Is there anything to do in Lantzville?

Yes! Here are just a few of the activities you can do while visiting Lantzville:
• Take a nature cruise from nearby Schooner Cove in Nanoose Bay to view the 400 or so sea lions that spend the winter on Ada Islands off the Lantzville waterfront.
• The beaches around Lantzville are great places to learn the fine art of beachcombing!

• Golf: The Winchelsea View Golf Course offers an 18-hole golf course in Lantzville, featuring spectacular views of the Strait of Georgia and the Coastal Mountains of the B.C. mainland. Nanaimo and the areas to the north have seen the proliferation of golf courses. Located 3 miles (5 km) north of Nanaimo is the Nanaimo Golf Club, a demanding 18-hole course with beautiful views of the water.

• Mountain Biking: The 12-km Blackjack Ridge Round Lake Loop south of Lantzville combines trails and gravel roads to provide excellent riding to the summit of Blackjack Ridge and farther to Round Lake.

• The Qualicum National Wildlife Area is located at the western end of Nanoose Harbour, 5 miles (8 km) west of Lantzville. Two small streams, Nanoose and Bonell Creeks, run through the area and enter the bay. At low tides extensive tidal flats are exposed over which the waters of the two creeks fan into many channels. The sheltered bay winters large numbers of waterfowl and is an important year-round resting and feeding area for migratory birds. The wildlife area itself has a varied habitat of mudflats, marine spits, saltmarsh, wet meadows, and riparian vegetation. More than 200 species of plants and more than 190 species of animals, of which 131 are bird species, are found here. Most birds can be seen throughout the year, but large numbers are only present during migration and winter. Large concentrations of diving ducks and gulls occur in early spring, coinciding with the herring spawn. Bald Eagles are abundant in January when salmon spawn in the coastal streams and rivers.

• The area between Lantzville and Nanaimo has a number of good freshwater fishing lakes, all stocked with rainbow trout and cutthroat trout, providing good fishing from March to June and September to October. Long Lake is a good smallmouth bass lake, and Brannen Lake has good-sized rainbows and cutthroats.

• Pipers Lagoon Regional Park east of Lantzville has both a sheltered and an exposed side - take your pick of beaches on either one. The lagoon drains so dry that at low tide you can wander out to nearby Shack Island. The eastern shore of the park faces the Strait of Georgia, where a stiff wind is often blowing.

• South of Lantzville is Newcastle Island Provincial Marine Park, lying just a few hundred meters off Nanaimo Harbour and beckoning to visitors to pop over and explore. The 336-hectare park offers an island shoreline dominated by steep sandstone cliffs and ledges, punctuated by beaches. Caves and caverns exist along the shoreline and provide a marked contrast to the interior of the island, studded with Douglas fir, arbutus, Garry oak and dogwood trees. Visitors can spend the day walking, hiking or cycling along an extensive trail system, or take 2-1/2 hours to walk around the island (8 km). Swimming, picnicking and wildlife viewing are favourite pastimes on Newcastle Island. The tidal stream is a favourite feeding ground for raccoon and river otter.

• The bustling Nanaimo Harbour is the central focus for visitors to Nanaimo, to the south of Lantzville. A playground of land and sea activities, Nanaimo is a perfect place for a family vacation, a year-round golf getaway, or a romantic weekend. A former coal-mining town, Nanaimo has evolved into something very different, with a clean, accessible waterfront, cultural festivals in the summer, a university campus with a marvellous view, and superb dining.

• Vancouver Island University has played an active role in the cultural, intellectual, and economic life of the central Vancouver Island region since 1969. The main campus is located in Nanaimo and regional campuses have been established in Duncan and Parksville, as well as in Powell River on the British Columbia mainland.
Vancouver Island University offers a range of undergraduate degrees, as well as a wide variety of career/technology programs leading to one-year certificates and two-year diplomas, many of which transfer into degree programs. Faculty at VIU place a strong emphasis on teaching, learning and student life, and also engage their students in research and scholarly activity.
Over the years, VIU has grown into an institution that serves 6,800 full-time students and about 15,000 students who take general interest and community education courses. VIU’s athletic teams traditionally place in the top in B.C. and Canada, with 36 provincial and six national titles won by the VIU Mariners athletic teams.
Vancouver Island University has a strong commitment to internationalization and provides innovative opportunities for global understanding to its students, faculty and community. Access to exchanges, international field schools and practicum opportunities are offered, and Canadian students can earn recognition and a certificate for their multicultural and international experiences. Each year VIU welcomes more than 1,000 international students from more than 50 countries to its campus. Vancouver Island University delivers an MBA and an International MBA in partnership with the University of Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. In the past two decades, Vancouver Island University has also become a leader in international education and contract training for business and industry.