Vancouver Island Nature Tours

Edited: 10 Feb 2009

I have been to the Nahmint Recreation Site a couple of times recently. And many more times in the past. Each time I go I am amazed that the place is so empty. How many places on Vancouver Island can you go and camp or picnic in a pristine old-growth stand of Douglas fir comparable to Cathedral Grove by a lake with a wonderful beach? It is a truly wonderful place and hardly used at all. What a waste! Or, what an opportunity!

There are two ways to get to it. The road is not paved and is very rough in places. But you do not need four-wheel drive. However, I wouldn’t recommend rental cars or rental RVs take the road. Also, the signage is poor at best. The quickest way to get there is to take the logging road west along the Stirling Arm Mainline on the south side of Sproat Lake. When you a pretty well past Two Rivers Arm, another arm of Sproat Lake, you will come to a fork. Take the left fork onto Gracie Mainline. You start driving up and through a pass. In the pass, is a small lake called Gracie Lake where there is a small area to camp. Continuing on the main road you will start descending into the Nahmint Valley.

Roadmap to the Nahmint Valley

At the bottom you will come to a major fork. Right takes you up river. You will find wonderful views of Nahmint Mountain, and drive by a wonderful waterfall and house-sized boulders that have fallen off the valley walls ages ago. There is also a heard of Roosevelt Elk in the valley. From what I can find on the web, there are only 11 animals. We saw three of them the last time I was there.

Turning left will get you to the Nahmint Lake Recreation site. Look for the first right turn off near the head of the lake. The road down is rough but gets a little better once it levels off. There is a nice loop so that you do not have to back out. There is space for about 10 drive-in campsites and several more walk-in (the walk-in is very short. And there are picnic tables and pit toilets too. The old growth is huge. A short trail takes you to a fast flowing creek that thunders down the mountainside. And on the creek there are two spectacular waterfalls before you reach the upper road. Along the shore is a fine pebble beach with loads of driftwood strewn along the shore.

You will have no trouble enjoying a long weekend or more at this place. You will love it! The roads will take you to places with amazing views. There are swimming holes along the river, wildlife, fish. What more could you ask for?

If you like when you leave, you can continue down the lake all the way to the Alberni Inlet. The road then turns north and follows the inlet back to Port Alberni. There are two more recreation areas along the way. One is called the Mactush Campsite and is popular with salmon fishermen. The other is smaller, quieter and is located in a grove of Red cedar, Sitka spruce and Douglas fir at the mouth of Arden Creek.

If you want a guided tour there, try this link: Nahmint Lake Old-growth Tour

There are some wonderful photographs by Myles Green here: Nahmint Valley Photos

If you want to find out more about the Nahmint Valley, here are a couple of links:

Hupacasath First Nation Land Use Plan

Wilderness Committee video of the Nahmint - scroll down to find it