Colliery Dam Park — Attraction in Nanaimo

This place is popular in Nanaimo for a reason! On that note, be prepared to share the park. I've seen a lot of dogs off-leash in the area, and kids as well, so keep that in mind for your own adventures.

It is a great place for a swim, and has some lovely scenery. Expect some typical west coast forest with ferns and bigs coniferous trees. The lake is stocked with fish, and is popular for trout fishing. 1-2 pounders are not atypical. Early morning is probably more prosperous than mid-day.

The trail around the dam can be a bit bumpy with roots and rocks. I've seen people with crutches manage parts of it, but it's not easy. There are no big flat beaches to get to the water easily if you're in the dog park area; the closest you get are some wide rocks. As long as you're careful and don't go far from the entrance you can probably make it in, but if you want somewhere more secluded (especially considering social distancing), you'd better be prepared for a bit of a climb or crawl. Nothing severe of course, but it's not as easy to access the water as places like Rathtrevor beach or Long Lake.

Like I said earlier, it's a fairly popular park and there will be dogs and kids running around freely, especially if you're closer to the entrance. Do not expect a tonne of privacy.

There are garbage cans and an outhouse near the entrance, I believe. But along the trail, you're on your own. Please be respectful of other park-goers: bring doo-doo bags if you have a dog, and take your own bathroom breaks before...

I always enjoy coming here, the trails are always really nice and the scenery is beautiful. You don't feel like you're in the city anymore. It's stunning. I almost forgot how nice it was in here. My only problem is that I keep ending up out on a different road instead of taking the trails all the way through to the different dams. I wish that there was some kind of app you could have on your phone that you could open up and see where you are on the trails at the dams, so that you wouldn't end up out on a road and that you would end up walking through the nice part of the damned like you wanted to. To. However, everybody that I've come across is very friendly, I have a dog and worry about other dogs coming and getting defensive, but it's been the complete opposite. I've seen lots of families out having a good time even though the weather is a little bit grim, but I guess in Nanaimo as long as it's not raining it's a...

Just a heads up....Coming from Alberta, any park review (from me) on our "Local" Big Island (yes, beautiful Vancouver Island!) is going to be AMAZEBALLS! What I enjoyed about this beautiful natural park are the natural trails with thick lush green fern ground foliage and mature cedars and evergreens 🌲 🏞❤️. There are a couple or more watering holes for swimming (essentially mini lakes) and best of all, are all the amazingly friendly hikers and their dogs! I also LOVE that they have a part of the park that is designated offleash for dogs! 🐾❤️🐶 My girlfriends and I went on the 1.5 hour sultry hike the first week of September on a Sunday midmorning-noon and it wasn't busy; a pretty nice and private hike!

P.S. Beware of the static BEAR (as per picture!) 😆😅😂🤭🤭🐻🐻😝

🫶 Beautiful...