Tucked just minutes from downtown Nanaimo, Protection Island offers something increasingly rare: genuine island living without sacrificing urban convenience. This 9,000 sq. ft. lot sits steps from scenic Smugglers Beach in one of BC’s most distinctive and sought-after communities.
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There are very few places left on Vancouver Island where you can be ten minutes from a city centre and feel like you've left the modern world behind. Protection Island is one of them. This 9,000 sq. ft. lot sits steps from Smugglers Beach on a gently sloped parcel facing a community garden, in a harbour community that has quietly built one of the most devoted followings in coastal BC.
Life on Protection Island moves at its own pace. Streets carry names like Pirates Lane and Captain Morgans Blvd, golf carts outnumber cars, and the beach is always within reach for kayaking and tidepooling. A tight-knit mix of families, boaters, artists, and professionals call the island home, anchored by the Dinghy Dock Pub—Canada's only floating pub.
For boaters, the location is exceptional. The island sits at the mouth of Nanaimo's inner harbour, one of the most sheltered anchorages on the BC coast. A community dock serves island residents directly, with full-service marine amenities nearby including moorage, fuel dock, haul-out, and repair facilities—all minutes away by water.
The lot is build-ready and offers a rare opportunity to establish a permanent residence, vacation retreat, or investment property in a community that simply cannot be replicated. Properties of this character on Protection Island seldom come to market.
103 Captain Morgans Blvd - Protection Island
Access from Nanaimo Marina.
Protection Island is home to approximately 330 full-time residents across 360 properties, a scale that keeps the community genuinely tight-knit without feeling isolated. Ferry service runs hourly from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., connecting residents to a city of nearly 100,000 with a full range of urban amenities within a short crossing. Despite sitting in the heart of the harbour, most of the island remains quiet, its forest dulling city noise to a murmur. Residents have access to weekly grocery deliveries, private waste collection, and city water, practical infrastructure that supports comfortable year-round living.
49°10'37.66"N and 123°55'6.57"W
All to the lot line.
$1,513 (2025)
R3
LOT 291, PLAN VIP14111, NANAIMO LAND DISTRICT, DOUGLAS IS KNOWN AS PROTECTION ISLAND
PID 004-335-082
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Our property descriptions and geographical information are taken from the BC Assessment Authority, Land Titles Office, government maps and other sources. While LandQuest® does not guarantee the information, we believe it to be accurate, but should not be relied upon without verification. This communication is not intended to cause or induce breach of an existing agency agreement.
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