Winter 8am - 8pm daily, summer 8am -10pm daily. In case of emergencies, the owners or a staff member are available on site 24/7.
24/7- All bathrooms onsite are quality flush toilet, tiled and heated. Showers are token operated, $1/ 5 minutes and cleaned daily. Our facilities are top rated in B.C. (Camping Select).
Winter 8am - 8pm daily, summer 8am - 10pm daily. There are 6 washers and 6 commercial dryers. $2.50/wash load & dryers are $0.25/ 5 minutes. The laundry room is connected to the lounge, which has an ironing board and iron, TV, book exchange, and WiFi. Change, soap and dryer sheets are available in the adjoining office during office hours.
The lounge is open the same hours as the office: Winter 8am - 8pm daily, summer 8am - 10pm daily.
The games room is open seasonally from 9am to 8pm. Starting May Long weekend, the games room will be open Friday- Sunday. Starting on Canada Day it will be open daily through to Labour Day weekend.
The front gate automatically closes at 11pm and re-opens at 6am. Guests can leave the park at any time by pulling up to the gate, as there is a sensor that will automatically open the gate for you. If you are entering the park late, please request the gate code from our office staff during office hours.
We have onsite security throughout the summer months and on holiday weekends throughout the year, so in the rare event of a disturbance, help is close and immediate by telephone. We also have some staff and family members who live onsite year round.
Living Forest offers monthly stays of up to 8 months year round (after 8 months guests must vacate park for at least 4 months). We limit the number of sites available for monthly rentals at busier times of the year.
Before you can book a monthly site, an application needs to be submitted and approved. Call, email or swing by the office if you are interested in a monthly application.
Yes - one night! We do have daily and weekly rates.
> Absolutely! Site specific reservations are no extra charge. You can book with us over the phone or in person, or you can use our online reservation grid.
Just before the site you want gets taken! Our reservation software looks far into the future - but we only take reservations 1 year in advance. That makes it fair for everyone to get 'first crack' at their favourite site. Reserve as early as you can for best selection. All of the sites are nice, but everyone has favourites.
Just upstream from the Living Forest, the neighbouring property has an industrial history, having been a concrete plant, a pile driving/barge manufacturing plant, and a storage lot for a company that built docking structures. The big wheel was a remnant of a docking structure called a dolphin. If you look at many BC Ferries terminals, you’ll see them. Turned on their side, these wheels are the frame to hold concrete and timbers to help hold ferries in place at dock, to unload. Who knew?
Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is the major medical treatment centre north of Victoria, and has extensive and updated treatment facilities. There are also several walk-in clinics in Nanaimo, including the Medical Arts and Central Nanaimo Urgent & Primary Care Centre. Another clinic within 20 minutes is the Ladysmith Urgent Care Centre. Medical professionals of all types like to make Vancouver Island their home, so we are proud to have many excellent health care professionals in Nanaimo.
The river and ocean are much warmer in the summer... Just kidding. We're supplied by the City of Nanaimo, where the drinking water quality is better than any other place we know of!
We ask folks to pack their garbage and extensive recycling list (now including compost and kitchen scraps) to a central location near the park entrance. Nanaimo is one of the top recycling towns in the country.
Are your pets friendly? Non aggressive, quiet, leashed and picked-up-after pets are most welcome - any other type, not so much. We can also direct you to off leash areas.
Times change! Land line telephone service is no longer available to your site - cell service only. Free high-speed WiFi access is available around the office, in the Adult Lounge, and on the Living Forest Café patio. Tengo WiFi is available on most campsites in the park for an additional fee. Inquire at the office for more details or to purchase WiFi for your site.
Too many trees in a lot of the park, but we do have a small selection of waterview sites that seem to work just fine - let us know if that's a priority.
55 sites have 50 amp service, many with oceanview, some are pull thrus - including 4 oceanview 'nose in' sites for motorhomes to enjoy the view out the front windshield.
○ Most of the year, yes - you can use the fire ring on your site to have a good old fashioned wood campfire! However, we care deeply about our forest and our community, so when the BC Wildfire Service decides to place a fire ban on Vancouver Island, those rules are strictly enforced within the park.
Fire bans are most often put in place for a period of time between May and September, depending on the year and how dry our forests are. If we are under a fire ban, signs will be posted throughout the park. Propane fire pits are allowed during fire bans as they do not produce sparks. For more information about fire bans in the province of BC and the Coastal Fire Centre (where we are), visit: https://wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/dashboard