Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park

Notice regarding upgrades/repairs to the park:

• As of January 4, 2010, BC Parks has started major renovations to the park’s toilet / shower building.  This facility will be closed to the public during the construction period which is expected to last until the end of March 2010.  Visitors will still be able to utilize the pit toilet facilities located in the campground area.  We apologise for any inconvenience during this period.
• The sandstone quarry historical site is inaccessible due to damaged infrastructure, the stairs used to access the site are closed.
• The water dam located on Mallard lake is inaccessible due to safety concerns.
• In the fall of 2007 BC Parks initiated a process to analyze and assess changes to the shoreline processes that resulted from increased rates of erosion over the last few years along the south and southeast shoreline of Newcastle Island. In preparation for implementing the project an Archaeological Inventory and Assessment was undertaken in early 2008. Actions were recommended to mitigate these processes and protect a significant cultural site for the Snuneymuxw First Nation.
  
  Implementation of the plan will begin this fall, 2008, but given the complexity and cost involved the process will take place over several years. This year the works will be concentrated on repairing the undermining of loading ramp and on stabilizing a section of shoreline that is of highest risk for further erosion.

Please contact Drew Chapman, Qualicum Area Supervisor, at: Drew.Chapman@gov.bc.ca for additional information.

Please note:

• Raccoons are wandering through the park and in order to prevent them from becoming a nuisance, please follow these important guidelines:
  • Do not feed raccoons.
  • Never take food inside tents.
  • Store all food, including toothpaste, in the food lockers.
  • Dispose of all garbage immediately.
  • Warning – Be aware that raccoons will become aggressive when approached or cornered.

Remember - Newcastle Island is home for many species of animals and the island provides plenty of natural vegetation for all its inhabitants.

Park Info

For an experience rich in history, culture and entertainment, do what people have been doing since the 1930s—hop a boat to Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park, one of the most intriguing parks in BC. Bring your own boat or take the passenger ferry from Nanaimo—a 10-minute ride that deposits passengers on Newcastle Island, located just a few hundred meters offshore from Vancouver Island. From a distance you’ll see an island shoreline dominated by steep sandstone cliffs and ledges, interspersed with sunny beaches. Up close, you’ll discover rocky caves and caverns - a marked contrast to the interior of the island, which is studded with mature Douglas fir, Garry oak, arbutus and dogwood trees.

Visitors to Newcastle Island can choose from an extensive network of walking/hiking trails that lead to various historic points around the island. Indian middens offer mute evidence of at least two Salish First Nations villages, which were deserted before the discovery of coal in this area in 1849. Subsequent decades saw the island's fortunes rise and fall as it went through various incarnations while supporting a fish-salting operation, a sandstone quarry and a shipyard.

In 1931 the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company purchased the island and operated it as a pleasure resort, building a dance pavilion - now the visitor center - a teahouse, picnic areas, change houses, a soccer field and a wading pool. An old ship was tied to the dock at Mark Bay and served as a floating hotel. The island became very popular for company picnics and Sunday outings, with ships from Vancouver bringing as many as 1,500 people at a time. The advent of the Second World War, however, caused a decrease in the number of ships available for pleasure excursions and Newcastle Island suffered a consequent decline in popularity.

Today, park services and facilities include walk-in campsites complete with flush toilets and showers, as well as facilities for group camping and picnicking. The newly restored Newcastle Island Pavilion offers daily food services, interpretive programs and a gift shop during the peak May to September season. The Pavilion can also be rented for dances, corporate picnics and wedding receptions.

Park Size: 336 hectares

Special Notes:

• A park interpreter is in attendance during the summer to provide visitor information and to interpret the island's unique human and natural history. Check at the Pavilion or on information boards at the dock heads for the times of walks, talks and other program details. A concession in the Pavilion offers a variety of meals, snacks, beverages and recreation equipment rentals..
• The Pavilion was the focal point of Newcastle Island from 1931 until the Second World War caused a decline in the popularity of the island's holiday resort. Now grandly restored, the Pavilion houses a dance floor and full restaurant amenities. The Pavilion may be booked for use by groups and organizations. For more information on how to reserve school groups, click here.
• Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park benefits from excellent adjoining commercial facilities. Shopping, recreation and entertainment are available in the nearby city of Nanaimo. During July the annual Nanaimo- Bathtub Race departs from the Inner Harbour. Petroglyph Provincial Park, just south of the city, has some excellent native rock carvings. There are a variety of marinas offering boats and fishing gear to take advantage of the plentiful salmon in the surrounding waters. At Departure Bay is the Pacific Biological Research Station, which has public displays.
• Dock Facilities Use Fee: $2.00 per metre / night
• Mooring (to buoy) Fee: $10.00 per vessel / night

General Visitor Information

• Park User Fees
• What to Know Before You Go
• General Safety & Ethics
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Fishing and Hunting Information
• Other Links

Location

• Location Map

Newcastle Island is accessible by boat only. Once you've reached Nanaimo (mainland visitors can ferry over via Horseshoe Bay), take the foot passenger ferry for the 10 minute ride from Maffeo-Sutton Park, just north of downtown Nanaimo on Hwy 1. The ferry schedule is available through the park facility operator's website (a non-government weblink).

Private boat owners can simply tie up to the wharf or anchor at Mark Bay. Berthing facilities for more than 50 boats are available at the island. Boaters can reference marine chart #3447 (Nanaimo Harbour) for more information on this area.

Nature & Culture

• History - A brief walk around Newcastle brings you to the site of Saysetsen Village, where recovered native artifacts bear silent witness to the life of a Salish Indian village that was deserted some time before coal was discovered in 1849. For centuries the Salish had occupied this village between the months of September and April, leaving every spring in order to fish for cod and gather clams and tubers on Gabriola Island. Although the Salish were among the island’s first coal miners, they were soon "supplemented" by boatloads of British; these men christened the island after a famous coal town in northern England and diligently worked the mines until 1883. Newcastle Island’s supplies of sandstone lasted longer than did the coal: this attractive building material, used in many constructions along the west coast, was quarried from 1869 until 1932.
  
  Newcastle Island also played a role in the fishing industry of the province. By 1910 the Japanese, who dominated fisheries, had established a small settlement just north of Shaft Point on the west side of the island. Here they operated a saltery and shipyard until 1941 when all the Japanese-Canadians who lived along the coast were sent to internment camps in the Interior in the interests of national security during wartime.
  In 1931 the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company purchased the island and operated it as a pleasure resort, building a dance pavilion (now the visitor centre), teahouse, picnic areas, change-houses, soccer field and a wading pool. An old ship named Charmer (later replaced by the Princess Victoria) was tied to the dock at Mark Bay (Echo Bay) and served as a floating hotel. The island became very popular for company picnics and Sunday outings, with ships from Vancouver bringing as many as 1,500 people at a time. The advent of the Second World War caused a decrease in the number of ships available for pleasure excursions and Newcastle Island suffered a consequent decline in popularity.
• Cultural Heritage - Newcastle Island provided a home to the Coast Salish native peoples prior to the discovery of coal in 1849.
• Conservation - The Park offers an island shoreline dominated by steep sandstone cliffs and ledges punctuated by beaches. Caves and caverns exist along the shoreline and provide a marked contrast to the interior of the island studded with Douglas fir, arbutus, Garry oak and dogwood trees.

Management Planning

Management Planning Information

• The approved Master Plan is now available in pdf format.

Map / Brochure

Any maps listed are for information only - they may not represent legal boundaries and should not be used for navigation.

• Park Map [PDF 74KB]
• Brochure [PDF 71KB]
• Brochure Map [PDF 65KB]

Reservations

Reservations for the individual walk-in campsites not accepted at this park; all campsites are on a first-come, first-served basis. For information on reserving the group sites in this park, click here for reservation information.

Contact Info

Snuneymuxw First Nation
E-mail: admin@newcastleisland.ca
Phone: 250 754-7893
Fax: 250 754-7894

Click here to view a non-government weblink for additional information.

Activities Available At This Park

		Canoeing

		Cycling

		Fishing

		Hiking

		Interpretive Programs

		Pets on Leash

		Swimming

Facilities Available At This Park

		Campfires

		Drinking Water

		Group Camping

		Picnic Areas

		Pit or Flush Toilets

		Playground

		Showers

		Walk-In/Wilderness Camping

		Wheelchair Access