A walk in the Elder Cedar Nature Reserve

The Elder Cedar Nature Reserve is located just off North Road in the southern end of Gabriola, near Degnen Rd.  There is a walking loop that leads you through the the forest wetland and some rare species.   The terrain is fairly level, with a small bridge and stepping stones to cross the stream, it is single track trails and they ask that you walk carefully and stay on the paths.  We recently walked the trails and it's approximately a 25 minute walk.

A great level walk on Gabriola.

The weather seems to be cheering up, giving lots of opportunities to get outside for some fresh air and a chance to burn off some of the winter reservoirs that some of us may be packing around. Some people have injuries, physical limitations or just prefer a relatively flat walking route and the loop from Brickyard around El Verano Road and onto the beach seems to be one of the favorites on Gabriola.

There are some ways to extend this walk as well by adding in the clamshell/stokes roads, you can make it all on the road or incorporate a walk on the sandy beach into your route by going down the boat launch off El Verano (which is easy to spot – it’s one of the few places on the Island that has more than 5 cars on the side of the road).

There is also history here, brickyard beach use to have a substantial industrial role on the Island, producing over 80,000 bricks daily, brick remnants still line the beaches. If you’re in to creating an adventure, there is a geocache site hidden near the Brickyard picnic site – have fun!