Living Forest Oceanside Campground, Nanaimo, BC.
When Covid closed the Canada/US border we began to look for possible winter locations to call home. A quick google search for the warmest winter temperatures in Canada revealed that Osoyoos, BC and Southern Vancouver Island were really our only options. Unfortunately for us, we would soon learn that every snowbird with an RV also came to the same conclusions. We started calling parks in Osoyoos and to our dismay, every single park we called was already fully booked for the winter which left us with South Vancouver Island. However, we had the same luck with parks on the Island that we did in Osoyoos. Eventually we managed to figure out a schedule of 3 weeks at Living Forest then 2 weeks at another park further south then back to Living Forest for 3 weeks and back to the further south park for 2 weeks. We were going to continue this pattern all winter. While this was in no way ideal, it was our only option at the time. We put our names on Living Forests wait list for a fulltime site, made our arrangements and started off across the country in August. As luck would have it, we got a call while spending time with family in Calgary; Living Forest had a site for us. What a sigh of relief. We called and canceled all our other arrangements for the winter and prepared to spend December through March in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Location
Living Forest Oceanside Campground and RV Park is situated right at the mouth of the Nanaimo River about 10 minutes south of downtown Nanaimo and just 1 km from Highway 1. It is walking distance to a grocery store, liquor store, gas station, drug store, hardware store and several restaurants. We have never been to another park that has so many conveniences less than 1km away. Additionally, the park is 2km from Highway 19, which is an express route through Nanaimo that makes it easy to get to amenities at the North end of the city. If hiking or walking are your thing, there are a ton of amazing parks less than a 20 min drive away. Mount Benson Regional Park, Westwood Lake Park, Pipers Lagoon Park, Jack Point & Biggs Park and Little Qualicum Falls should all be on your list while staying at Living Forest. Without even considering everything else this park has to offer, it’s location alone is enough to make us stay there again.
Park Layout
Living Forest is a large park with over 200 sites that can accommodate everything from tent camping to the largest 50 amp rigs. There are 3 categories of campsites to choose from: forested, oceanview or oceanside. We were on a long term rental site which is a group of 40 sites in the middle of the park surrounded by trees and bushes. They offer full hook-ups, ample space and plenty of shade and shelter. The shade and shelter, we found to be both a blessing and a curse. The shelter was absolutely fantastic, in 3 months we only brought our awning in once and that was due to snow, not wind. It was common place to hear the wind howling through the tree tops while down at ground level our awnings were perfectly still. The trees were so dense that they pretty much blocked any wind from reaching us on our campsite. They also provided shade that, if it had been summer, we would have loved. However, for winter camping, the number of huge 100 foot tall trees made the short winter days even shorter. This, combined with most days during the winter being overcast and gloomy, eventually started to affect our moods. While we would have much preferred an Oceanview or Oceanside site if one had been available, our forested site was quiet, peaceful and perfectly comfortable. The next time we stay at Living Forest we will book an oceanside site, specifically sites #131 to #141 which have, in our opinion, the best view the park has to offer. In fact, we had planned to switch to site #131 for the last 2 weeks of our stay, but just 2 days before we were set to move, Mother Nature dumped a foot of snow on us and we decided it would be easier to stay put.
Park Services
2020 is a very unusual year, due to the pandemic most businesses are operating with restricted services and RV parks are no exception. For this reason, there were services that were not available but under normal circumstances would have been offered. Living Forest has all of the services you would expect from a large, well run RV park and some you wouldn’t. It offered laundry, firewood, propane and cable at fairly affordable rates. While we found the laundry room to be a little on the small side for the size of the park, they had ample firewood available and would pick your empty propane tanks up at your site and return them full. If you have an A or C class motorhome, they offer 100lb tanks for rent that they will also pick up and return to your site. Most of the sites were full service (power, water and sewer) however, the majority of the sites are 30 amp which wouldn’t usually be an issue for us, but, seeing that it was winter, we had to rely on our propane a lot more because we didn’t have the amperage to use space heaters while also having the fridge and hot water tank on electric. It was a bit of a dance of when and what should be on electric vs propane at any given time. This lead to a much higher propane cost over the winter. Another thing to note is the water pressure. Living Forest has the opposite issue most other parks have, the water pressure is crazy strong, definitely make sure you have a regulator. For the few sites that don’t have sewer, there is a conveniently located dump station as you exit the park. They also offer parcel delivery, which, for a long term stay, is an absolute must. Lastly, there was a movie and book borrow and a games room (which was closed due to the pandemic). One thing I have not mentioned here is the park Wi-Fi, we have our own internet system in the trailer that uses cell towers thus, we rarely if ever, use park Wi-Fi, so while I can’t speak to how good it was I can tell you the cell service was great and we had no trouble working, streaming or online gaming. Whether you’re staying at Living Forest for a weekend or a season, they have all the services you need to make your time there comfortable and enjoyable.
Stand-Out Services
There were several features, other than the amazing location, at Living Forest that set it apart from most other RV Parks. It had it’s own hiking trails with amazing lookouts over the ocean, a nice little beach with kayak rentals and a boat launch and gazebo right at the water’s edge. During the warmer months there is a small café with a large patio that has amazing views of the water. If you are a photographer or bird watcher, there are many varieties of water fowl at the mouth of the river. Bald eagles can be both heard and seen most days along the 2km trail that runs from the park along the Nanaimo River. In the morning and afternoon you can sit and watch Harbour Seals hunting up and down the mouth of the river. Living Forest is truly a unique park with features you won’t find anywhere else!
Oceanside Gazebo
View from the hiking trail lookout
The Living Forest Café patio
Affordability
Monthly winter rates at Living Forest were very reasonable. We were in a Forest Back-In site and the monthly rate was $500 CAD plus electricity. This put our total monthly bills around $800 CAD when you add electricity and propane refills.
Final Thoughts
Our time at Living Forest was both comfortable and enjoyable. The 3 months we spent there offered us all of the experiences that motivated us to start living in our RV full-time. We hiked, we tried new restaurants and breweries, and we explored the cities of Nanaimo, Duncan, Parksville and Port Alberni. We even found an amazing tattoo artist named Voodoo in Duncan who memorialized our beloved pup who recently passed away. The staff were friendly and helpful and the park offered every service and convenience we could ask for. If you’re considering a visit to Vancouver Island you would be doing yourself a disservice by not planning at least a few days at Living Forest Oceanside Campground and RV Park. Oh yeah, definitely don’t forget your rain jacket!