Hiking & Walking
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A January Walk Around Graves island
Nova Scotia has soooo many awesome trails that walking around a provincial park may not at first come to mind.Of course ,parks like Blomidon and Cape Split are well-known, but don’t rule these smaller gems like Graves Island out of you walking repertoire. To be honest, we were headed to Polly’s Cove trail, but once again Google maps thwarted our best efforts to find the trail head.Curses! Graves Island is a popular provincial park located on Highway 3 just about 5 km east of Chester. We love it for summer picnics and mackerel fishing-it has a great little boat launch. The campground is busy all season-and why not?…
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Atlantic View Trail
The Atlantic View Trail is located within the Halifax Regional Municipality near Lawrencetown -it stretches for almost 20 km round trip along the abandoned Musquodoboit trail bed and so far we have only done part of this beautiful coastal trail section – from the end of highway 207 just past Three Fathom Harbour Road in Porters Lake. Entrance can also be gained from the opposite end, at the Lawrencetown Community Centre. I’d rate this trail as easy (find other easy Halifax hikes here) the only difficult thing about it is it’s length-and how far you go is up to you. Just remember-you need to walk back too.The trail is …
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Hiking the Coney Brook Trail
Since experiencing the beautiful Skyline Trail along the Cabot Trail last September,we’ve been planning for almost a year to hike to do it again in October when the fall leaves would be at their most vibrant. Mother Nature had a different idea. Skyline was closed due to aggressive moose behavior-it is the rutting season after all. So. No Skyline. 🙁 .alas. (However we were very lucky to see a pair of moose across from the Coney Brook trail head) But there are plenty of other hikes along the Cabot Trail, so after a bit of research, we decided to try the Coney Brook Trail. It’s not far from…
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7 Great Ways to View The Fall Colors
I love fall-everything is brighter and crisper. No humidity. No mosquitoes. It makes me feel like actually DOING something. Not work. No. I mean fun things. And there are a lot of choices. Hikes. Kayaking. Just a drive with a stop for a quick fall picnic. Right now, leaves are just starting to turn in some spots. In another week or so and everything will be gor-ge-ous. So, here we go: Drive this Fall If you are out for a Sunday drive on any day of the week, a beautiful spot -even without the reds and yellows of fall is the drive along White Rock Road in Kings County.…
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Taylor Head Hiking Trail Kicked My **s
Well, it’s true I am much older now then the last time we hiked this particular peninsula on the Eastern Shore, and that may be part of the reason I was beat when I finished the Taylor Head Spry Bay and Headland Trails, a combined 8.15 to the parking lot..But I have done the Keji Seaside Adjunct, Skyline Trail and Cape Split and neither were not nearly as painful. And that was before my total knee replacement this past spring. Or it may be the constant navigation of roots, the step up and down over rocks, the narrowness, at times, of the pathway that entailed vigilance on where one is stepping…
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Two Easy Walks within the Municipality of Clare
Hubby can not read a map.Don’t tell him I said so, but he miscalculated the time it would take to travel to a little off the beaten path place called Kemptville about 40 km east of Yarmouth. Actually, we never did get there, but we did discover a lovely little park on Wentworth Lake, with a short trail, one of two easy walks within Municipality of Clare that we’ve checked of our list of gazillions of walks and hikes we want to do in Nova Scotia. Located off highway 340, it’s about 30 km west of Weymouth, and there is nothing telling you it’s ahead until you see the…
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Summer Trip to Indian Falls Trail
Eureka! We found it! Last time we attempted to find Indian Falls we failed-ended up on the edge of someone’s woods. Rule #1 Just goes to show you can’t always trust Google directions. Seems like we had the same problem when we first tried to find Crystal Falls It’s actually not that hard. From Hwy 101 take Exit 13 to Route 12, head to New Ross. Turn right onto the Forties Road at New Ross and then turn left at Franey’s Corner (about 17 km) toward Parkdale and Maplewood. Indian Fall’s Park is about 18 km from Franey Corner, just a bit past LaHave River Campground. If you are coming from…
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Hiking the Gibraltar Rock Trail
We stumbled across this trail when taking a drive to Musquodobit and wanted to get out and stretch our legs-all 8 of them-we had the dog with us. Now, I will freely admit I am not much for hiking converted rail beds, preferring something more woodsy or along the water. So, when we spied the sign for the Gibraltar Rock Trail Loop, we decided it may be fun. And it was fun. Fun as in up and up and up some more. Over rocks and boulders and roots and along narrow pathways. It’s listed as ‘challenging’ on some websites, ‘moderate’ on others. Let’s just say I was able to climb it…
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22 Things to Pack When You are Planning a Day Hike
The 1st rule of planning a day hike is safety-that of yours and others.But first, yours. If something happens -God Forbid-to you, you won’t be able to help anyone else. Although I’ve been hiking for years, I’ll admit I’m pretty new to this- be -prepared – and – cram – all – this -stuff in- your -backpack- and- lug -it- with -you – all -day thing. So, I’m preparing to do the Cape Chignecto Eatonville day hike very soon.I’m consulting my manual and gathering things and hefting the bag to gauge the weight. I even agonized over the backpack-one that has easy water bottle access and is not too heavy,…
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Two Easy Walks in Pictou County
Pictou County is lovely, not matter if you are strolling along the Jitney Trail in Pictou, the Samson Trail running waterfront in New Glasgow or taking an easy hike in Trenton Park-which I must admit I had never heard of until I took my Hiking Leader course there recently. Trails are everywhere! It’s like a treasure hunt every day of the week. If only I had more time….. Samson Trail From what I have gleaned about the New Glasgow trails, most seem to stem from one -the Samson Trail. There are a few ways to access this trail network-Duff Cemetery,Kinsmen Look-Off, Carmichael Park,Rotary Park and Pedestrian Bridge. It’s flat and…
