Three Days in Nova Scotia

 

Canada is awesome! If you haven’t yet visited, I urge you to go. We always have the most fun crossing into the Great White North. The natural scenery is otherwordly, expansively gorgeous, and makes you want to cry with joy at the fact that you are witnessing that view right then. 

Now, for transparency's sake, I’ve only been to Banff and Nova Scotia, and my travel partner has also been to Whistler, so we’ve only seen a small fraction of this beautiful country. Still, I’d like to share one of my journeys with you, a fairly short one, of our three day road-trip through Nova Scotia. We loved this country— the scenery, the friendly people, the cute cafes and small towns, and oh yes, we loved the poutine as well.

OUR JOURNEY

We started our drive from Acadia National Park, leaving in late afternoon. After driving about 4 hours we made a pit stop in St. John, New Brunswick to spend the night in a Walmart parking lot (hey, free is free). The next day we drove on to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia; all in all about 6.5 hours from Acadia. 

First stop was our campsite, the Cornwall/Charlottetown KOA. (We didn't bother trying to boondock/camp for free, so I'm not sure if there are options are that.) With it being fall, there was a chill to the air that got mightier throughout the night. So we wanted the option to run our Mr. Buddy heater. That meant selecting campgrounds with power supply. This campsite was right on the banks of the West River and it’s forested setting gave it a magical feel. No complaints about the site for us! The woman checking us in was super friendly. The basic hookup sites were lined up in rows, so I can imagine there wouldn’t be much privacy, but lucky for us we were the only ones there! Fall is a much less crowded time to visit, as is so with many tourist destinations.

Our site at the Cornwall/Charlottetown KOA.

I didn't get many photos of the Cornwall KOA, so here's one by Steve MacPhail found online.

We didn’t feel like cooking that night so we drove just 10 minutes into Charlottetown and went to the Gahan House. I thought it appropriate to order some PEI mussels (PEI = Prince Edward Island) being right there on the island and all! This restaurant was sooo darling; I loved it! It had a great pub feel to it, very rustic and cozy. We tried a flight of beers and also ordered some poutine (of course!).

Gahan House in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Flight of tasty beers at Gahan House.

EXPLORING PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

The next day we drove across Prince Edward Island and marveled at its beauty. PEI is known as the “Garden of the Gulf", it’s landscape being mostly pastoral. And it actually served as the setting for the classic novel Anne of Green Gables- one of my favorites! This little island is a lush oasis.

We drove across the island and landed ourselves on the coast in Prince Edward Island National Park. Here, we found a spot overlooking the ocean and made lunch, then strolled the beach. We continued our drive slightly more north along the coast and stopped at Cavendish Beach. I was both impressed and humbled by the beauty and warmth of the red clay cliffs of PEI. It was magnificent. We stayed here for a few hours, playing in the surf with our dog Noah, then walking along the beach looking at cool things washed up on shore.

Making lunch in the van at Prince Edward Island National Park.

The red cliffs at Cavendish Beach.

Me with my best buddy at Cavendish Beach.

So many neat sea plants, rocks, and shells to admire on Cavendish Beach.

After exploring the beach, we had to hit the road and make it back to Charlottetown to catch the ferry that would take us from PEI to mainland Nova Scotia. (For those interested, the ferry goes from Wood Islands, PEI to Caribou, Nova Scotia on Northumberland Ferries Limited; its 75 minutes long and cuts out the hassle of driving 3+ hours).

Unfortunately for us, as we were driving to the ferry we came across road construction that took us on a significant detour around, ultimately adding 20 minutes to our drive. We made it to the ferry 5 minutes too late and missed it. Whoops! On the bright side, they allowed us to switch our reservation to the following morning on the first ferry out and even better, allowed us to park in their lot overnight. Right on! What could have been a mini-disaster turned out to be not so bad at all. Cheers to the friendly ferry employee who welcomed us and let us stay the night.

ON TO MAINLAND NOVA SCOTIA

So the following morning we make it on the ferry and over to mainland Nova Scotia. First stop was the small quaint town of Antigonish. My partner Theo’s ancestors are from here, going back many generations.

We sought out Main St. in Antigonish, first going to a cute coffee shop called the Tall and Small Cafe. Theo had a work meeting so he needed the strong wifi, and I needed a cozy space to work on my blog. This place delivered. Great drinks and smoothies, and what looked like good food, though I didn’t try any myself.

Antigonish - “the Highland Heart of Nova Scotia."

Next, a hearty meal was needed, so we walked just 20 feet down from the cafe and went to Little Christo’s Pizzeria and Mediterranean eatery. This was on a Monday around 4 pm so we were the only ones there. The sweet woman that seated us was also our waiter, and she was super engaging and welcoming. We got some pizza and a Greek specialty, moussaka. Super good food! 

We decided to spend the night in Antigonish, so we found a stealth spot to park the van and slept peacefully. For breakfast the next morning (can you tell how much we love to eat?!), we hit up a small place called the Waffle Bus Stop where they make fresh Belgian waffles, either to eat as is or made it into a scrumptious sandwich. Oh Lordy I am craving one right now just thinking about it. This is a must stop.

Amazing pizza at Little Christo's in Antigonish.

This place was a little hard to find at first, and I'm so glad we did find it.

So much yumminess at Waffle Bus Stop in Antigonish.

CAPE BRETON & THE CABOT TRAIL

We continued our travels through mainland Nova Scotia to Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There happened to be a big event in town at the same time as us! Every October there’s the Celtic Colors International Festival with music all day long, and some late night shows starting at 11 and going until the wee hours of the morning. It’s a great chance to check out local music venues and other buildings, meet locals and enjoy the culture, and of course be entertained with amazing music.

One of the many shows for Celtic Colors Int'l Festival.

Next up was finding a campsite; Baddeck Cabot Trail campground was just what we were looking for. This campground also had sites with power, though we choose one without; the spots were far removed from each other with tall trees offering privacy. It was mid-week, so the place was sparsely populated. I loved this campground; there are trees everywhere and a big lake right next to it- it's actually part of the much larger Baddeck Bay. This place would be great in the summer, but fall was lovely there too. The campground was also right at the “beginning” of the Cabot Trail drive, so it was the perfect setting.

Our sweet forested campsite at Baddeck Cabot Trail campground.

The campground is right on the banks of Baddeck Bay.

Enjoying the lovely scenery of Baddeck, Nova Scotia.

We set off in the morning to drive the Cabot Trail. The 298 km (yes km, we’re in Canada) famous, scenic drive winds though Cape Breton Highlands National Park of Canada and offers gorgeous vistas every few miles. There are also a ton of trails all over the park, some short, some medium.. enough that you can spend the whole day hiking and exploring. You’ll also pass a number of quaint fishing villages. There’s grocery stores, gas stations, cute cafes, etc... there's lots of amenities along the Cabot Trail.

Our route and stops along the Cabot Trail.

There are LOTS of cool stops along the Cabot Trail. Here are the ones we went to:

- L'abri cafe, restaurant et bar in Cheticamp: Amazing food, very cute interior, and great ocean views. 

- Skyline Trail: A visit to Cape Breton Highlands National Park wouldn’t be complete without a gentle hike on the famous Skyline Trail, which is the spot for sunset viewing and one of the most iconic sights of Nova Scotia.

- Meat Cove (a little drive off the main Cabot Trail): Where the road literally ends. This off-the-beaten-path location, Meat Cove, is the most northerly settlement in Nova Scotia. It takes driving on some dirt roads to get there but it is worth it. The route to this scenic, historic fishing village is incredible with spectacular views of the coastline. Apparently there's a good place to get clam chowder (Chowder Hut), but unfortunately we just ate and didn't stop there.

- Black Brook Cove: We stopped off here to take some pictures and explore the beach. The gentle waterfall and babbling brook draining into the ocean made this place feel very special. There's a picnic area, fire pits, and hiking trails to keep yourself occupied here.

- Ingonish Beach: What makes Ingonish Beach remarkable is the fact you can jump from saltwater at the beach to a freshwater lake in just a few, small steps.

L'abri cafe on the Cabot Trail. So cute!

POUTINE! 'nuf said.

Skyline hiking trail off of the Cabot Trail.

The rural and isolated Meat Cove.

Black Brook Cove- great spot to wander around.

Views from driving the Cabot Trail.

After a successful (and long) day traveling along the Cabot Trail, we were ready to rest. We found Broad Cove campground on the east side of Cape Breton. This campground also has a nice forest setting with lots of trees, and is close to the coastline with a sandy beach. One thing to note is that we didn't get great cell service here, but they have WiFi at the campground (best access to it is in the laundry room). There are over 200 sites to choose from, all broken up into 4 different areas, but we decided to go to the electrical hook-up one (in the #1-34 area) so we could run our heater. This was the most full campground we came to (though it wasn't that bad) and the spots are pretty close together so there's not much privacy. But the people we met were nice and everybody was just out there camping having a good time.

Also to note here is that you have a very good chance at seeing cool wildlife. Fellow campers saw a moose (we did not sadly), and we also saw two bobcats chasing each other. Such amazing wilderness out there!

The sandy beach that is at the end of Broad Cove campground.

The campground area of Broad Cove.

At the campsite. Told ya it was cold! Even my very furry pup Noah needed some extra warmth.

THE END

This trip to Nova Scotia was one of our last from full-time van living. It will be dearly remembered. I wish we had time to go to the Bay of Fundy and check out bigger towns like Halifax, but I am super happy with what we did get to explore. I hope you liked reading about my Nova Scotia adventures and it serves you well if you're planning a trip there. As always, reach out if you have questions or would like to pick my brain about our travels. :-)