Nova Scotia - The Best of this Beautiful Island

Nova Scotia is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for “New Scotland”. After travelling through Cape Breton I was now back on the mainland.

I travelled along narrow forested roads towards the eastern coast of the island. A quaint community called Sheet Harbour was my first stop on the coast. I found a lovely quiet spot near a rushing river to camp. Decided this was the perfect spot to spend 2 nights, stocked up on groceries, enjoyed a local coffee shop and did some remote work at their library.

Nova Scotia is all about Beaches

Nova Scotia has 7500 km (4660 miles) of coastline so there are a lot of beaches on the island. It is also known for having the warmest waters north of the Carolinas. Being mid October I did not go into the water so will have to vouch for that at a later date. I did enjoy walking the beaches and hunting for shells.

The first beach I explored was Martinique Beach, the longest beach in Nova Scotia. Stunning is the only word I have. Then on to Lawrencetown Beach which is known as the best beach for surfing. Another stunning beach. I saw a few brave souls out in the ocean here. I walked the beaches and took pictures of the beautiful views. Deciding I needed a little bit more exercise I also biked the 10 km trail in Lawrencetown Beach Provincial Park.

Beach scene with sand, ocean, blue sky, white clouds, sunshine — Martinique Beach Nova Scotia

beach with reflections of the water and clouds in the wet sand — Lovely reflections at Martinique Beach

beach scene with rocks on the sand looking out to a small surf — Lawrenceton Beach, Nova Scotia

beach scene with dark sand, blue water coming on to it and blue sky with spotting of white clouds — Lawrencetown Beach Provincial Park

beach sand with the work Mom within a heart — Remembering Mom

Rocky beach with ocean and water in the distance — Lawrencetown Beach Provincial Park

Small surf coming into the sandy beach — Only a small surf today.

sunrise over ocean and beach, cloudy sky — I arrived early to see the sunrise.

sunrise at a rocky beach — Another shot of the beautiful sunrise

Wood ramp with side rails leading to the rocky beach — Rocky Beach today

rocks stacked on top of each other — Beach Art

I headed further southwest towards Halifax the capital city of Nova Scotia where I stopped just outside the city for my next night. Waking up the next morning I was not feeling up to being in a big city so I decided to bypass touring downtown Halifax. The more time I spend alone, the more I do not want to be around crowds. Not sure if this is a good thing for not? Perhaps one of those downsides to vanlife.

Peggy’s Cove

View of a blue bay with rocky side and a blue sky — Arriving at Peggy's Cove

View of a red house in the foreground beside the ocean and a White House on the other side of the bay — Stunning view at Peggy's Cove

Orange and blue boats in the forefront with fishing lines on the dock — Colours at Peggy's Cove

view of a large house with a red roofed church behind it — The village of Peggy's Cove

White Lighthouse overlooking blue sky and ocean — Peggy's Cove Nova Scotia

Blue, green, yellow, orange and pink chairs on the cliff overlooking Peggy's cove — A viewing spot at Peggy's Cove

5 colourfully painted chairs viewing Peggy's cove — A spot to enjoy the view

Just under an hours drive east of Halifax is Peggy’s Cove. This is known as one of the most famous sights in Nova Scotia so I had to check it out. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I got there early to beat any crowds. A lovely little coastal village with a lighthouse. It was a lot smaller than I had anticipated.

It is a beautiful setting however it was difficult to take pictures of the lighthouse without having other tourists in the frame and it was not really that busy! The remote sites are my preference rather than the overcrowded spots when travelling. I am happy I went but it was a bit too touristy for my liking. I did a walkabout, took a few pictures, drove a few miles out of the village and enjoyed the quiet views from afar.

Where to Next?

I had the option to cut across the province or continue along the coast. Cutting across would have saved me a couple days travel but I was on a road trip so the whole point was to travel and see as much as I could. Also my heart told me to head to the western coast so I had to go.

The western coast is more remote which appealed to me as well. It was a 6 hour drive along narrow windy roads with only glimpses of the ocean. I could have turned off and explored small bays but decided to continue on towards Yarmouth.

I strolled the main street of Yarmouth exploring the beautiful Victorian houses, supposedly the best examples in the Maritimes. Just a 15 minute drive outside of this coastal town was Cape Forchu Lighthouse on Bear Island. I was alone to admire the beautiful sunset from this remote setting.

From Yarmouth there is a ferry to Bar Harbour, Maine USA but I still had another Canadian province, Prince Edward Island I still wanted to explored.

white and red striped light house — Cape Forchu Lighthouse on Bear Island

Stunning Sunset at Bear Island — Watching Sunset at Bear Island

sunset view over the ocean — Sunset at Bear Island

Acadian Coast

The next day I continued along the 91 km Acadian coast towards Digby. This area was settled more than 400 years ago with the arrival of the first European settlers. Getting overwhelmed with so many sites to see and the history of all the little towns I resigned myself that I could not see everything in one trip.

I also stopped off at Elise Sainte-Marie, a Catholic church built in 1922. It is the largest and oldest wooden church in North America. When I was looking around the caretaker just happened to come out and I asked if I could see inside. He let me in and I spend a few minutes admiring this beautiful old church. He told me the church was no longer being used and is normally closed to the public. Right place, right time!

White van parked infront of old wooden church — I am glad I stopped.

Inside church — I was lucky to get inside

Digby Neck, Nova Scotia

Digby Neck is a peninsula made of two thick lava flows extending into the Bay of Fundy which is the most westerly point in Nova Scotia. My first night was on the mainland at Sandy Cove, a small cove with a run down old dock and boathouse. I spent a quiet, dark night at this lovely spot. Woke up to a spectacular sunrise over the harbour.

yellow clouds behind darker trees and a beach shack — Sunrise over Sandy Cove

Blue sky with white clouds over gray blue ocean — Blue sky finally arrived after stunning sunrise

I would have spent a second night here but the weather was calling for heavy rain and wind so I continued on to Freeport. This is the town that had drawn me to the area. I found a quaint little coastal town with weather-beaten houses along an ocean bay. Brier Island is the the most western tip of this area so I decided I needed to check it out as well.

I had to travel across two islands requiring two ferries to reach the end. One short ride from East Ferry, Digby Neck mainland to Tiverton, Long Island and another slightly longer ride from Long Island to Brier Island.

Brier's Island

Boar’s Head Lighthouse on Brier’s Island was remote and stunningly beautiful. Now I know why I was called to this area. A storm was coming according to the weather report and I was still a bit nervous after Hurricane Fiona so only spent the afternoon on this Island. Had my lunch, walked around and took some pictures.

Digby Neck is one of the places in Nova Scotia I would enjoy coming back to and spending more time. The romantic in me sees this as a perfect spot to rent a cottage on the ocean and write a book!

old wooden picnic table overlooking ocean — Lunch and a view!

Boathouse along a narrow roadside — Boathouse or home?

Looking through a van window to see yellow fishing boat. and yellow seaweed — A peek at the fishing boat

Harbour with several fishing boats — Freeport is a fishing village on Digby Neck

Teal blue fishing boat docked — Fishing boats along the coast

low tide, showing rocks and seaweed with old boathouse in background — Low tide at Freeport, Nova Scotia, Canada

old weather beaten house — A little weather beaten

Boathouse with broken ramp leading up to it. — Old boathouses scattered around Freeport

Old red barn shaped building on the ocean — Fishing industry on Digby coast

Exploring the Northern Coast

My plan was to head across the ferry to St. John in New Brunswick but when I went to book the ticket I found the ferry was in for repairs that week. Everything is for a reason and I am happy I did not miss the northern coast of Nova Scotia. I thoroughly enjoyed two more oceanside camping spots along this route.

First was Houston Beach, a little off the beaten track but worth it. This area is known for having extremely high and low tides, some of the highest in the world. Across the Bay of Fundy is New Brunswick, which is also known for high tides. I travelled the coastal roads and explored a lovely bike trail as well.

Mutton Cove was my second beach camping spot. Another beautiful spot where I was able to park right at the beach. It was a small cove but perfect for a short walk and beach combing.

My week long roadtrip around Nova Scotia has been a great journey. So much to see on this Canadian Island. I will have to come back, perhaps in the spring or summer so I can enjoy those warm ocean waters. Prince Edward Island is next on my travel itinerary.

Where I stayed in Nova Scotia

Oct 8, 9 Sheet harbour, near the river
Oct 10 Walmart Coal Harbour east of Halifax
Oct 11 Walmart Bayers Lake just west of Halifax
Oct 12 Walmart Yarmouth
Oct 13 Sandy Cove on Digby Neck
Oct 14 Houston Beach near Kentville
Oct 15 Mutton Cove Beach

Nova Scotia – The Best of this Beautiful Island