Lighthouse Country Trail Located in the Vancouver Island-Central Coast

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Lighthouse Country Trail

Horse Camping Site
A quaint community trail that runs in a loop through a deep-forested area near Qualicum Bay. The best area for horseback riding is the north loop, attached to the Wildwood Community Park. Take a step away from the beach and walk, run or ride the north and south loops of the Lighthouse Country Regional Trail (LCRT) located in Bowser and Qualicum Bay. The level grade and connection to more trails in the surrounding Crown forest and Wilson Family Woodlot make it easy for everyone to get out and get active while enjoying the beauty of our rare Coastal Douglas-fir forest.
Qualilcum Beach, Vancouver Island
49.427879
-124.665045
400 m from the McColl Rd parking is a large grassy clearing for horse trailers and camping.
There is a large grassy clearing for trailer parking and camping. This is crown land and we can camp there for up to 14 days! You must bring your own water and sanitary facilities however, as well as high-line, panels, or electric fencing for your horse. It's beautiful and well worth a visit or campout!
The access for the northern loop is via Wildwood Community Park near Bowser, via McColl Rd off of the Island Highway 19A. For more information visit the Regional District of Nanaimo website .
Note: Also check under Files Maps Upload/Download tab to see if there are more maps available. If the map below shows red lines, these indicate ridable trails which can be downloaded to your GPS (see Files Maps Upload/Download tab)
The accessible South Loop parking lot is located at the end of Lioness Blvd (off Lions Way, off Hwy 19A) in downtown Qualicum Bay. The North Loop and Wildwood Community Park parking lot is located on McColl Rd in Bowser, one block inland from Hwy 19A. The McColl Rd parking area is for cars/dog walkers. Horse trailers should continue past the railway tracks, and car parking, up 400 meters on the bumpy dirt road. There is a large grassy clearing for trailer parking and camping. This is crown land and we can camp there for up to 14 days! See camping notes.

Legend

Lighthouse Country Trail Comments Want To Get Involved? Post Comment

Nancy Gourlay

Trail updates and camping posted on: 08 / 06 / 2025

This is an amazing trail system, used by many dog-walkers and a few bikers too. The local area residents take great care of this area and we try to be respectful by removing any manure off the trail within a kilometer of their parking area (the most used for walking). Also some trails are too fragile for horses, especially near Thames creek, and we have used HCBC signs with an "X" "No Horses" to make sure we avoid those. For trailer parking we drive up McColl Road, over the railway tracks and past the car-park area, up a bumpy old road for 400 meters. On the left is a large meadow with room for many rigs. It is crown land and we may park and camp there. No amenities are provided so bring plenty of water, panels, hi-line, or electric fence. It's awesome!

Lavinia Martin

Carriage Driving suitability posted on: 06 / 16 / 2016

Is any part of the trail(s) suitable for cross-country driving vehicle use - trying to find locations off-road where my horse can be driven in the Mid-Island area.

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Note: All of our Geo-Referenced PDF maps are available for free from the Avenza from the Map Store. These maps can be used with the Avenza Maps app on GPS enabled Smartphones and tablets.

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