Two islands sit across the mouth of Nanaimo harbour, a few hundred metres from downtown. One is a provincial park with no cars, no bears, and no cougars. The other is a residential community reached only by boat.

Both are a short passenger ferry from the middle of town, and …

Nanaimo is one of the better riding towns on Vancouver Island, and plenty of people who have driven straight through it on the way to Cumberland or Squamish have no idea. Doumont alone carries over a hundred trails, from beginner flow to double black.

The other half of it is …

Nanaimo faces east, across the Strait of Georgia toward the mainland mountains. That one fact decides almost everything about views here: which streets get water, what you see from them, and why the light does what it does.

It also means the classic sunset picture is not what people expect. …

Nanaimo has a harbour with two islands sitting across the mouth of it, which is the single most useful fact about boating here. Those islands take the weather, so the water between them and the city stays workable on days when the open strait is not.

That shelter is why …

The thing about trails in Nanaimo is that you do not drive to them. The network runs through the city rather than around it, so most neighbourhoods have a trailhead within walking distance and the serious hikes start at the edge of town.

That changes how often people actually use …

The ocean gets the attention here, but the lakes are what most people actually swim in. There are five worth knowing within the city or a short drive of it, and the freshwater warms up weeks ahead of the sea.

What surprises people arriving from a larger city is how …

Nanaimo has more shoreline than most people expect, and the beaches are not interchangeable. One is a long sandy bay with a roped swimming area and a playground. Another is a rocky headland where you go for the walk, not the sand. Picking the right one comes down to what …