Province of Nova Scotia Things to Do Tips by Redlats

Rushton Provincial Park

We found a beach! At this provincial park, one had to cross a long boardwalk over a salt-water marsh -- once past the marsh, there was a long stretch of beach with many sandbars - where one could walk in the warm ocean water, pretending that there was not a cold wind, but a nice summer breeze blowing by.

I had just assumed that the whole north shore of Nova Scotia would be a sand beach like I remember in PEI, but very little of Nova Scotia shoreline is sand beach. For some reason, we were quite surprised by this.

Directions: About 15 km east of Tatamagouche on the Sunrise Trail

Tidal Bore at Anthony Provincial Park

Just past Truro on the shores of the Bay of Fundy we watched the tides come in. It is pretty amazing. Within a few minutes the sea-weed-covered field in front of us went from brown mud to being full of brown water. The other thing about this park is that in September there are quite a few trees with apples - not very good apples - lots of worms, etc. I tried to chew on a couple (apples, not worms), and was amazed by how salty they were. I guess the constant wind and tides blow a salt mist on the apple trees.

You can see the height of each wave (approx. 1 foot high). This effect is heightened depending on how narrow the bay is where you are (its higher in Truro and Moncton, NB).

If you happen to be going by the Bay of Fundy at high tide, by all means stop and watch the tide come in, but I would not go out of my way to see it. High tide comes twice a day (approximately 12 hours apart), and times are posted at Info booths.

Rita's Tea Room

While driving back to the Canso Causeway from Louisbourg, I was instructed to stop in Big Pond - home of Rita's tea room.

Rita MacNeil is a local singer/song writer who is somewhat famous on Canadian TV. At her concerts and TV variety shows, she invites fans over for tea. The building is a former school, converted to a residence, then to a tea house.

Inside, besides ordering high tea and dainties, my wife spend a long time checking out the displays on her recording career - the gold records, etc. Of course, you could purchase all her CD's and other nick-nacks in the gift store.

Address: Big Pond, NS

Pictou

We had lunch in Pictou. Pictou is located on the Northumberland Shore, and is the south terminus of the PEI ferry.

The Quay is a nice spot for a picnic - out in the sea with seagulls to feed and a nice view of the replica ship Hector and the rest of the boats in the marina.

The original Hector brought approximately 175 Scottish settlers to NS in 1773, christaining the land "New Scotland". In 2000, a replica of the ship was completed, and a museum opened where one can learn about the history of Pictou.

Directions: Sunrise Trail

Website: http://www.townofpictou.com/

Historic Fortress of Louisbourg

The Fortress of Louisbourg historic park is a reconstructed 1740's French fort with costumed interpreters. There are perhaps 100 buildings including town's homes and gardens, barracks, pubs, the Bastion, the fortifications, etc. etc. Thank goodness, they do provide modern plumbing however. The fortress is open May through October.

We spent a good part of two days there. To find out more about a trip to Louisbourg, visit my Louisbourg page.

North of Cape Breton Highlands

From the Cabot trial, You can make 1/2 day trip to the end of the road at Meat Cove. Meat Cove is an isolated place with a grand tenting site on the northmost tip of Cape Breton Island.

See my North-of-Cape Breton Highlands page to explore John Cabot's park, and the road north.

Cape Breton Highlands National Park

One of the highlights of our Nova Scotia vacation was Cape Breton Highlands National Park (CBHNP).

CBHNP has this rugged feel to it. It's about an isolated road, the sea and the forest, the views and the hikes. The weather is not always the best. We had inclement weather on our visit - constantly threatening rain.

There are 28 hikes in the park -- It would take you four or five days to hike every one. On our Cape Breton Park pages, we describe the highlights of our trip through the park. We only spent two days in the park, and hiked the trails that had exhibit boards.

Chéticamp

Chéticamp is an Acadian town at the southwest corner of Cape Breton National Park. It is one of the gateways to the national park.

Chéticamp was primarily settled when Parks Canada decided to create Cape Breton National Park. The park moved any and all homesteaders that had settled within park boundaries outside the park and many landed up in Chéticamp.

It is obvious by the services that this town is primarily a tourist town. There are approx. six B&B's, 10 motels, five restaurants, many shops, museums, Catholic church, a weekly ceiligh, etc. As well it is a fishing village inside a bay, had local whale tours, and there is a beach nearby. We also had one of our lobster suppers at Chéticamp.

You can see from the photo the village houses, fishing boats, the church, etc. For more detail about the area, see my Chéticamp page.

Directions: Cabot Trail

Tatamagouche

Tatamagouche is a seaside town on the north shore of Nova Scotia opposite Strait of Northumberland. We landed up there looking for a beach, besides which we were going to spend a night or two - so we could go for long walks on the beach -- exploring and finding rocks and shells.

Unfortunately, there are no beaches in Tatamagouche - you have to drive 20 km to find a small beach. Tatamagouche has a couple of B&B's, a couple of restaurants and a bunch of souvenir stores -- typical seaside fishing village, turned into seaside tourist village.

The maple tree, by the way was on the front lawn of our B&B (Hollings House). The picture does not do the tree justice. It is a gigantic tree with a trunk that is over two feet in diameter.

Directions: On the Sunrise Trail