Hammond Bay is one of the most sought-after neighbourhoods in Nanaimo. Want to know why? Keep Reading! I’ll be covering why this area is so desirable such as the incredible ocean views, and if you stick around until the end I’ll share a HUGE frustration people have with Hammond Bay.
Hammond Bay Road stretches along the northern coastline in Nanaimo until it intersects with Island Highway going West. The neighbourhood itself is located on the northeastern tip of Nanaimo between Departure Bay and North Nanaimo, but its boundaries are a bit ambiguous. For the sake of this video, I will be using the Vancouver Island real estate boards parameters.
When considering where you want to live in Nanaimo or anywhere, location is very important and you’ll need to consider what’s important to you and your family. Hammond Bay is ranked quite high on the scale for a quiet place near parks and good schools but low if you’re looking for amenities and walkability.
If beach access and nature are high on your list, this can be a great location for you. Neck Point Park is situated here and is where Simon and I did our Polar Bear dip! You can walk the just-under 3km loop around the park in around 45 minutes and the vantage point gives you awesome ocean views as well as views of “Shack Island”. There are public washrooms and picnic tables if you want to spend the afternoon outdoors as well.
Just down from Neck Point Park is another popular destination for locals and tourists alike, Piper’s Lagoon Park. This is another great place to come during the day, both when the tide is in and out. During low tide the Page Lagoon get’s a bit mucky, so if you plan to walk there be prepared for your shoes to go missing. It’s a great place to see otters and other marine life as well as bird watching.
When you are at Piper’s Lagoon Park you will see that there are homes built at the edge of the lagoon on Place Road and Lagoon Road. The homes with beach access are some of the most sought-after as there are few walk-on waterfront homes in Nanaimo. Many in Hammond Bay are cliffside making these property unique and pricey, for that reason alone.
Where this neighbourhood is located you will notice that you will be using your car to get to places a bit more. Roads can be hilly and your amenities aren’t in this area, albeit not far away either. Think of this neighbourhood as more residential with your shopping and restaurants being about 5-10 minutes away by car, unless you’re going to Piper’s Pub just off Hammond Bay Road as you drive towards Neck Point. If you don’t have a car, many bus routes drive the long stretch of Hammond Bay road and will take you where you need to go, from downtown to the ferry terminal, to the mall.
Hammond Bay is home to one of the best French Immersion schools in Nanaimo, Hammond Bay Elementary or, Ecole Hammond Bay. Located just off Neck point park, this school is nestled into a quiet area and is one of 3 French immersion schools but is the only exclusively French immersion school. Side note- french immersion school placements are done by a lottery system here in Nanaimo.
Now for the reason you’re all really here- the views! Many homes in Hammond Bay are either built on the rocky embankments up from the beach or high up on the hilly terrain. Either way, there isn’t a lack of ocean views in this neighborhood making it some of the most expensive real estate in the city. Imagine living with the views on Gulfview Drive?
Even if the ocean isn’t directly in sight from your home, the drives from Golden Oaks Estates, which is a newer development, and the Glen Oaks communities for example make up for that.
Hammond Bay in my opinion is a dream location if you’re looking to relocate to Vancouver Island as you’ll be reminded every day of its beauty.
I promised I would be candid and share ONE THING that drives me bananas about Hammond Bay and that is the cell service reception. I know I’m not alone. And Frankly, I don’t understand how it’s 2023 in this city and there is a huge zone with ZERO bars as you drive along Hammond Bay road. I’ve been completely lost and can’t pull up my GPS or even make a phone call and have just had to drive until I get to somewhere with 1 bar. Why?!
