Sunshine State Sue Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 I am planning to vacation in Nova Scotia for a week in September. My priorities are: (1) wildlife (2) hiking/nature/scenery (3) gardens. Any recommendations? At first I thought I'd get an airbnb for a week in Hallifax, but now I'm thinking I need to move around more. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eilonwy Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 (edited) If you are looking for these things, I would consider Annapolis Royal and Kejimkujik National Park. Halifax is great but it’s a small city so not much wildlife. There are some good hikes in the Halifax area, though, and the Public Gardens are nice. Another good possibility for September is the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There are lots of good trails there too. Edited May 14, 2023 by Eilonwy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 Seconding Cape Breton. September is gorgeous up there--it's rugged country with a beautiful loop road around the cape. Give yourself at least a few days. We've seen moose, lynx and whales, and the scenery is stunning. Inverness makes a nice stop; keep your eye out for live music ( cèilidhs) and don't miss out. They are often small, local events held in a church or grange where most people know each other. Loads of fun and immense talent. Cape Breton is a bit like mini Scottish highlands, and full of interesting communities to discover. It's one of my favorite places on earth ❤️ Also Halifax is super fun and worth at least several days IMO. I haven't been in years though, so can't recommend anywhere specific. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 14, 2023 Author Share Posted May 14, 2023 Yes and I notice that Kejimkujik National Parkand Cape Breton HIghlands National Park are 7hrs apart. Seems like I need to split my time between them with a first or final day in Hallifax. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 We did the entire Cabot Trail around Cape Breton Highlands and it was probably our favorite vacation ever. Definitely top two. The scenery is absolutely stunning. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 3 minutes ago, Sunshine State Sue said: Yes and I notice that Kejimkujik National Parkand Cape Breton HIghlands National Park are 7hrs apart. Seems like I need to split my time between them with a first or final day in Hallifax. It's 4- 5 hours between Halifax and Cape Breton. You're better off picking one of the two parks plus a couple days in the city instead of trying to do all three and missing a lot. There's more driving than you might imagine (not all of it exciting). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eilonwy Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 Agreed that picking one park/region might make more sense to avoid a lot of driving. Annapolis Royal and Wolfville have the best gardens in the province, I think, but Cape Breton has more wildlife (as well as lots of local music, etc.) and more dramatic scenery. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 14, 2023 Author Share Posted May 14, 2023 5 hours ago, Pawz4me said: We did the entire Cabot Trail around Cape Breton Highlands and it was probably our favorite vacation ever. Definitely top two. The scenery is absolutely stunning. Tell me more about how you handled lodging please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 11 minutes ago, Sunshine State Sue said: Tell me more about how you handled lodging please. We had an RV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 14, 2023 Author Share Posted May 14, 2023 7 minutes ago, Pawz4me said: We had an RV. Ah. Did you spend each night in a different location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Sunshine State Sue said: Ah. Did you spend each night in a different location? We used a campground in Baddeck as a base station and drove the trail in our towed vehicle. It was a lot of driving but well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 From what you wrote, it doesn't sound like your trying to time the trip for fall color; the year we went, it came late, more like mid-October. 😞 Hallifax was stunning; I could have spent a week there. (Other than that, I don't have much to add.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 15, 2023 Author Share Posted May 15, 2023 No. The goal is more to escape the heat than to see fall colors. The weather here is nice starting in October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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