Nova Scotia

[mcdanrs]

We are starting to plan a summer trip up the east coast with Nova Scotia as the destination. Having never been there, is there a best time to go and best area to stay with our 25’ AS. Do you recommend any particular activities. We are mostly sightseeing.

[LNBright]

Following. Haven't made it to Nova Scotia yet, on our to-do list.

Don't expect to get to go this year, tho'... expect the Canadian border to be closed to non-essential travel for this year... :/

[Mollysdad]

I went years ago. Not with an Airstream.
But sightseeing in mind there are two main areas. The 160 mile loop road around the Cape Breton Highlands, worth a couple days at least.
We spent some time in Baddeck.
And then the south coast must see, Lunenberg and Peggy's Cove.
Lunenberg is ripped out of the 1800's, where wooden dorys are still made with hand tools. Peggy's Cove is a charming fishing village, very small, great lighthouse, and the arrival point of many of the victims of the Titanic.
With apologies to the fine folks of NS, the central area and north coast look a lot like Ohio. June seems to be black fly season.
As you drive in from New Brunswick, there's lots of interesting places to watch the Bay Of Fundy tides come in. The times are posted. We sat in bleachers like a high school football game and watched the dry creek bed suddenly start filling. I think we applauded and moved on.
The other amazing thing was the stars on a dark night. The Big Dipper was almost overhead. I had a hard time finding things with the higher latitude.

[rowiebowie]

Our resident expert is Interblog who besides being born there, makes an annual pilgrimage there from Houston. She may see this and respond or you can search her threads.

Here's one of her recent threads:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f54...-a-209483.html

Maybe most important is whether the Canada-US border will ever re-open to normal travel.

[Wayne&Sam]

We were there in 2019, mostly on Cape Breton. Had a great time. Add PEI to your itinerary.

[AgBullet]

We took a Maritimes tour in our FC27 in Sept 2019. What a great trip! Started in PEI, then ferry to NS, down to Halifax, Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg, over to Digby (great scallops and whale watching!), then on to NB and Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy, then finally into Maine. Super friendly people, mostly good campgrounds...all in all a terrific trip!

[tjdonahoe]

We left Montana in late August.and spent part of September in Nova Scotia..it was very nice.we parked the as at Pictou...and traveled from there

[Cyclist]

Our preference is late August and early September as the summer crowds have thinned out, the weather is still nice and the campgrounds should be open. In Lunenburg, the week after Labour Day, the Chamber of Commerce operated campground downtown was offering a special of four nights for the price of three (plus accepting AAA/CAA for an additional 10% discount).

If you have the time - Cape Breton including the national park and Fortress Loiusbourg. Check out the Gaelic music - Mabou is a centre (see below). Baddeck has the Alexander Graham Bell museum. Bell experimented with aircraft and hydrofoils the Bras d'or Lake.

We traveled the Eastern shore past Halifax years ago and it was lovely and not overrun by tourists. It's a great place to kayak with lots of bays (and seals). Halifax is worth a few days - the waterfront and the Citadel overlooking downtown. If the weather is nice, take the ferry across the harbour to Dartmouth - it was the price of a bus ticket and the return was free. The ferry has a nice open upper deck for viewing and it's a lot cheaper than a commercial tour. We were there in 2014.

The Southern shore includes Lunenburg,a UNESCO heritage site. Peggy's Cove is lovely but overrun with tourists. Let's hope the border is reopened this summer. Not only has the border been closed between Canada and the U.S. but the Atlantic provinces have there own bubble whereby I couldn't visit without a 14 day quarantine.

https://jsis.washington.edu/canada/m...0Cape%20Breton.

https://www.facebook.com/MabouMusic/

[Zach05855]

You better check travel in NS.

https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/travel/

You may want to postpone this trip until 2022 or after restrictions are removed.

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Our favorite camp ground in North America is in Nova Scotia. The owners are fantastic and if you tell them Tim and Ursulla sent you they may smile and say “who?” Or they may remember us helping them one season with chopping wood and random odd jobs around the camp ground. We originally booked for 3 days and ended up staying a month because the people were so amazing.

https://www.oldshipyardcampground.com

[AnnaBelle33]

Tim - meet you there Fall ‘22. We were near there Oct 2019. Amazing place!!

[GetawA-S]

Whenever you get to go, it will be very memorable. We included many of the above mentioned stops, plus the Anne Murray museum. We did end up with a piece of slate embedded in a tire. A super helpful garage south of Quebec City got us sorted. Try to stay on the paved roads - the local bedrock is rough.

[Jim Flower]

Down town Lunenburg


Blockhouse campground walking distance around town

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Originally Posted by AnnaBelle33

Tim - meet you there Fall ‘22. We were near there Oct 2019. Amazing place!!

Don’t tempt us! I think we are trying to do Alaska. Doesn’t look like Alaska will work out this year... but if urs has an option for Nova Scotia again, she may change her mind 🤣[emoji23]

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

That photo of the camp ground didn’t load. Hope this one works.

[mcdanrs]

Thank you all who replied to my post about traveling to Nova Scotia. I wasn't aware that the border is closed to non-essential travel and will change our plans to the next year. Based on the replies and our general travel preferences, I suspect we will plan the trip for September 2022. Thank you so much for the detailed information on where to stay and go. I'm printing it all and will use it in our trip planning. This forum is the best!
Randy

[OTRA15]

FYI Randy, the situation at the border is fluid and may change:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f54...ed-215723.html

For Nova Scotia, the following thread is an interesting read, as are all of Lucy's adventures:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f42...ed-152034.html

. . . especially starting at Post #96. [hot link in blue]

We went to PEI in the late 1990's and had a great time. The warmest ocean salt water north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, due to the Gulf Stream having a back-eddy to the west which bathes PEI in her warmth.



Happy Trails.

[Mollysdad]

I'd like to add a great side trip.
Just before you enter New Brunswick on the Maine coast, we learned about the Puffins. The birds spend almost all their lives at sea and only come ashore to nest. We were told to contact "Bill" in Machiasport.
He has a boat. So I went to the dock in Machiasport and yelled "Bill"!
Small town, a head popped up from a beached boat and he agreed to take us to Machias Seal Island where the puffins nest. About ten miles offshore, and no dock, we had to walk a plank to get ashore.
The island has a few blinds. The birds fly away as you approach, but after you go into the blind, they forget you and come right back. They were literally 10' away as we snapped photos.
Bill was a marine biologist and the island controls how many people can visit.
It was a highlight of our trip!

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

. . .
. . . So I went to the dock in Machiasport and yelled "Bill"!
Small town, a head popped up from a beached boat and he agreed to take us to Machias Seal Island where the puffins nest.
. . .

Great story and photos . . . thanks!

What was your camera/lens setup please.

[B. Cole]

Isn't Camp Canada closed?
We should just make it the 51st State.
Kinda like Alaska