Nova Scotia is almost entirely surrounded by water — the Bay of Fundy on the west, the Northumberland Strait on the north, and the Atlantic on the south and east — and the variety of coastline this produces, from the dramatic red-rock cliffs above the world's highest tides to the fog-swept granite headlands of the Atlantic shore, makes the province one of the best hiking destinations in eastern Canada. The trail network is less celebrated than the Rockies or the BC coast, but the combination of accessible terrain, dramatic coastal views, and the particular quality of Maritime light in the fall makes it worth the attention.
Cape Split
The Cape Split trail, on the north shore of the Minas Basin where the Bay of Fundy narrows, is the best single day hike in Nova Scotia and one of the better coastal hikes in eastern Canada. The trail follows the Scotian Ridge through old Acadian forest, gaining modest elevation before emerging above the cliffs at Cape Split itself — a dramatic headland that extends into the Bay of Fundy, with tidal rips visible in the water below and, on a clear day, the red mud flats of the far shore visible across the bay. The trail is 13 kilometres return and takes 4 to 5 hours at a moderate pace. Park at the trailhead on Cape Split Road near the community of Scots Bay.
The views from the cape headland are best near a mid-tide when the water movement is most visible. The strong currents that funnel through the narrowing bay around the headland create standing waves and rips that explain why Cape Split has historically been one of the most hazardous sections of the Bay of Fundy for small vessels.
Cape Chignecto Provincial Park
Cape Chignecto is the wildest and most demanding hiking in Nova Scotia. The park's cliff coastline — sandstone and conglomerate bluffs rising 185 metres from the Bay of Fundy — extends for 30 kilometres and is accessible only on foot. The Cape Chignecto Coastal Trail, a 51-kilometre loop that requires 3 nights of backcountry camping, is the full experience. Individual sections can be accessed as day hikes from various trailheads, but the experience of the cliff coast is cumulative — the dramatic scenery builds over the course of the full route in ways that day segments don't fully capture.
The Three Sisters, a formation of sea stacks visible from the park's coastal trail, are the most photographed feature. The combination of the ancient grey-red rock, the dark spruce forest above the cliff edge, and the tidal flats below at low tide is a colour palette distinctive to this corner of the bay.
Kejimkujik National Park Seaside
The Seaside adjunct to Kejimkujik National Park, on Nova Scotia's south shore near Liverpool, offers a very different coastal experience from the Fundy hikes. The terrain is low granite headlands and hidden cobble beaches with sheltered lagoons behind barrier dunes — classic Atlantic South Shore landscape. The coastal trail from the trailhead to Thomas Raddall Provincial Park is about 16 kilometres return and passes through some of the finest coastal heath and dune habitat in the province. Piping plovers nest on the beaches here and sections may be closed during nesting season (April–August).
The Cabot Trail Skyline
The Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (9 km return, accessible from the plateau section of the Cabot Trail) is the most visited hike in the province and among the most dramatic. The trail follows the cliff above the Gulf of St. Lawrence to a headland with views that extend to the horizon in three directions. Moose are regularly seen on the barrens. The cliff edge drop is several hundred metres. In the fall, the combination of highland colours and coastal light is extraordinary.
The hiking in Nova Scotia is at its best in September and October — the fall colours are excellent on the hardwood ridges, the Fundy light is dramatic, the summer crowds are largely gone, and the temperatures are comfortable for strenuous hiking. The fall also coincides with the peak of the Bay of Fundy shorebird migration in late September, adding wildlife watching to the hiking agenda on the Fundy coast trails.
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