Drumbeg Park is a BC Parks day-use park at the south end of Gabriola Island, in the Gulf Islands off southern Vancouver Island. BC Parks says it overlooks Gabriola Passage and offers views of the Strait of Georgia and the Coast Mountains.
The park contains a kilometre-long sand and pebble beach with sandstone and conglomerate rock formations visible at low tide.
Drumbeg is a compact Gabriola Island stop for hiking, diving, nature viewing, picnicking, paddling, and shoreline exploring. Facilities include a grassy field, pit toilets, picnic tables, hiking trails, and an information shelter.
The park has about two kilometres of easy, well-maintained walking trails through Garry oaks, open meadows, and shoreline viewpoints. Wildlife viewing may include whales, seals, sea lions, bald eagles, great blue herons, harbour seals, American oystercatchers, waterfowl, and intertidal creatures.
Conservation values are a major part of the visit. Drumbeg protects endangered Garry oak ecosystems, undeveloped Douglas-fir forest landscapes, and a diverse marine zone in fast-moving Gabriola Passage. The foreshore includes eelgrass, rockfish rearing values, and many marine species. An extensive First Nations midden along the shoreline shows past use by the Snuneymuxw and Lyakson First Nations.
Plan around day-use picnicking, easy shoreline walking, Garry oak meadow trails, low-tide rock formation viewing, canoeing, kayaking, Strait of Georgia salmon fishing, shore diving or boat diving near Rogers Reef, wildlife viewing, and roadway cycling.
Access Gabriola by ferry from Nanaimo or arrive by boat with very limited anchorage. Watch for dangerous ocean currents and riptides, avoid giant hogweed, keep pets leashed and away from beaches, and check rockfish conservation area rules before fishing.
