The Cable Bay Trail is a moderate 6.5 km return hike in Cedar, about 20 minutes south of downtown Nanaimo. Parking is at the end of Nicola Road and the first 2 km run mostly downhill through Douglas fir forest to a wooden footbridge at Cable Bay.
From the bridge, a coastal trail continues another 1.25 km along the shoreline through Joan Point Park to a viewpoint over Dodds Narrows, where tidal currents up to 9 knots attract seals, sea lions, and the occasional Bigg’s killer whale.
- Distance: 6.5 km return to the Dodds Narrows viewpoint (4 km return if you turn around at Cable Bay)
- Time: 2 to 3 hours with stops for the full hike, 1.5 hours for the Cable Bay turnaround
- Elevation change: About 133 m of descent
- Cost: Free
- Parking: Small dirt lot at the end of Nicola Road, Cedar
- Dogs: Welcome. Widely used as an off-leash trail
- Summer tip: Bring bug spray and start early to beat the heat and the crowds
- Best for: Forest walkers, dog owners, wildlife watchers, locals and visitors hoping to see whales at Dodds Narrows
The Cable Bay Trail is one route with two natural turnaround points. The first turnaround is Cable Bay itself at the 2 km mark, which makes for a 4 km out-and-back through the forest. The second is Dodds Narrows at the end of the coastal trail, another 1.25 km past the bridge.
This one suits hikers who want a real forest-to-coast experience without committing to a full-day backcountry trip. It is less suited for anyone wanting a flat stroll the whole way, or anyone who needs a paved or stroller-friendly surface.
About the Cable Bay Trail
The Cable Bay Trail is a City of Nanaimo park trail in the unincorporated community of Cedar, just south of the Duke Point ferry terminal. The route runs east from the Nicola Road trailhead through second-growth coastal forest to the shoreline at Cable Bay, then continues along the coast through Joan Point Park to a clearing above Dodds Narrows.
The full hike is rated moderate because of the elevation change, and the roots and rocks along the shoreline, not the distance. There is about 133 m of elevation change for the hike. The trail surface is dirt, roots, and rock throughout, with no boardwalks, stairs, or paved sections.
Cable Bay Trail parking
Parking for the Cable Bay Trail is at the end of Nicola Road in Cedar, about a 20-minute drive south of downtown Nanaimo. It is a small, unpaved lot with room for roughly 20 to 30 vehicles. There is an older outhouse and a garbage can in the parking lot; there is nothing along the trail, so pack out everything you bring in.
On summer weekends the lot fills up by mid-morning and roadside overflow parking is tight. An early start, ideally before 9 a.m. in July and August, gives you the best chance of a spot. The lot stays usable year-round.
Getting to the Nicola Road trailhead
From downtown Nanaimo:
- Head south on the Trans-Canada Highway and take the Cedar Road exit.
- Follow Cedar Road
- to Holden Corso Road
- to Nicola Road to the end.
The dirt-surfaced trailhead is not signposted from the highway, so a navigation app is the easiest way in. The drive takes around 20 minutes from downtown Nanaimo and about 10 minutes from the Duke Point ferry terminal.
At the trailhead itself there is a City of Nanaimo Cable Bay Trail sign showing “Cable Bay 2 km” with a directional arrow, plus the usual park-use icons indicating no fires, no bikes, no camping, and no firearms. The trail is foot traffic only. You will likely also see a “This Place Matters” poster from the Save Cable Bay campaign attached to the post, a small but visible reminder of the rezoning fight covered later on this page.
What the hike is like
The first kilometre from the parking lot is wide, flat, and well-worn, with a few small undulations through the forest. The trail is broad enough that you can pass other hikers comfortably, even on busy summer days.
Going by surface alone, the first two kilometres would actually work for an off-road powered wheelchair. The catch is the access fences along the trail, which are not wide enough for most wheelchairs to pass through, so the route is not fully accessible despite the workable terrain.
The grade changes in the second kilometre as the route drops toward the water, and that descent catches up on the return, so pace yourself if the climb back out is a concern.
The forest itself is the highlight of this first stretch. Tall second-growth Douglas fir, big-leaf maple, and a thick understory of sword fern and salal frame the trail. It is shaded, which makes the hike a good shoulder-season option when other Nanaimo trails are exposed and hot.
The Cable Bay Trail bridge
At about the 2 km mark the trail meets the water and a wooden footbridge crosses the inlet at Cable Bay. The bridge itself is the visual landmark of the hike, with views opening up across the channel toward Duke Point and Gabriola Island. From here, you can see the working side of the Nanaimo coast: log booms, freighters, and the BC Ferries route between Duke Point and Tsawwassen.
Past the bridge to Joan Point Park
After the bridge the trail changes character. It narrows, the surface gets rockier and more root-bound, and the route hugs the shoreline through Joan Point Park. This section is slower going, with several small ups and downs, but the payoff is the constant view of the water.
Sea lions are often hauled out on the log booms just offshore, and seals are common closer in. There is shoreline access to Broad Rock Beach in this stretch, where the sandstone flats are easy to walk and a good spot to stop for lunch. The trail ends at a rocky clearing overlooking Dodds Narrows.
Joan Point Park and the Dodds Narrows viewpoint
Joan Point Park is a 23-acre (9.3-hectare) waterfront park managed by the City of Nanaimo, which acquired the land in 2004. There are no built facilities and no developed lookout. The point itself is a rocky outcrop directly across the channel from Mudge Island, with Dodds Narrows funnelling water between the two.
How Joan Point got its name
The point was named by Commander John F. Parry of the HMS Egeria, who surveyed the area in 1904. The name honours Joan Olive, who married industrialist and politician Robert Dunsmuir in 1847 and arrived in Nanaimo in 1851. Dunsmuir was at one point the wealthiest man in the province and a central figure in Nanaimo’s coal-era history.
He built Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria for Joan, but died in 1889 before it was finished. Joan moved into the castle in 1890 and lived there until her death in 1908, which makes Joan Point one of two Vancouver Island landmarks tied directly to her.
Dodds Narrows up close
Dodds Narrows is a tidal passage roughly 80 metres wide that connects Northumberland Channel to Stuart Channel between Vancouver Island and Mudge Island. When the tide moves, it moves fast. Currents through Dodds Narrows can reach 9 knots during peak flow, which is one of the strongest tidal flows in the Gulf Islands and creates the visible rapids in the channel.
Boats moving between Nanaimo and the Southern Gulf Islands time their passages around slack tide, when the current briefly pauses before reversing direction. You will see both Dodds Narrows and Dodd Narrows on maps and navigation charts; the City of Nanaimo park signage uses Dodds Narrows.
From the point you can usually see the current itself. There are visible eddies, whirlpools, and standing waves, particularly mid-tide. Seals often use the flow to drift and play in the channel, and sea lions tend to congregate around the log booms on the Mudge Island side.
Why orcas use Dodds Narrows
Dodds Narrows shows up on a lot of “where to see whales from shore” lists, which is true in a limited sense. Both Bigg’s killer whales (the marine-mammal-hunting transients) and southern resident orcas have been documented passing through Dodds Narrows, with Bigg’s being the more frequent visitors. Local whale watching operators report orca activity in and around the narrows fairly often during the warmer months.
The reason ties to oceanography. When a large volume of water gets forced through a narrow gap, it creates strong tidal mixing and upwelling. That brings nutrient-rich deep water to the surface, which feeds phytoplankton, which feeds zooplankton, which feeds forage fish like herring and sand lance, which feeds salmon, which feeds resident orcas and the seals and sea lions that Bigg’s orcas hunt. Dodds Narrows is a concentrated, predictable food zone, and predators show up where the food is reliable.
That said, shore-based whale watching is a patience game. You can read the conditions, pick a tide, time it well, and still see nothing. Pods move through quickly, and “right now” is doing a lot of work in the phrase “if you hit it at the right time.” If seeing whales is the actual goal, a Nanaimo whale watching tour gives much better odds. The trail is worth doing for the hike, the forest, and the working-coast view, with any wildlife sighting treated as a bonus.
The Save Cable Bay rezoning fight
Anyone walking the Cable Bay Trail in 2026 should know what is happening on the land directly west of it. Nanaimo Forest Products, the parent company of the Harmac Pacific pulp mill, has applied to rezone roughly 75 hectares of forested land at 950 Phoenix Way from rural resource use to heavy industrial. The land sits adjacent to the western edge of the trail, between the trail and the existing Duke Point industrial area.
The proposal has drawn substantial opposition. Three public hearings in April 2026 brought near-capacity crowds to Nanaimo Council, with more than 11 hours of speakers and over 900 written submissions, the vast majority opposed. Concerns raised include loss of mature forest, impacts on water quality, chemical runoff to the marine environment, and the precedent of expanding heavy industry against a popular recreation area. The Snuneymuxw First Nation has formally opposed the rezoning, noting the land sits within their traditional territory protected under the 1854 Snuneymuxw Treaty.
The current proposal includes a dedicated parkland buffer averaging about 100 metres along the trail’s western edge, an offer Harmac put forward to address concerns about the trail itself. Critics counter that a 100 m buffer does not address the larger environmental and cultural impacts. As of May 2026, Council suspended the public hearing process and asked staff and Nanaimo Forest Products to come back with revisions, including narrower allowed industrial uses and stronger buffers. The decision is not final.
The community campaign opposing the rezoning is organized at savecablebay.org. You will likely spot their “This Place Matters” poster pinned to the trailhead sign on your way in, a quiet but visible reminder of what is at stake. The Cable Bay Trail itself remains open and unaffected by the rezoning process so far. The story is worth knowing while you walk it.
