Day 1

Meet your Backroads Trip Leaders (the folks wearing Backroads T-shirts) at 9 a.m. in the lobby of the Delta Halifax in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Please arrive dressed in your hiking clothes and bring a daypack containing your rain gear and other items you want to have for our hike.

Shuttle to Crystal Crescent Beach 30 Minutes
Crystal Crescent Beach Hike 5 Miles
Shorter Option: 2.5 miles
Shuttle to White Point Resort 2½ Hours

Welcome to Nova Scotia! After meeting we shuttle to Crystal Crescent Beach—a short drive from Halifax, but it feels a world away. The start of the hike offers breathtaking vistas over Sambro Harbour and parts of Halifax Harbour. As you make your way to Pennant Point, look for Sambro Island’s red-and-white striped beacon, North America’s oldest working lighthouse, dating back to 1758. Continue following the trail over barrens, bogs and massive boulders to the headland, keeping the restless Atlantic Ocean as your constant companion. Midway through our hike, we stop to enjoy packed lunches at a scenic spot before jumping in the shuttle and heading to White Point Beach Resort, located on Nova Scotia’s south shore.

The seaside resort opened its doors in 1928 with just a few beach cabins and a handful of rooms in its lodge. Though it has expanded over the years, it retains a charming rustic feel. Wind down with a swim in the resort’s freshwater lake or a stroll on the private beach. This evening we gather for a reception followed by dinner.

Lodging: White Point Resort

Day 2

Shuttle to Keji National Park Adjunct 1 Hour Round-Trip
Kejimkujik Seaside Loop 5.4 Miles
Shorter Option: Harbour Rocks 3.3 Miles

After breakfast we shuttle to Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct for an amble through coastal tundra forests and wooded groves. Pass secluded coves and salt lagoons, and walk on a magnificent white-sand beach. At Harbour Rocks, scan the cobblestone beaches for stones the size of baseballs. Watch as the ocean waves toss around these stones like they’re pebbles, and cross your fingers for a chance to see harbor and gray seals sunning themselves. You might also spot endangered shorebirds, including piping plovers and sandpipers. The diverse ecosystems of the salt marshes and bogs provide the ideal stopover location for Canada geese and black ducks.

After eating our packed lunches, we shuttle back to White Point Resort. Tonight’s dinner is at Quarterdeck Grill, an authentic maritime restaurant popular with locals.

Lodging: White Point Resort

Day 3

Shuttle to Broad Cove 45 Minutes
Green Bay Walk 4 Miles
Shuttle to Hirtle’s Beach 1 Hour
Gaff Point Hike 4.4 Miles

You won’t find this morning’s walk on any tourist map—our route, which stretches from the Broad Cove fishing villages to the cottages of Green Bay, is a well-kept secret. As you travel along this former seaside cart road, watch for gulls, ducks, geese and sandpipers. The stunning panorama, including the LaHave Islands and possible seal sightings, makes for rich photo opportunities. We stop for a delicious lunch, featuring fried local clams and scallops from Green Bay’s own MacLeod’s Canteen. Top it off with ice cream for dessert!

Afterward we shuttle to Hirtle’s Beach to begin an afternoon hike that takes us to Gaff Point for beautiful views from a clifftop. Gaff Point is a unique unspoiled headland of 124 acres consisting of impressive cliffs, conifer forests, heaths and grasslands. The point houses a variety of wildlife in its marine, terrestrial and wetland ecosystems, such as waterfowl, which make their home in a saltwater pond surrounded by marshland and bog. This headland is also an important wildlife link between two beach-dune systems, Mosher’s Beach and Hirtle’s Beach.

Our next stop is the oceanside town of Lunenburg. With colorful and architecturally significant buildings and a gorgeous bay as a backdrop, this is one of Canada’s most postcard-perfect towns. It’s a short drive from Hirtle’s Beach to the Lunenburg Arms, a boutique-style inn occupying a newly restored historic building overlooking the harbor, get to know the World Heritage site of Lunenburg and enjoy dinner on your own. Your Trip Leaders are happy to recommend their favorite restaurants.

Lodging: Lunenburg Arms

Day 4

Bay-to-Bay Walk 7.1 Miles
Sailing from Lunenburg Harbour 2 Hours

After breakfast we hike a newly opened path that’s part of the Trans-Canada trail system. Our destination is the charming town of Mahone Bay, located on a bay with more than 100 islands. Mahone Bay, which The New York Times described as ―pretty as a picture,‖ is a great place to explore at your leisure, with its museums, art galleries and historic buildings. Stroll around town and have lunch on your own at one of the inviting eateries.

Afterward we shuttle to Lunenburg Harbour for a fun and educational cruise on the bay. Bring your warm layers and your cameras! Great pictures are there for the taking, including shots of lighthouses, famous shipyards and wildlife. Stay on the lookout for porpoises and seals playfully vying for your attention.
Back at the Lunenburg Arms, there’s time to relax before dinner at the hotel restaurant, Tin Fish. Consider a massage or another pampering treatment at the on-site Spa at Ninety4. (Spa treatments are not included in the trip price. Please schedule your appointment for between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.; dinner is at 7 p.m.)

Lodging: Lunenburg Arms

Day 5

Shuttle to Cape Split 1¾ Hours
Cape Split Hike 10 Miles

This morning we set our sights on Cape Split, a peninsula extending into the Bay of Fundy. Until recently, this headland was privately owned, but the government of Nova Scotia is the proud new owner and has plans to turn the area into a provincial park. Our hike starts inland, winding through a canopied forest of deciduous and coniferous trees, and past ferns carpeting the spine of the peninsula. The roar of the ocean battering the cliffs grows louder as you near the cape and emerge onto a windswept, grassy bluff speckled with wildflowers. When the weather cooperates, the views are terrific, encompassing the wild Bay of Fundy to the west—its turbulent riptides and swirling eddies surging into Scots Bay—and the tranquil waters of Minas Basin to the east. The highest and most powerful tides in the world (up to 50 feet high) operate around Cape Split, sculpting the coastline with immense force. The First Nations People of Nova Scotia, the Mi’kmaq, attributed the extraordinary tidal waves to a giant whale splashing in the water. We eat our packed lunches on the bluffs where the Mi’kmaq Indian god Glooscap is said to have lived.

Then we climb in the Backroads van for the 20-minute drive to Wolfville in Annapolis Valley and our hotel for our final night, Victoria’s Historic Inn & Carriage House. En route we stop at Look-Off Café, where you can reward yourself with more stunning vistas—and perhaps a sweet treat!

This evening we take a short shuttle ride to award-winning Domaine de Grand Pré winery, whose grapes are specially developed for this maritime climate. After sampling a selection of Nova Scotia varietals, we dine on traditional local cuisine with a Swiss twist at the winery’s Le Caveau restaurant.

Lodging: Victoria’s Historic Inn & Carriage House

Day 6

Grand-Pré Hike 4.7 Miles
Shuttle to Halifax 1 Hour

We start today’s hike in the university town of Wolfville, with pleasant tree-lined streets and beautiful Victorian homes. Leaving town, pick up a path that takes you along a man-made dike system and then through cattle pastures and cornfields, with views of the surrounding salt marshes and mudflats. The landscape changes with the tide: when water rushes in from the Cornwallis River at high tide, the mudflats disappear. Our walk ends at the Grand-Pré National Historic Site. Meander the grounds of the memorial, which is dedicated to thousands of Acadian settlers driven from their homes and farms by the British between 1755 and 1763. Their tragic fate is immortalized in Henry Longfellow’s epic poem Evangéline, and a statue of the heroine stands in the lush 14-acre gardens. We savor a picnic lunch here before shuttling to Halifax, where our ramble through southwestern Nova Scotia ends.