Hemer Park is a forested day-use park on Holden Lake, about 12 kilometres south of Nanaimo on southern Vancouver Island. BC Parks says local residents mainly come for the extensive trail system, while the marsh is a favourite destination for birdwatchers and ornithologists.
The park is reached by the Cedar Road turnoff from Highway 1 and Hemer Road.
Hemer Park is an easy South Island outing for walking, lake views, paddling, and birdwatching. About 11 kilometres of easy trails run through mature coastal Douglas fir, red alder, and big-leaf maple forest, following Holden Lake and marsh areas. The trails are not marked, but BC Parks describes them as easily identifiable and well maintained.
A marsh viewing platform about one kilometre from the parking lot gives visitors a place to watch waterfowl, birds of prey, and wetland activity. Holden Lake also offers canoeing, kayaking, and cutthroat trout fishing, subject to fishing restrictions and current regulations.
The park has local history as well. John and Violet Hemer donated the land in 1981, and remains of a farmstead and the old Pacific Coal Company railway right of way connect the trails to farming and rail history.
Plan around easy walking trails, marsh birdwatching, Holden Lake canoeing and kayaking, cutthroat trout fishing, Heritage Way history, photography, and horseback riding on the upper trail behind the service yard.
Bring drinking water because potable water is not available. Campfires are not permitted. Keep dogs leashed to protect nesting birds and other wildlife, and lock vehicles with valuables out of sight.
