Photo: Let's Go BikingNanaimo South

Nanaimo South

A ride described in Let's Go Biking

How we describe routes →

Easy Smooth surfaces and gentle climbing.

Difficulty Our overall read of how demanding a route is. We score surface roughness, climbing, singletrack, and how far it runs from services. The route publisher's own rating, a lot of busy road riding, or sheer scale can push the tier up, never down.

Derived from OpenStreetMap. Good data, not perfect. Spot something wrong? Tell us.

How we describe routes →

South of Nanaimo, loops of 6 to 32 km explore the old coal country: the Morden Colliery rail trail and its historic tipple, Nanaimo River parkland, Hemer Park's lakeside trails, and the Yellow Point farm lanes. Quiet riding with history underfoot, and some shared-road stretches between segments.

Get the book from Let's Go Biking →

Where this ride goes#

Approximate lineGet the real route ↗

Map key & layers

Show stops Mute other bike trails

Food & DrinkAttractionsSuppliesCampingAccommodationBike ServicesTransport

Riding near fast trafficFastest stretches

Dashed line = our rough sketch of where the ride goes. The rideable route lives at get the book from Let's Go Biking.

Fast-road stretches#

We believe these are the fast, unprotected roads on this route. We can tell you which roads and roughly how far, but not the order you will ride them. If you see an error, tell us and we'll fix it.

about 4 km of Cedar Road · near Boat Harbour
about 4 km of Trans-Canada Highway · near Ladysmith
about 3 km of Adshead Road · near Cassidy
about 2 km of Holden Corso Road · near Cedar
about 2 km of Duke Point Highway · near Harmac
about 2 km of Haslam Road · near Cassidy
short stretches on other roads · 1 km total

☕Stops worth stopping for141 along this route

WildPlay Element Park: Aerial ropes courses and bungy jumping over the Nanaimo River. · Cassidy

Communities along this route#

Nanaimo 102Ladysmith 28 Cedar 5 Cassidy 3 South Wellington 2 Area A (Cassidy/Cedar) 1

Nanaimo (102)

Hullo FerriesAccredited· Ferry

Saysutshun Newcastle Island FerryAccredited· Ferry

The Coast Bastion InnAccredited· Hotel / Motel · $$$$ · Upscale

Bistro TaiyoWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Nanaimo Art GalleryWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · Free

Nanaimo Ceramic Arts Studio & GalleryWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · Free

The View Oceanside GrillWelcoming· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

AsterasInfo· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

Bar LunaInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Best Western Dorchester HotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$$ · Mid-range

Plus the fast-food chains — Pizza Mia, Mambo Gourmet Pizza, Mary Brown's +10 more

+79 more in Nanaimo →

Ladysmith (28)

Country GrocerInfo· Grocery Store

Ladysmith GalleryInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Ladysmith Maritime Society MuseumInfo· Museum / Gallery · Free

Old Town BakeryInfo· Bakery / Donuts · $ · Cheap eats

Bayview Brewing CompanyInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Dragon CityInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Fox and HoundsInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Ironworks Café & CrêperieInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Kaede SushiInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Ladysmith Library BranchInfo· Library · Free

Plus the fast-food chains — Ladysmith A&W, Subway, Tim Hortons +1 more

+14 more in Ladysmith →

Cedar (5)

Mahle House RestaurantInfo· Restaurant · $$$$ · Fine dining

AarkulInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Country GrocerInfo· Grocery Store

Best Buy LiquorInfo· Liquor Store

Millway MarketInfo· Convenience Store

Cassidy (3)

WildPlay Element ParkInfo· Activity / Experience · $$$$

Timberlands PubInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Chakalaka Bar & GrillInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

South Wellington (2)

The Cranberry Arms Hotel & PubInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Cranberry Arms Pub & HotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Area A (Cassidy/Cedar) (1)

Cassidy Farm MarketInfo· Farmers' Market

Slice and dice these stops in the directory →

These stops come from our directory of welcoming places across BC. Spot something wrong, missing, or closed? Tell us and we'll fix it.

⛴Getting here, bike and allNanaimo

Getting to this ride, bike and all#

Nanaimo is the handiest transit doorway for this ride. Ferries, buses, and the SkyTrain will carry you and your bike there:

Gabriola Islandbest: ferry
Vancouverbest: ferry
Victoriabest: bus
Kelownabest: bus + SkyTrain + ferry

Also on the bike-transit map: Ladysmith

Or pick any two places on To & Fro →

🪶Traditional territories

This route travels through the traditional territories of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, Quw’utsun, Snuneymuxw, and Stz’uminus.

Territory data from Native Land Digital, for educational purposes only.

Ready to ride it?

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