After exploring Cape Breton Highland National Park, which is on the northeastern end of Nova Scotia, we decided to explore more of this Canadian Province for another week or two before heading back to the Bay of Fundy. I have no doubt that these few weeks out here on the tip of North America will be a few of my favorites from this trip.

Nova Scotia is divided into 6 separate sub-regions, which helped us plan our travels. Cape Breton Island, the Eastern Shores, Northumberland Shores, Southern Shores, Acadian Shores and Fundy Shores.

via camping novascotia.com

We visited the Northumberland Shores on the way east. After visiting Cape Breton Island, it made sense to head towards the Eastern Shores and then explore more of the island in a clockwise direction.

Exploring near Pictou, Nova Scotia / Northumberland Shores

Murphy’s Camping on the Ocean 

There are a variety of campgrounds along the eastern shores of Nova Scotia but we landed at Murphy’s Camping by the Ocean.

Owned by the Murphy family since the 1700s, the area here was delightful and the perfect way to experience the local feel of coastal life. Every morning after breakfast, the kids would run down to the boathouse, out onto the dock and check the crab trap (or reset it if needed). They spent hours catching and releasing crabs using lunch meat and hot dogs as bait.

They had a canoe for rent, so Jess and I snagged it for an hour and explored the islands right off the coast. The water is so clear you can see right to the bottom and it was also unseasonable warm. So you better believe we took out that snorkel gear and looked for more crabs and starfish!

Every evening the owners would steam a huge pot of fresh mussels and invite us all to dig in. It was awesome.

Martinique Beach

45 minutes from Murphy’s and on the way south is Martinique Beach, one of the best beaches on the island. With record high temperatures and the kids begging for a beach day, we had to stop!

We had an amazing day playing in the sand and boogie boarding. I would not suggest bringing your trailers like we did. It became quite busy later in the day and getting back out along a 1 lane road was quite the adventure… but I’ve got to admit, having our own showers and kitchen right on the beach was a major perk. Man, I love towing my house behind me. 🙂

The Town of Lunenburg, NS

From Murphy’s we headed to the southern shores and the town of Lunenburg. Lunenburg is a busier harbor town that attracts quite a few visitors. Whale watching boats and the famous Blue Nose Company ships harbor here. We enjoyed exploring the many artist shops, local restaurants, the rugged coastline here for a few days.

Local tip: If you walk a ways down the Rum Runners Trail, you will find hundreds of wild blackberry bushes. Arrive at the right time and you can go home with tons of berries! As you can see, Kai was super excited.

We also visited the Ovens Natural Park. It is a private park, requiring a paid entry and would also make a great place to camp if you want to be further from town. The park is host to sea caves and rugged reefs that are fun to explore.

Halifax and Shubie Campground

I only wish we’d had more time to head further south. The word from the locals is that the southern shores has some of the most beautiful sandy beaches on the whole island.

However, work restraints and general needs sent us to Halifax for the week. There is basically only one campground in Halifax, Shubie Campground, located 25 minutes from downtown and 25 minutes from the nearest beach. It is an excellent place to use as a base camp for exploring the Halifax Area.

Local hiking trails, off-leash areas, and the trans-Canada Trail (a.k.a. The Great Trail) all travel through the campground. There is also laundry and a lifeguarded swim beach on the grounds. 

Halifax Citadel

We stopped in Halifax and went to the Halifax Citadel which made for an epic roadschooling day. It is an amazing fort with endless hands-on opportunities for kids to learn about the time right after the US Revolutionary War and up to WW1.

We easily spent an afternoon exploring the grounds and working on the Explorer program with the kids.

Lawrencetown Beach

 While Halifax had great roadschooling opportunities, our number one goal while there was to hit the beach and take our first surfing lessons. We’d been itching to learn to surf since our trip to San Diego last fall. And now was our time, though unexpected!

We hooked up with lessons, wetsuits, and boards at the East Coast Surf School located out at Lawrencetown Beach.

Chris and I took a 1 hour lessons, and then practiced the rest of the afternoon. We had the boards until 6 p.m. so we let the kids get good and tired learning as well. To be honest they did way better than I did, even getting up a few times!

Learning to surf is NOT easy! I didn’t really expect it to be but man, what a full body workout! We came back later in the week and this time just rented the board and practiced some more. I can’t wait to give it another try!

We loved having a few weeks in Nova Scotia and as usual, learned we still did not have enough time to do and see all the things we wanted to! Traveling all the way out to the tip of North America is well worth it!