Petroglyph Provincial Park in Nanaimo

Before entering this park be sure to take a soft sweeping. Broom with you to carefully clear away the leaves.

Small park, but the petroglyphs themselves are interesting

All the way in the back are the Authentic petroglyphs. Explanation about it is clear. Unfortunately it does not mention when they were made. I would suggest a QR code with which one can download all petroglyphs on the island. And some more explanation about the First nations that made it. This has the potential to be a very educational short trip. But it isnt.

Very cool place to visit, not sure if they are running regular but had a peak after hours and it was a very cool place

Wish it had better connection to snuneymuxw its basically a white interpretation of the land

A tiny park with great history

It was very neat to see the petroglyphs. However, it was very sad to see the graffiti and was hard to find the petroglyphs.The casts were harder to make out than the petroglyphs we did find. Can they be cleaned off and maybe white markings to outline?It’s unfortunate that the government and people hold such little respect for such an important Indigenous location. The government could do more to help preserve the site.My province Manitoba has petroforms that are also open like this to the public. One was ruined a few years ago by people.Could there not be markers out where the petroglyphs are? Could the government try to do something to preserve the markings? All with consulting Indigenous groups of course.Very neat to see but terrible how they are kept.

Poor signage of the glyphs. Path comes to a dead end with barrier that it seems you have to walk around to then find the faded glyphs around the place. Short walk at least, not accessible.

This is a neat little park, perfect for stretching your legs for a few minutes while checking out 1,000+ year old petroglyphs.The petroglyphs are easy to miss if you don’t know where to look. I recommend starting at the interpretation centre and checking out the signs and replicas, so you get an idea of what you’ll be looking at, then follow the paved path until you see a rock face on the right. (If you reach the end of the paved path, turn around because you’ve gone too far!Most of the petroglyphs are in this spot.After you check them out, walk up the rest of the paved path, past the wooden “blockade” at the end, and turn right. Take the smaller dirt path until you reach another rock face with trees in the middle. There are a couple more petroglyphs here! The “cave” is also a few steps further along.My daughter and I took pictures of the petroglyphs we found and then went back to the interpretation area to re-read about them. It was a fun mini trip and we both enjoyed looking for and finding the petroglyphs!If you’re looking for something “more” to do after, head into downtown and grab some gelato from Cold Front since it’s close by!

I read some fairly poor reviews before going and cant say I disagree. The parking lot was large. However, the pull off comes up quick as your driving. The short hill up was a bit steep for my bad knees but was not far from the parking lot. They have a main circle of casts to view with a path going further up. I sent my son to take pics of the real petroglyphs but he only found one, after he stepped on it accidentally.The park was a bit overgrown, many rocks were defaced by graffiti and people have used trails as toilets so watch where you walk.I read there was a cave somewhere with homeless people and needles but we didnt find any of that.Ultimately, if we werent wasting time before a ferry, I would have been annoyed at the wasted effort. Its sad to see it in poor shape and disrespected, otherwise it could have been a cool little place to explore.

This is a very short trip so definitely have more on your itinerary for the day. This place takes about 20 minutes to see, very short walk up a small hill. The petroglyphs need to be preserved and the area taken care of, it would be horrible to lose this piece of history. I think I come down to a lack of respect for the people that built this area as there are signs of vandalism and graffiti in and around the site. Thankful to have seen this place and experience this historic petroglyph in person.

It’s a very small park. Not much to experience. After having visited Petroglyph park in Ontario this one seemed very insignificant. It’s worth a quick 10 min stop if you’re driving by

There is wonderful interpretive signs near the replicas, but no signs where the original pictographs are. I walked by them three times before I saw them.

The petroglyph was pretty cool, but the walk was way to small.If you have never gone I suggest you go once to see the petroglyph.

It needs maintenance big time.it looks like it was forgotten.

Nice little walk. Sad to see some of the people have decided to leave their own marks

Clean, no washroom. Lower part is accessible however the upper trail is not wheelchair friendly. Beautiful petroglyphs. Map board to show area information. Details on the petroglyphs are provided by signage along the trial. Very shot trail. Easy to navigate.

Copies of actual engravings. Small uphill hike from parking lot.

The petroglyph was amazing. But a really short walk. Maybe around 5 minutes.This park is easy to commute by bus. Calico Cat Tea House is close to the place.

Really cool history surrounding this area. Unfortunetely this park has not been well maintained. The path seemingly leads nowhere with a couple remaining petroglyphs along the way left to deteriorate to the elements. There is a section with replica petroglyhs to check out as well.

A cool little spot right off the road. Just a quick pit-stop. Be cool to take your kids. They even give you a little scavenger hunt for petroglyphs around the island.

Good little nature walk to learn about some of the native culture

Nice peaceful and scenic park great for bringing family and or friends pet friendly as well.

I dont know why this is an attraction, its hard to tell what youre meant to look at and what is graffiti or moss. We regretted stopping here and left very quickly

Interesting to see the petroglyphs, but the park is quite small. 5 minutes of walking will take you to the end of the park which borders on houses and an RV campground. Theres evidence people might be camped in some of the rock outcroppings.

Interesting spot to stop and learn about the petroglyphs. Its a short walk so easy to manage and although the carvings were covered by moss it was still neat to see. I think the park could benefit from some updates of the signs and information to make this park more appealing again.

Instead of shooting past Nanaimo heading North on Highway 19, go on the old Trans Canada route and stop in at the Petroglyph Provincial Park for 15 - 20 minutes and then explore the old town of Nanaimo.There is a good interpretation section for the petroglyphs. The site itself has carvings on a few visible flat rocks.Certainly of interest as a historical item and well worth taking in with other rock art sites on the coast - see the map at the interpretation area for some other nearby sites.

Short walk to the petroglyphs. This park is not in the best condition. The petroglyphs were covered by grass and dirt. Looks like there’s some vandalism happening. We still enjoyed the visit to the park. It’s good for a 30 min quick stop. Read up on history, look around and imagine what it would be like there during the time when petroglyphs were getting carved out.

Can be an interesting spot for history or archaeological buff, but for ordinary folks this park is underwhelming. I wish Parks can build a small interpretation center on the site that can host more indigenous artifacts and serve as a lookout to the sea.

A short walking loop with some cool Petroglyphs in sandstone. Interpretive signs and replicas in concrete to help you interprete. Nice for a ten minute stop.

We took the 515am Ferry and this place caught us by surprise when we got off. Our family enjoyed the history of this indigenous site but it was really cold first thing in the morning on our trip to Tonino. But it is a site that was beautiful during sunrise.

Really cool site, but I am very disheartened that somebody would vandalize 1,000+ year old stone carvings. :(

Very underwhelming and hard to see the petroglyphs. The main rock was covered in leaves - the issue may be that this park isn’t maintained, which is sad because there’s a lot of cultural learning here, and also a sacred space for some nations.

You want a really good breakfast, all made right there in the kitchen, fresh, tasty and delicious ?You want to feel like youre their special guest ?Go visit this place. Its really good. Very friendly. Welcoming establishment that is focused on making you feel good by being there and by eating their delicious cooking.Highly recommended.

Due to poor maintenance of this park it is very hard to see some of the petroglyphs as well there is no signage pointing out the actual fossil which also exist in this park and there should be a handrail . Trails poly maintained trees fallen down blocking walkway or up against rocks .

Amazing petroglyphs: deeply etched, well preserved.Given that, its surprising that this facility isnt a bigger deal. Its small, and there is no big fanfare - just a trail and a few interpretive signs. (Maybe thats why its well preserved.🤔)

If you havent been here before, go check it out! This park is full of history and is a nice walk. Pet friendly too!

Very accessible little park with great explanations on what to look for. Would give it a full 5 stars for offering such an immediate and genuine connection to our history but the smell of urine in the parking lot never seems to go away.

Short but neat forest trail walk to see some petroglyphs. They are all located in one spot in a circle. There are some informational plaques you can read. Not much parking maybe 10-15 spots. 5-10 minute visit here. Was not busy early in the morning. Saw some dead wildlife (mouse and duckon the trail. There is a small mountain view clearing near some houses at the end of the short trail.

Get a close up look at Nanaimos ancient past. No one seems to know for sure why First Peoples made engravings at this site, but its pretty remarkable that theyve been preserved so well for so long. This hike only takes 10 minutes, and there are some nice explanations and recreations along the way. A perfect place to stop and stretch your legs, and a great place for the little ones. Highly recommend!

Small little trail loop in the forest, its fun finding the petroglyphs. I wish the concrete casts of the glyphs were a little more maintained - it was hard to see what most of the glyphs were. Moss had grown in the grooves which actually helped with some, but paint or something along the lines would really help.

A truly magical place, but the management of this park must be given back to the First Nation it belongs to. The upkeep is basically non-existent right now, and thats a shame because it feels like an important and sacred site.

Short, easy stroll to the location of the Petroglyphs. How could this not be cool seeing work of First Nations up to 1000 years old?Amazing.

The forest area is nice, however, BC parks needs to spend some time to cleaning the moss and dirt off of the Petroglyphs, as they are completely grown over. I think we saw the sea wolf, however, it was nearly impossible to make out. This place has the potential to be a historical point of interest. An idea would be to build a small roof over the petroglyphs to protect them from moss. Also a a legend would be nice beside the actual petroglyphs, so you know what you are looking at.

Its worth seeing but dont expect to spend a whole lot of time here. It only takes maybe 15 minutes to see all of the park but its still a very cool piece of Vancouver Islands history.

Gorgeous area and the petroglyphs are just so cool. My only complaint was the petroglyphs were so overgrown and covered with tree needles we couldnt find most of them, also a legend showing where each glyph is on the stone would be helpful too.

Very small... I thought ok... a park take a nice long stroll through the forest...uhhhhh nope... the walk to the end of the path took all of 3 minutes... they have prints in concrete. But the actual petroglyphs were covered with moss and hard to see... there was no protection on them like plexiglass sheets or anything. I would skip this one.

A wonderfully scenic and, surprisingly, unpopular natural evergreen forest park. I believe the low number of people who visit is largely attributed to its being so well tucked away. It is the only logical conclusion one can come to after seeking for the entrance stemming right off the highway!

A short, leafy stroll through the trees with some native history. There are informational signs which tell the tale of the petroglyphs, but unfortunately the petroglyphs themselves (and the concrete replicas meant to show them more clearlyhave been worn down by the rain, rendering them nearly invisible. Another downside is the lack of benches to contemplate the history of the area or read a book. Nice, but just a one time visit.

I read about this place on the Internet and they said it was littered with petroglyphs. But when we got there it wasnt what I expected. Probably a total of 5 minutes of walking trails and the petroglyphs that werent casts were cover in moss and pine needles so you couldnt see them. But I did like that they had information boards telling you the meaning behind each character in the rocks and a brief history of them.