Nova Scotia, Nouvelle-Écosse in French, is the southernmost of the 3 Maritime and 4 Atlantic provinces in Eastern Canada. In Latin, it means New Scotland, so as you can imagine, it has a strong Gaelic culture and history.
This means that when you are on a Nova Scotia road trip, you will see many settlements with both English and Gaelic names. You might even meet some Gaelic speakers too.
Let the road trip in Nova Scotia road begin!
Caribou to North Sydney on a Road Trip in Nova Scotia
I had entered Nova Scotia at Caribou, after taking a ferry from Prince Edward Island.
From there I headed to North Sydney to get the ferry to the island of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland and Labrador province.
In true Canada style, there was some great scenery to see on the way.
Including an awesome sunset.
North Sydney to Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a Nova Scotia Road Trip
From the terminal where the Newfoundland ferry arrives in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, a short drive will get you to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park on Cape Breton Island.
Cape Breton Island is in the northeast of Nova Scotia and the Cape Breton Highlands National Park covers more than 900 square kilometres of the land on the island.
Nova Scotia Road Trip – Getting to Cape Breton Island
About 15 minutes out of North Sydney, you can drive over the Sea Island Bridge to cross over the Big Bras d’Or Channel and on to Cape Breton Island. Or at least a thin arm of land jutting out from the island.
From there, you have two options to get to the main part of the island.
Option One – Englishtown Ferry to Jersey Cove
The quickest route is the Englishtown Ferry across the inlet between the arm of land and the island.
It’s only about 150m across the inlet from Englishtown to Jersey Cove.
The Englishtown Ferry is big enough to fit about 10 cars on it. I swear it took longer to load the cars on that it did to actually do the crossing.
It cost CA$7 for a 2 minute trip. As of June 2021, all intraprovince ferries are now free.
Option Two – Drive Around the Inlet For an Hour
The longer and possibly more scenic route takes you all the way around the inlet and through the town of St Anns.
St Anns is the home of Gaelic education and crafts on Cape Breton Island. It’s also a popular stop along the Cabot Trail.
Cabot Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a Nova Scotia Road Trip
The Cabot Trail is a 298 kilometre loop starting and finishing in Baddock on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The trail passes through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in the north of Cape Breton Island.
Some of the popular stops along the trail include the home of the Gaelic College and Celtic arts, small fishing villages, Acadian villages and places to go whale watching. And don’t forget hikes to waterfalls!
From North Sydney, you can join the Cabot Trail in the town of St Ann’s at the south of St Ann’s Bay, or just after River Bennett if you take the Englishtown Ferry to Jersey Cove.
Nova Scotia Road Trip – Mary Ann Falls on the Cabot Trail
A path to the Mary Ann Falls offers a nice little forest hike.
It’s only a few hundred metres, so it’s nothing too strenuous.
It’s not the biggest waterfall in Nova Scotia, but it’s still beautiful.
The added benefit here is that there probably won’t be anyone else around, so you can be one with nature.
Lakies Head Lookout on the Cabot Trail – Nova Scotia Road Trip
Not far from the Mary Ann Falls is a lookout at Lakies Head.
It’s not your average look-out-on-to-a-beautiful-beach kind of lookout though.
The coastline along this part of the Cabot Trail has it’s own rugged beauty and elegance.
Everything about this lookout was amazing. From the birdhouse near the lookout sign, to the coastal rocks and the calm waters.
In fact, this was my favourite lookout along the Cabot Trail.
Nova Scotia Road Trip – Pleasant Bay on the Cabot Trail
Once you’ve driven up the eastern coast and across the north of Cape Breton Island on the Cabot Trail, the trail starts to head southwest along the western coast of the island.
The first stop on the western coast of Cape Breton Island is Pleasant Bay. With a name like that, you’d be expecting a pleasant bay, right?
Well, you will not be disappointed! But it doesn’t stop at a pleasant bay.
The town is also a quaint and pleasant town with colourful buildings.
With it’s position on the bay, it’s an amazing place for whale watching as well.
A Visit to Halifax Regional Municipality on a Nova Scotia Road Trip
I happened to cruise into the Halifax Regional Municipality on a rainy Canada Day and let’s just say it wasn’t hard to find bars in the town centre.
In fact, I’d say that Halifax has the highest amount of pubs per capita of any Canadian capital. So of course there were a lot of drunk people wandering around.
And celebratory fireworks for Canada’s 150th birthday.
You might be surprised to know that Halifax is not actually a city, but rather a municipality. It’s official name is Halifax Regional Municipality, but of course most people just call it Halifax.
Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia, although it’s only the 13th most populated centre in Canada.
Nova Scotia Road Trip – Street Art in Halifax
The centre of Halifax had quite a bit of street art for a place with a relatively small population.
It seems that local businesses have been commissioning local and international artists to beautify their external walls for years.
It definitely brings a bit of colour to an otherwise dull and rainy day!
Peggys Cove on a Nova Scotia Road Trip
Just 45 minutes southwest of Halifax, there’s a cute little town on a bay called Peggys Cove.
It’s famous for it’s lighthouse and it’s smooth but treacherous rocks.
To get to the lighthouse and the rocks, you need to walk through the old fishing village and it’s totally adorable.
I really loved the houses on stilts over the water.
As if the colours of the village weren’t already endearing enough, they have streets with names like Lobster Lane.
The mainstay of the village is lobster fishing, even in this day and age!
Nova Scotia Road Trip – ‘Shubie’ River
Sometimes in Canada, the names of places and features are really long and hard to say.
Like the Shubenacadie River. The Shubenacadie River runs about 72 kilometres through the centre of Nova Scotia.
So as not to get tongue tied, most locals refer to it as the Shubie River.
Now that’s a name that has more of a flow to it! See what I did there?
All Good Nova Scotia Road Trips Must Come to An End
Unfortunately, the Shubie River was my last stop in Nova Scotia before heading back through New Brunswick, Maine and New Hampshire to get back to Massachusetts to drop off the hire car.
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12 Replies to “Nova Scotia Road Trip”
Curious how the logistics worked with taking a rented car over the border. That must be pretty common in that region? Looks like you saw some gorgeous scenery!
I just checked a box when I booked saying that I needed to cross a border. I also hired a car in Vancouver to drive to Seattle and it was the same deal. I think it’s quite common, especially since cars are much cheaper to hire in the US.
This looks like such a fun trip! I have been wanting to visiting Nova Scotia and had plans, but had to cancel because of COVID. I would love to hike the Cabot Trail and see the Mary Ann Falls. Viewing the street art in Halifax would also be on my list.
The street art was so easy to find too! I wasn’t even really looking for it, it just popped up in front of me, hehe.
This sounds like such a great trip and your photos are so beautiful!
It was a fun trip. SO much nature!
I loved Halifax and Peggy’s Cove but never got to the Cabot Trail. It’s on my list for sure and your photos and descriptions are beautiful. I remember super friendly people and delicious food too. Sounds like a good road trip.
I loved the Cabot trail for it views onto rugged coastlines.
For some reason, I’ve always wanted to go to Peggy’s Cove. It just looks so adorable! I didn’t realize there’s so many other great places to stop on a Nova Scotia road trip. Will have to plan a longer visit than I thought :)
It is adorable. And the street names just make it even more so.
There is so much to see. You could easily spend a week or more there.
I have been loving your Canadian road trip posts Kez! This area (again) looks incredible, although, so so different from the West coast! I love the lighthouses, the art and that beautiful coastline.
Unfortunately, this was the last stop on my Eastern Canada road trip :o(
I loved the rugged coastlines in Nova Scotia.