Gabriola Sands Provincial Park

HMCS Cape Breton was a Royal Canadian Navy Cape-class maintenance ship. Originally built for the Royal Navy as HMS Flamborough Head in 1944, she was transferred in 1952. Upon her commissioning she was the second ship to bear the name Cape Breton. She served operationally from 1953–1964, when she was laid up. She was used as a floating machine shop until the late-1990s, before being sold for use as an artificial reef off the coast of British Columbia.

HMCS Saskatchewan was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces. She was the second Canadian naval unit to bear the name HMCS Saskatchewan. The ship was named for the Saskatchewan River which runs from Saskatchewan to Manitoba in Canada. Entering service in 1963, she was mainly used as a training ship on the west coast. She was decommissioned in 1994 and sold for use as an artificial reef. She was sunk as such in June 1997 off British Columbia.

Snake Island is a small, uninhabited, rocky island northeast of Nanaimo. It is a minor member of the large group of islands east of southern Vancouver Island called the Gulf Islands. It is a bird sanctuary, and home to a colony of harbour seals. The island is a frequent destination for local wildlife tours, and the rocky shores and reefs around the island are popular with divers. Local seals have become accustomed to divers in the water, and will interact with them. Snake Island is near the site of the artificial reef created by the sinking of HMCS Cape Breton, a Second World War Victory ship. The vessel was acquired and prepared by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia.

Sandwell Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Sandwell Provincial Park is a small oceanfront site at Lock Bay, on the northeast shore of Gabriola Island. Hiking, swimming and beach-walking are popular activities here. There are also petroglyphs carved into the sandstone boulders on Lock Bay's foreshore. Facilities are limited to a picnic area and a pit toilet only. Sandwell Provincial Park is located on Gabriola Island in the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia. Access to the park is via North Road, Barrett Road and left onto Strand Road, continuing to the park. Access to Gabriola Island is by a 20-minute ferry trip from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island to Descanso Bay on Gabriola Island. Other parks on Gabriola Island are the nearby Drumbeg Provincial Park and Gabriola Sands Provincial Park.

Duke Point is a geographical location in the extreme southeastern part of the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. It is located on a thin peninsula to the east of the Nanaimo River estuary, just across the Northumberland Channel from Gabriola Island. An industrial park is located at Duke Point, which includes one sawmill. The Duke Point ferry terminal is also located here, but there are no public transit connections.

Entrance Island is a small rocky island in the Strait of Georgia, 841 metres (2,759 ft) due north of Gabriola Island. Marine mammals such as harbour seals and Steller's sea lions use it as a haul-out.

Protection Island is a small island located 1.5 km north-east of downtown Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada in the Nanaimo Harbour. The island was originally named Douglas Island, after James Douglas the first Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. It was renamed Protection Island in 1960. The permanent year-round population is about 350 people. There are no paved roads on the island. Some residents move about the island in golf carts, others with cars, but most walk. Locals frequently transport their groceries from the community dock with their own wheelbarrows. Access to the island can be via private vessel or a small, privately run ferry which departs from downtown Nanaimo at Maffeo Sutton Park and docks at Dinghy Dock Pub on the island. Dinghy Dock Pub is Canada's only registered floating pub. Some residents also commute by kayak or rowboat as well.

Nanaimo River is a river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located near the city of Nanaimo on the island's east coast. Its headwaters are in the Vancouver Island Ranges of central Vancouver Island and its mouth, the Nanaimo River estuary, is at the south end of Nanaimo Harbour in the Strait of Georgia. The estuary is part of the Pacific Estuary Conservation Program. The river and its drainage basin contain a wide range of industrial and recreational activities. Logging and coal mining were a couple of the earliest industrial operations. While coal mining ceased in the first half of the 20th century, logging continues to be important. Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park is one of the few places left near the river that links to the region's coal mining history. Due to the lack of arable land, agriculture never became an important industry. In 1931, South Fork Dam was built upstream on the South Nanaimo River to supply water to the city of Nanaimo. In 1974, an additional dam and reservoir were built farther upstream on a tributary of the South Nanaimo River to increase the water supply for the city. In 2000, the South Fork Dam was upgraded to produce Hydroelectricity. Two major highways cross the river. The Trans-Canada Highway crosses the river just north of Cassidy and farther downstream Highway 19 crosses on the north side of Cedar. At the point where the Trans-Canada Highway crosses the river, the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway also crosses it. On the east side of Cassidy, just of the south bank of a major tributary of the river, Haslam Creek, is the Nanaimo AirportAll along the river, and throughout its watershed, there are plenty of lakes and recreational opportunities, including boating, camping, hiking, bungee jumping, and rock climbing. There are still pockets of old growth forest left within easy access to the public, such as at the Nanaimo River Regional Park.

Nanaimo Harbour, also known as the Port of Nanaimo, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The city of Nanaimo runs along the west side of the harbour. Three islands, Newcastle, Protection, and Gabriola, along with Duke Point, form the eastern edge. The Port of Nanaimo includes the Inner Harbour, Nanaimo River estuary, Departure Bay, the waters on the east side of Newcastle and Protection Islands, and Northumberland Channel. The port is under the management of the Nanaimo Port Authority.

The Cable Bay Trail is a 2 km hiking trail located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The trail has been ranked among the top ten forest walks in the Vancouver Island Region.The trail is accessed via Nicola Road in Cedar. The trail winds down to the oceanfront overlooking Gabriola Island through a coastal Douglas Fir forest, which leads down Joan Point Park, a 23-acre waterfront park which provides a vantage point overlooking Dodds Narrows. Dodds Narrows is a narrow tidal passage separating Vancouver Island from Mudge Island, which flows in opposing directions based on tidal flows. The narrows is a hot spot for marine activity and a popular marine passage between Nanaimo and the Southern Gulf Islands. Passage through Dodds Narrows is described in detail in Margaret Sharcott's 1957 book, Troller's Holiday.The trail also passes through Garry Oak ecosystems, and features in genetic studies of endangered Garry Oak populations.

Saysutshun (Newcastle Island Marine) Provincial Park, formally known as Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park, is a provincial park located on a small island off the coast of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

Cedar is a small community in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located near the east coast of Vancouver Island — about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south-east of Nanaimo — along the banks of the Nanaimo River. Its geographical coordinates are 49°07′N 123°51′W. The village was so named because of the profusion of Thuja plicata trees in its vicinity, known as the Western Red Cedar. To the north of Cedar, three Snuneymuxw First Nation Indian reserves, Nanaimo River 2, 3, and 4, border the community. Nearby parks include Nanaimo River Regional Park, Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park, and Hemer Provincial Park.