Island Adventurer

Mount Benson is an icon of Nanaimo. Everywhere you go in town, you can see it’s rolling green ridges. The small mountain is a beautiful sight from Nanaimo but the view back down from the top is even better. There are many different ways to get to the top depending on your fitness level, mode [...]

Nanaimo is a fantastic place to be on Vancouver Island for hiking. Being central it’s easy to get anywhere on the island within in a reasonable about of time. Just outside the cities boundaries are loads of trails waiting to be found. Below is a list of just some of the best trails and mountains [...]

I love going for hikes. I love just wandering around in the bush aimlessly taking in the sights, smells, and sounds. Sometimes when I go for a hike though, I really feel like I need to get somewhere, to see something, to attain a goal. Trails with multiple goals along the way are perfect. You [...]

You may not have heard of the Vancouver Island Spine trail that’s in the process of being but right now. Picture this. A trail stretching all the way from Port Hardy at the north end of Vancouver Island right down to the southern end at Victoria. A solid 700km of trail, it will run through [...]

I was heading down to Shawnigan Lake for Easter this weekend and thought it would be a fantastic time to test out the dirt roads on my 4runner that I just picked up. There are a ton of dirt roads and places to play near Shawnigan and if we found one nice enough, we could [...]

I have a friend named Stephanie who is incredibly athletic.  She is one of the fittest women I know and never shies away from a race, challenge, event or ass kicking moksha yoga session.  We raced the Squamish MOMAR together – check it out over at PureOutside.com.  I am a fan of everything she does [...]

Ammonite falls is a beautiful decent-sized waterfall right very close to the heart of Nanaimo. This route from Doumont is slightly more difficult than the route from Jameson Road. * Photo Courtesy Windrock Images This route to Ammonite Falls is a bit hard to explain. Driving up to Doumont stop at the first yellow gate [...]

Ammonite Falls is a hidden gem tucked away in Nanaimo. It is so easy to find yet so many people don’t even know it’s there. Once you do, it’s hard not to want to scale the muddy banks and relax in the cool mist of the pretty falls. * Photo Credit Lorne Collicutt * There [...]