We had a lovely picnic out on the rocks and the kids had a great time wading out on the beach area – but be sure to bring water shoes as it’s a rocky beach and you don’t want “barnacle feet” as Ella calls them.  Speaking of Ella, we met another little girl named Ella whom our Ella took in tow and helped guide her along, until our Ella herself slipped and fell.  Luckily a woman sitting on the beach was better prepared than we were with magical band-aids – you know the kind, even when there’s no blood, one or two of these band-aids and all the crying stops.  Yes, you know.

This is one of the nicest ocean-front parks we’ve been to and we’ll definitely be back again.

[Note - the Google map is incomplete - switch to the Satellite view and you'll get more accurate directions - Follow the signs off Northwest Bay road to Beachcomber marina and then keep going past the marina]

We have a great sprinkler toy that fills with water and then waits… waits… and then sends a blast of water way up in the air when you least expect it.  George calls it the scream machine because of its effect on the kids.  But even the scream machine can’t hold a candle to some of our favourite watering holes.

The water park at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith is one of the best around.  George wanted Ella to try out the bucket dump;  the bucket fills with water and then wait… wait… down it pours on unsuspecting children.  Yep, more screams.  But George didn’t properly calculate the water-to-Ella weight ratio; she was no fool and left the deluge to her big sister.

Nanaimo has several city parks with water equipment, but our favourite is the Harewood Mining Community Park on Howard Ave in the south end of the city.  A lot of the water features are built around a painted train track and the kids love to race around it and get sprayed as they go.

Parksville community beach has a classic old water park with some particularly tricky sprays built into the ground, which unsuspecting parents can get caught it while they’re keeping an eye on the kids.  Ok, only George, who keeps forgetting that the nozzles are there.

While up in Parksville the kids also can’t resist going on the bumper boats at Paradise Fun Park – the place with the giant mini-golf courses.  Tip for parents and older kids – the taller you are, the more you’ll get sprayed.  Hmm, I guess that’s kind of a tip for the younger kids too, isn’t it…

Of course we have to start with the beaches.  At Qualicum Beach our picnic place of choice is the grassy area next to the parking lot on the left side of the Beach Hut.  While no picnic spot along there is more than a stone’s throw from the beach, being a stone’s throw from great take out food and ice cream is a great bonus, plus there’s good shade if things get too not (we should be so lucky!).  With smaller kids, you just need to be careful at Qualicum Beach because you’re close to the traffic.  On the other hand, if the tide is right, you can  just move the picnic out onto the sand.

Parksville’s community beach has a lot of picnic options, but our favourite is to find a good tree by the playground.  George has a couple of trees staked out because they’re equidistant to the playground and the concession stand.  Lineups might be long sometimes, but those fries are worth the wait and the kids love the soft ice cream with coloured edges.  We dare you to stay less than an hour at this spot on a beautiful sunny day…

Spider Lake, just off the Horne Lake exit of the Island Highway, is another favourite picnic spot by the water.  If it’s looking like a nice day, we recommend getting out there as early as possible (for George and Ella that would be 7am!) because the park fills up fast close to noon.  There are two main picnic areas facing each other across one arm of the lake, joined by a trail – we call them the forest side and the sandy side.  We’ve never been sand people, but they always eem to having a good time too.  For us, it’s the forest side all the way.  There’s also a little island that Grace is anxious to paddle over to this year – or perhaps just sit in the boat while George paddles.  By the way, part of the attraction of Spider Lake is that there are nothing motorized on the water to disturb the tranquility – that’s the jog of the kids screaming while catching tadpoles and frogs.

A new spot we discovered this year is at Morningstar Farm and Little Qualicum Cheeseworks.  Aside from the fun of visiting the farm animals (watch for goats on an overhead walkway!), there’s a lovely picnic area with a fabulous view of Mount Arrowsmith.  There’s also a little trail to walk off the picnic.

The brain child of artist George Sawchuk, the Wacky Woods (not an official title) have evolved over a period of over twenty years and are situated next to his home and workshop. The sculptures use all kinds of common household, industrial, and farm objects and range in size from the miniature to the gigantic. Among my favourites are the numerous wooden books that are tucked into holes in trees, and when you open them they contain a saying (lots of Ralph Waldo Emerson for instance).

The kids had a great time wandering the forest (some call it a woods), with a surprise around every turn. Many of the scuptures are interactive (you can turn something, pull something etc.) and brightly coloured. While the entire area is not huge (perhaps a few acres), parents will be glad to know there are benches to sit on and soak up the scenery while the kids are running around. Great place to have a picnic lunch as well.

You won’t find Wacky Woods on any tourist maps, but it’s not too bad to get to. It’s just off the Ships Point turnoff at the Fanny Bay community centre, with a couple of turns shortly thereafter into a residential area.  See the Google map below and you’ll see the marker at the end of Bates Road.