By Spencer Sterritt

New trail to explore rarely seen parts of Nanaimo and island

Jan 17, 2017 | 3:34 PM

NANAIMO — A new trail stretching from Horseshoe Bay through the northern Strait of Georgia and down the Vancouver Island coast is set to unveil hidden treasures in Nanaimo.

John Kimantas, project manager of the still-in-development 275 km. Salish Sea Marine Trail, said explorers will be drawn off the well-paddled trail to the caves of Newcastle Island and areas in the north of the Strait which are rarely seen.

“On the north side there’s some amazing stone structures that include an area you can paddle in and out of it,” he said. “Little things like that we can market as tourism potential.”

Kimantas said the trail should be “functionally complete,” by July 1, especially with a $30,000 donation from the Island Coastal Economic Trust.

The money will predominantly be used to fund the administration aspect of the project, including land negotiations with 21 First Nations in the area as well as landowners such as B.C. Parks.

unprovoked attack

Vulnerable man blasted with bear spray in quiet Nanaimo neighbourhood

11h ago

HOUSING TARGETS

Nanaimo named in new group of communities for provincial housing targets

9h ago

more housing

Nanaimo council endorses significant south end redevelopment

14h ago

“It’s quite time consuming,” he said of the process. At the moment, Kimantas said they’re approximately a quarter complete and he expected many land deals to wrap up in the coming months and was optimistic about hitting their proposed end date.

A portion of the $30,000 will be used for signage along the path to make sure paddlers and boaters know where they’re going, especially in the vast waters of the Strait of Georgia.

“The great thing about a marine trail is that 99 per cent of it pre-exists,” Kimantas said.

Tourism Vancouver Island President and CEO Dave Petryk said it’s exciting to see the trail come together to unite the island and promote local attractions and services.

He said they’re looking forward to seeing how popular the marine trail will be and if they can expand to cover the whole coast of the island and beyond into B.C.’s northern coast.

At the moment, Petryk said they don’t have an estimate of how much money the Sealish Sea Marine Trail will bring in by promoting tourism, but they’re hopeful.

“The last couple years have been banner years for Vancouver Island and British Columbia and we’re really looking forward to continued growth,” he said.