Hiking trails of mainland Nova Scotia

358 Pages·2012·23.979 MB·English

by  Haynes, Michael

HAYNES
With trails from Yarmouth to the Canso Causeway, this revised
edition of Hiking Trails of Mainland Nova Scotia provides illus-
trated descriptions of the most enjoyable and challenging hikes
that mainland Nova Scotia has to offer. Michael Haynes hiked
and mapped every trail and describes in detail the featured
routes — from quiet afternoon excursions to serious multi-day MH
expeditions. Ik
a
I
N
i
Profiling 60 trails, including Cape Split, Brier Island, and ng

portions of the newly created Cape to Cape Trail, this guide lT
ar
includes detailed maps and descriptions as well as information nA
on getting to the trailhead, GPS coordinates, time, length, dif- dIl
ficulty, and facilities. Photographs of interesting sites, charts, S
O
hiking tips, and sidebars on historical, cultural, and natural Nf
subjects round out the experience.
O
V
Completely revised and updated, this 9th edition of Nova
A
Scotia’s most reliable trail guide, a companion to Hiking Trails
of Cape Breton, features at least one trail in every county in
S
mainland Nova Scotia and often many more. Whether you’re a
C
long-time resident or a visitor new to the province, this book is
O
an essential guide for walkers and hikers.
T HIkINg TrAIlS O f
MICHAEL HAYNES is the author of several best-selling trail IA Mainland NOVA SCOTIA
guides and is a leading authority on Active Transportation. He

has worked for numerous trail organizations, including Go for 9
t
Green and the Nova Scotia Trails Federation. He is now the h

Director of TransActive Solutions through which he conducts e
d
workshops and presentations on trail development and use. i
t
i
o
n
For more information about the trails, visit hikingnovascotia.
9th edition
blogspot.ca.
$24.95 Michael Haynes
www.gooselane.com
Also by Michael Haynes
Hiking Trails of Cape Breton
Trails of Halifax Regional Municipality
Hiking Trails of Ottawa, the National Capital Region
and Beyond
Hiking Trails of Nova Scotia
Michael haynes
Hiking Trails of Mainland
NOVA SCOTIA
9th edition
Copyright © 2012 by Michael Haynes. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be Haynes, Michael, 1955-
reproduced or used in any form or by any means, Hiking trails of mainland Nova Scotia / Michael Haynes. —
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, 9th ed.
recording or any retrieval system, without the
prior written permission of the publisher or a Previous ed. published under title: Hiking trails of Nova Scotia.
licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Includes bibliographical references and index.
Agency (Access Copyright). To contact Access ISBN 978-0-86492-685-2
Copyright, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call
1-800-893-5777. 1. Trails — Nova Scotia — Guidebooks.
2. Hiking — Nova Scotia — Guidebooks.
Edited by Charles Stuart. 3. Nova Scotia — Guidebooks.
Cover and interior photographs by Michael Haynes I. Haynes, Michael, 1955- . Hiking trails of Nova Scotia.
(unless otherwise noted). II. Title.
Maps prepared by Digital Projections.
Cover and page design by Julie Scriver. GV199.44.C2H393 2012 796.5109716 C2012-905158-6
Printed in Canada.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Goose Lane Editions acknowledges the generous support of
the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada
through the Canada Book Fund (CBF), and the Government of
New Brunswick through the Department of Culture, Tourism,
and Healthy Living.
Goose Lane Editions
500 Beaverbrook Court, Suite 330
Fredericton, New Brunswick
CANADA E3B 5X4
www.gooselane.com
contents
7 Foreword
9 Preface
11 Introduction
27 Halifax–Marine Drive
75 Evangeline Scenic Travelway
133 Glooscap Scenic Travelway
179 Lighthouse Route Scenic Travelway
237 Sunrise Scenic Travelway
281 Kejimkujik National Park
339 Acknowledgements
341 Updates from
Hiking Trails of Nova Scotia, 8th
edition
343 Select Bibliography
344 Web Pages
347 Index of User Tips and Sidebars
349 Index
Foreword
Writing a book about Nova Scotia’s Scotia’s landscape of woods, wet-
trails is no easy task because so many lands, rugged coastline, mountains,
diverse and informal trails exist. waterfalls, and everything else that
Picking an appropriate sampling of is Nova Scotia.
these trails is where Michael Haynes Michael has a particular sensibility
excels. His experience as Executive in guiding folks on an exploration.
Director of the Nova Scotia Trails In CBC Radio interviews in Halifax,
Federation from 1993 to 2003, plus Sydney, and Ottawa, Michael shares
twenty-five years of hiking — ex- his acquired knowledge with a sense
ploring, inventorying, assessing, of humour. Making the trail experi-
and writing about trails old and new ence come alive over the airwaves is
— give this book a real leading edge no easy task; however, Michael has
as one of the best Nova Scotia trail inspired many people to hike Nova
guides. Scotia’s trails through his talks (more
Michael hiked, biked, and walked than 350); through many presenta-
around 3,000 km (1,875 mi) of trails tions; and through eight books that
for the ninth edition of Hiking Trails profile more than 410 trails, with
of Nova Scotia. In this book, Hiking additional tidbits on hiking in gen-
Trails of Mainland Nova Scotia, he eral. He has earned much respect
offers solid advice to both the nov- from many regions of the province
ice and seasoned hiker. Readers who and throughout the world, as he pro-
are new to hiking will be gratified to motes trails and hiking in his home
learn that even the most challenging province of Nova Scotia, throughout
trails can be conquered as one’s fit- Canada, and abroad.
ness level increases. And with sixty We often refer to Michael affec-
trails to choose from in this volume, tionately as one of Nova Scotia’s
there should certainly be a trail for leading “hiking gurus.” Our asso-
everyone who consults it. We hope ciation, Hike Nova Scotia, presented
that this book succeeds in its ultimate him with the “HIKE NS Honorary
aim to inspire you to explore Nova Life Award” for his outstanding
7
leadership and commitment to the The key is to hike your own hike
promotion and development of hiking and explore the trails on your own,
in Nova Scotia. with a friend, or with your family.
The purpose of Hike NS is to cre- Now that you have this book in your
ate a dynamic and unified voice for hands, just make a plan and go.
the Nova Scotia hiking community, One final note: you can follow the
and to create a culture of walking, Hiking Trails of Nova Scotia blog at
hiking, and snowshoeing, one step hikingnovascotia.blogspot.ca, also
at a time. Hike NS also wishes to written by Michael. This is the au-
ensure that a diversity of hiking thor’s way of keeping information up
adventures exists in Nova Scotia to date and sharing it with readers.
through advocacy, promotion, and
support for hiking opportunities. The Happy Hiking!
organization wants to ensure that
world-class coastal and inland hiking Debra Ryan
opportunities exist, and that adequate President
resources are allocated to the various Hike Nova Scotia
provincial agencies, municipalities,
and volunteer organizations to make
that happen.
Hike NS is about creating oppor-
tunities for guided hikes, encouraging
dynamic discussions, and exciting
people about hiking. After all, it is
just plain fun to experience the out-
doors by foot, through the forests
and fields, highlands and lowlands,
wetlands and coastline.
The many trails described in this
book constitute important Nova
Scotia infrastructure and need to be
supported. Please look kindly upon
the agencies and organizations that
build them, and give your feedback
and support. We hope you will join
us and learn more about us at www.
hikenovascotia.ca.
8 Hiking Trails of Mainland Nova Scotia, 9th edition
Preface
For the first time in its history, Hiking Scotia, and many others that ultim-
Trails of Nova Scotia has been pub- ately were not included as part of
lished as more than one volume. this collection. Wherever possible, I
What was once covered in the pages have tried to profile managed trails,
of one book is now, in 2012, con- selecting them over unmanaged trails.
tained in three separate and distinct I have written the descriptions found
manuscripts. Trails of the Halifax in the book based upon what I viewed
Regional Municipality features thirty at the moment I walked each path.
routes in the HRM, none of which is There have been many changes
more than 10 km (0.6 mi) long, and to the trails in the province in the
it is designed for casual and novice ten years since the eighth edition
walkers. Hiking Trails of Cape Breton was published. The development
profiles forty paths in the four coun- of hundreds of kilometres/miles of
ties of Cape Breton Island, while abandoned rail line as recreational
Hiking Trails of Mainland Nova Scotia trails has more than doubled the
highlights sixty walking routes in the distance of managed trails in Nova
fourteen counties south of the Canso Scotia over the past decade. Although
Causeway. some might not find these routes to be
These three volumes combined the best walking experience, in some
outline detailed descriptions and areas of the province — in particular
maps for 130 different hiking routes, the South Shore, and Yarmouth and
almost 1,500 km (940 mi) of trails in Digby counties — rail trails have been
total, by far the greatest amount of almost the only new development.
Nova Scotia walking paths profiled in Fortunately, in addition to new
published hiking guides. And each is rail trails, there has also been an ex-
accompanied by a map, photographs, plosion of wilderness hiking paths,
and the trailhead GPS coordinates. particularly in the Halifax Regional
In order to write this book, I Municipality and along the route of
hiked or biked every route profiled the proposed Cape to Cape Trail in
in Hiking Trails of Mainland Nova Antigonish, Pictou, Colchester, and
9
Cumberland counties. There are now Please check the “Updates” section
some truly challenging long-distance for at least fifteen trail listings from
managed footpaths available in the the eighth edition that you can still
province, and I have attempted to use.
include a fair number of these. I hope you find this new edition of
In order to provide some balance, Hiking Trails of Mainland Nova Scotia
and not have the book be nothing useful. I especially hope it encourages
but routes for experienced hikers, I you to explore Nova Scotia’s truly
have added some of the more inter- magnificent outdoors in the way it
esting municipal park trails, such as can best be experienced: on foot.
Victoria Park in Truro and Trenton
Steeltown Centennial Park. Even so, Michael Haynes
this book contains more intermediate June 2012
and advanced routes than the previ-
ous edition.
The ninth edition also sees the re-
turn of Kejimkujik National Park as a
separate region with ten trail listings.
This is partly because new trail con-
struction has meant that I can now
find at least ten useable routes in each
of the Annapolis Valley (Evangeline)
and South Shore (Lighthouse) re-
gions without using something in
Kejimkujik, and also because we
have expanded this book from fifty
to sixty trails.
One final important note: in a
numb er of cases, if I felt there was a
subs titute route nearby, I replaced a
listing from the eighth edition with
the new trail. For example, I did
not relist the Beechville – Lakeside
Timberlea (BLT) Trail, instead pro-
filing the new Chain of Lakes Trail.
However, the listing for the BLT Trail
in the eighth edition is still usable.
10 Hiking Trails of Mainland Nova Scotia, 9th edition
introduction
Nova Scotia is known as Canada’s figures were almost exactly reversed.
Ocean Playground, and it has always As a result of this demographic
been defined by its intimate embrace shift, the province is filled with the
by the Atlantic Ocean. The province remains of abandoned commun-
escapes being an island only by the ities and criss-crossed with former
most tenuous of land connections, settlement or logging roads. Walking
and its corrugated coastline, dotted through a seemingly mature forest,
with countless small islands and in- you may come across a moss-covered
dented by hundreds of hidden bays, stone wall or flowering apple trees in
boasts an astonishing length of at a field rapidly growing over. Many
least 7,000 km (4,375 mi). Wherever of the newest trails in Nova Scotia,
you travel in Nova Scotia, you are such as the rail trails, have been de-
never more than 60 km (37.5 mi) veloped on properties that have been
from the ocean. Yet this also makes abandoned for their original purpose.
the province a fabulous place to hike These are hikes through human, and
because of its exceptional coastal not only natural, history.
scenery. Hiking Trails of Mainland Nova
The economic realities of the mod- Scotia profiles sixty walking routes
ern world have affected the pattern of spread across the length of the en-
human settlement in the province. tire province, excepting Cape Breton,
A large percentage of its popula- which is covered in a separate book.
tion of fewer than 1 million, nearly For the purpose of selecting which
40%, lives in the provincial capital trails to include, and to attempt to
of Halifax, and as the countryside ensure representation by at least one
has depopulated so has the forest track in every county, I divided main-
reclaimed the ground that had once land Nova Scotia into six geographic
been cleared for family farms and districts, five roughly based upon the
pasture. In 1900, nearly 75% of the provincial tourism regions, and the
land area of Nova Scotia was cleared sixth in Kejimkujik National Park.
land and 25% forested. By 2000, the In each of these districts ten hiking
11