down the road to Little Qualicum Falls and then went back after that and did find a spot the second time. There was a longer trail or a shorter trail. With my son being sick we took the short, easy walk. It was a completely wooden walkway to protect the trees. They were tall and pretty big around, not like the Redwoods in California & Oregon, but still very impressive.

Bowen Park

There was a playground with picnic tables. There was also a short walk to a waterfall that was pretty and we could get up close to it. It was a nice stop.

Stocking Creek Waterfall Trail (loop)

It is near Ladysmith (about 25 minutes south of Nanaimo)

It was a small but pretty waterfall along a beautiful creek. There were so many slugs. My daughter was watching for them, after my husband stepped on one by accident, so she didn’t step on any. She could spot them left and right. The boys thought they were pretty cool. We saw a snail too. It was a pretty hike. 

Nanaimo Bars

We got good Nanaimo Bars at a shop called Bocca. They had a lot of flavors to choose from. We got a traditional one, a salted caramel, a peanut butter one & a blackberry/lavender one.