Daily Archives: 2 August, 2026

Drumbeg Provincial Park (Gabriola Island, British Columbia)

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From Brickyard Beach, it was a short 8-km. (12-min.) drive to the 55-hectare (140-acre) Drumbeg Provincial Park at the east coast of Gabriola Island, overlooking the scenic Gabriola Passage. It is one of the most relaxed and scenic spots on Gabriola, and an easy day trip from Nanaimo.  A popular area for diving, hiking, nature viewing, sunbathing and picnicking, facilities at this park include a grassy field, pit toilets, picnic tables, hiking trails and an information shelter.

Check out “Brickyard Beach”

Drumbeg Provincial Park

Interpretive signage (donated by the Heartland Conservancy Group and the Gabriola Theatre Club), located at the information shelter in the day-use areas, offered information about the protected endangered Garry oak ecosystem and meadows (a rare and ecologically sensitive habitat that is especially pretty in spring when the wildflowers come out), undeveloped Douglas fir forest landscapes and the diverse marine zone in the park. Along with a number of intertidal creatures, bald eagles, great blue herons, harbor seals and American oystercatchers can be spotted here.

The kilometer-long sand and pebble beach

Managed by  BC Parks, this day-use only provincial park (one of three provincial parks on Gabriola Island, the others being Gabriola Sands Provincial Park on the northwest shore and Sandwell Provincial Park on the northeast shore) was established in 1971.  Offering excellent views of the Strait of Georgia and the Coast Mountains on the mainland, the shoreline here is the main draw.

The park contains a kilometer-long sand and pebble beach, which curves around the bay, with unique and striking, sculpted sandstone and conglomerate rock formations that Gabriola is known for, best seen and fully exposed at low tide (the time we arrive). The formations include shelves, ridges, and pockets that, though the terrain is uneven, are fascinating to explore and walk across.

The unique and striking, sculpted sandstone and conglomerate rock formations

We picked a spot along the quiet beach for our picnic.  There was no drinking water, so we brought your own.  While picnicking, we watched boats navigating the narrow Gabriola Passage just offshore. The sheltered bay at Drumbeg warms up nicely in summer, making it one of the better swimming spots on the island. However, strong tidal currents run between the islands and riptides and currents can be dangerous.

A light beacon used as a navigational aid

Following the shoreline are about 2 kms. of easy, gentle and well-maintained walking/hiking trails that meander along the shoreline and through the upland above the beach, well suited for families, with frequent openings to the water and quiet spots to stop for a picnic.  The route passes through rare and fragile Garry oak and open meadows (keep to the trails to protect the fragile meadow plants). Underwater enthusiasts can dive from the shores of the park, or they can head out to Rogers Reef, by boat, and still stay out of the strong currents that run through Gabriola Passage.

The shoreline forest of Douglas firs and Garry oaks

After our picnic, we returned to our car for the 15.3-km. (20-min.) drive back to the Descanso Bay Ferry Terminal for our scheduled 9:25 PM return trip, via BC Ferries MV Island Gwawis, back to Nanaimo’s Departure Bay Terminal.

Drumbeg Provincial Park: Stalker Rd., Gabriola Island, British Columbia V0R 1X0. Tel: (250) 474-1336.  Coordinates: 49°07′57″N 123°41′39″W.

How to Get There: BC Ferries has 25-min. crossings, from Nanaimo Harbor, to Gabriola Island. Depending on the season, the ferries run almost every half-hour, from 5:45 AM to 11 PM. From the Descanso Bay Ferry Terminal, follow South Road, across the island toward the south end, then follow signs via Coast Road and Stalker Road to the park. The road in to the park is narrow (only wide enough for one car) and the drive takes roughly 20 minutes. The small parking lot is adequate for most of the year, but it can fill on warm summer weekends, so arrive earlier in the day.

Brickyard Beach (Gabriola Island, British Columbia)

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From Malaspina Galleries Community Park, we next drove 9.8 kms. (a 15-min. drive) to Brickyard Beach, a rocky beach rich in industrial history located on the southwest coastline of Gabriola Island. The beach is located on False Narrows that separates Gabriola Island from Mudge Island and Vancouver Island.

Check out “Malaspina Galleries Community Park”

Brickyard Beach with Mudge Island, across False Narrows, in the background

It was once the site of Gabriola Brickyard, the largest industry and employer (of Gabriolans and Chinese contract workers) on the island. From 1890 to 1950, it was actively producing, all by hand, up to 80,000 bricks per day. The work was difficult, noisy, and dirty, but the bricks were used for construction of buildings in Nanaimo, Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminister in British Columbia.



The brickyard was located at the base of Brickyard Hill, just north of Ferne Road. The raw material was plentiful blue and brown shale, extracted on the hill by the beach, which was crushed to make clay. There was no electricity at Gabriola at the time and the plant operated on steam pumps heated by local firewood and cheap coal from Nanaimo. To heat the crushed shale, workers shoveled coal and wood into a fire and pressed the shale into bricks, four at a time, using a hand-operated hydraulic press.

Remnants of bricks mixed with sand, clam shells and pebbles

The ease of transportation, by ocean, made the location functionable.  During low tide, the bricks were loaded onto scows that departed from the shore, with the high tide, for shipping. In 1952, because construction techniques had advanced beyond bricks, production ceased and the plant was closed and, a little later, the kilns and buildings were dismantled and the area was bulldozed and cleared.

Brush and undergrowth have now reclaimed most of the site but pieces of misshapen, defective or broken “Dominion” brand red bricks, that were culled by workers on the beach, have remained there still, mixed with the sand and pebbles.  That’s how Brickyard Beach turned out. Today, there is still evidence of the old bricks located throughout the beach. However, because of storms, winds and human activity, most are crushed and mixed in with the sand and pebbles.

Today, little remains of the Gabriola Brickyard except for piles of broken bricks heavily littered on Brickyard Beach and the name of the steep hill on South Road. Enterprising locals still dig these historic bricks out of the banks. From the shore of the beach, it is easy to see Mudge Island (where orcas are frequently spotted) and the Pylades Islands and there are views of birds and marine activity as boats and kayaks often explore the area. The False Narrows is a busy marine route used frequently by sailboats, fishing vessels and yachts.

False Narrows. In the foreground are debris which, I am guessing, are probably from the dismantled factory and kilns

During low tide, the ocean water recedes, revealing a land of tidal pools that are full of marine life like sea anemones, crabs and star fish. There are opportunities for birdwatching and wildlife viewing like sea birds, predator birds, seals and more. Brickyard Beach, a launch and landing point for kayaking (the close proximity to the bays and coves on Mudge Island and the Pylades Islands makes the beach ideal for launching a kayak), is also a popular location for beachcombing, clam digging, gathering oysters and sightseeing.

Brickyard Beach: 1633 South Rd., Gabriola, British Columbia V0R 1X6.

How to Get There: A ferry leaves, almost every hour, for Descanso bay Ferry Terminal on Gabriola Island, from Nanaimo Harbor.  The crossing takes 25 mins. From Descanso bay Terminal, it is a 7.3-km. (4.5-mi.)/10-min. drive to the beach. Drive up Ferry Hill onto North Road, connect toward South Road, and follow it southeast to 1633 South Road.

Malaspina Galleries Community Park (Gabriola, British Columbia)

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The tunnel of the Malaspina Galleries Community Park

After lunch at Ground Up Café and Catering, we drove the short 3.6-km. (5-min.) distance to the nearby Malaspina Galleries Community Park, a unique, wave-shaped sandstone rock formation on the northwest shore of Gabriola Island.  The galleries were named for Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810), an Italian-born 18th century explorer sailing for Spain, who charted parts of this coast in the early 1790s. For well over a century, the formation has drawn artists and visitors.

The entry through the park

One of the most photographed natural features in the Gulf Islands and one of Gabriola Island’s signature natural sights, the galleries are located within a small community park at the end of a dead-end road in a residential neighborhood so parking was limited. Luckily, we were able to park.  

The trail leading to the rocky bluff

From the parking area, it was a short 100 m. (2 to 3-min.) walk, through a shaded, green West Coast evergreen environment typical of the Gulf Islands, to the rocky shoreline flats. Striking, vibrant arbutus trees, distinctive Pacific Northwest native trees, grow right above and alongside its famous weathered sandstone wave formations.

Grace and Cheska walking through the overhang

Upon reaching the shoreline from the trail, the galleries were on the left side of the rocky bluff. Carved by wind and waves into a shape that genuinely resembles a breaking, barreling wave frozen in stone. This overhanging sandstone rock formation, called a rip curl, stretches about 100 m. and stands about 4 m. high, forming a sheltered, tunnel-like passage with a ceiling, running along its length, you can walk beneath.

Bryan reading a book with our pet dog Luffy beside him.

As we arrived during the summer season, the area was packed with tourists. It was low tide (access along the shore is limited during high tide) and visitors were walking the shoreline, some looking for sea stars, sand dollars and other tide-pool life on the exposed walkable shoreline shelves.

Jandy, Grace and the author along the walkable shoreline shelf

At the tunnel floor are tafoni, a geological weathering process that creates a distinctive Swiss-cheese or honeycomb texture visible across the sandstone. Saltwater spray and tiny salt crystals seep into the porous sandstone and, as the crystals dry and expand, they pop tiny sand grains loose over hundreds to thousands of years, hollowing out individual pockets.

Distinctive Swiss-cheese or honeycomb texture visible across the sandstone

The Malaspina Galleries Community Park are a great fit for photographers and families wanting a quick, scenic natural stop.  Walking beneath the passage, we appreciated the relentless erosive power of the ocean’s and got a sense of the impressive scale that photos struggle to capture.

Scenic tide pools

Since the final approach is over uneven rock, the site is not for anyone with mobility challenges. Fishing or beach fires are also not allowed. The rocky point was also a great scenic coastal viewpoint where you can watch the regular BC Ferries ships crossing the Strait of Georgia between Nanaimo Harbor and Descanso Bay.

A BC Ferries ship, seen from the rocky bluff, crossing the Strait of Georgia

There’s also a house on the opposite shore which, I am guessing (I may be wrong), would be the Foster’s House (belonging to an early settler family) seen on a 1903 Malaspina Galleries postcard showing a standing man and a seated woman, a rowboat and the house in the background.

The Foster’s House?

Malaspina Galleries Community Park: 99 Malaspina Drive, Gabriola, British Columbia V0R 1X1. Admission is free. A tide-dependent stop, at low tide the formation is fully walkable and the tide pools are exposed while at high tide, the water comes up against the rock and access along the shore is limited or cut off.  Before you go, check a tide table. For safety and preservation, it is best to view and walk beneath the formation rather than climb the top of the soft, eroding sandstone overhang, a natural feature that continues to weather. As it is often the first stop for visitors, parking spaces fill quickly on summer weekends, especially right after the ferry unloads. Park respectfully and avoid blocking driveways. There are no restrooms on the site, only pathways and trash/recycling bins. The area offers opportunities to explore other natural formations, such as the Galiano Gallery and the “honeycomb holes.”

How to Get There: BC Ferries has 25-min. crossings, from Nanaimo Harbor, to Gabriola Island. Depending on the season, the ferries run almost every half-hour, from 5:45 AM to 11 PM. From the Descanso Bay Ferry Terminal, follow Taylor Bay Road, turn onto Malaspina Drive, and continue to the very end, where a short trail leads to the shore in about two to three minutes.