Nanaimo helps purchase $4.2M in land to connect local parks

Mount Benson near Nanaimo, B.C., is pictured. (CTV News)

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN), along with the City of Nanaimo have come together to acquire a significant amount of land which will connect two popular parks.

A combined, 99.1 hectares between the city’s Westwood Lake Park and the RDN’s Mount Benson Regional Park have been acquired from Mosaic Forest Management.

In total, the purchase cost around $4.2 million.

With three parcels of land in total, the RDN purchased two of them for $2.96 million (78.9 hectares) and the City of Nanaimo bought the last parcel for $1.25 million (20.2 hectares).

The parkland expansion will give outdoor users permanent access to this popular recreational corridor which will take them from the shores of Westwood Lake right to the top of Mount Benson.

"It’s piecing the puzzle together quite nicely that allows for publicly-owned land for people to enjoy," said Tom Osborne, general manager of recreation and parks for the RDN.

For years there have been trail systems already linking the two parks together, but they were unofficial because the trails were on private forest lands.

"This legitimizes and authorizes proper usage in the forest and connects it too," said Osborne.

Trailhead maps at both park entrances are expected to be updated soon.

The plan is to use the existing trail infrastructure and install new signage along routes to help users navigate between the two parks.