Location: This 36 hectares of forest known as Bowen Park is located close to the middle of Nanaimo just up the road from the downtown core. There are a few entrances on Millstone Ave, River Side Dr, and Bowen Rd but the most popular is a large gravel parking lot on Wall St across from Nanaimo Curling Rink.
Trail: Millstone Waterfalls are super easy to access for everyone and so is rated as easy. Most of Bowen park is flat and only the less traveled paths feature uneven terrain. Much of the Park especially those paths that reach the falls are either well maintained gravel or made of concrete. These smooth trails make this a very accessible waterfall for those in wheelchairs or less capable physically. This enclave of nature within the heart of town is home to a winding river scattered with waterfalls medium and small, so make sure to spend lots of time exploring.
Too get to the biggest of the falls from the gravel parking lot head towards the concrete path in the rivers direction. Follow this path until you reach the gravel path and keep heading straight until you reach the Falls. It’s that simple and only take about 10 minutes. But don’t stop there because although in the middle of the city Bowen park will amaze you with its alluring landscape.
More: There are many activities in Bowen park and it is definitely Nanaimo’s busiest park through out the year. In the center of the park is an outdoor pool, just east of that a tennis course. In the summer you will find many playing volley ball or frisbee golf in it’s eastern corner, in the western corner playing baseball.
From the large waterfalls walk upwards towards the thin road that winds through the park in the direction back towards the parking lot you started from. You will com across a quant circular pond with fountains and beautiful arch bridge. This pond is the residence of a a large population of friendly mallard ducks. Bring along with you a mix of vegetable to feed and interact with these little waddling Nanaimo resident.
Continue back to the parking lot this way and you will come across a forest of rhododendron donated to the park by Mrs. Ellen Hailey in 1975.
Bonus: Bowen Park has been around since 1918 and was donated as a park to the city of Nanaimo by the Western Fuel Company of San Francisco. The park was named after the companies owners James and George Bowen. Western Fuel Co. formerly had rights to many of the coal mines in the area and was later bought out by Dunsmuir’s Canadian Collieries.
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