Halifax 
Credit: Burntcoat Head Park
Hants County is an interesting part of Nova Scotia. It holds history going back to the American Revolution, and it has new spaces to explore nature. It has places that transform from winter to summer, providing different kinds of adventure. It’s along the Bay of Fundy, but it also touches the edge of the Halifax Regional Municipality. Wherever you go in Hants County, you’re sure to enjoy its natural beauty in a meaningful and memorable way.
Credit: Google Maps
Walk on the Ocean Floor
You don’t actually have to burn your outerwear to go to Burncoat Head Park, which is good because coats are expensive. The park is just on the edge of the Bay of Fundy, so you get to experience the crazy tides once more! You can walk out over miles of ocean floor when the tide is out, so you can explore the tide pools to your heart’s content. The park has walking trails for when the tide is in, and there’s also a replica lighthouse that doubles as an interpretive centre.
Cost: Free
Address: 45 Faulkner Avenue
Phone: 902-369-2529
Website
Wine in the Sky
Credit: Avondale Sky Winery & Restaurant
Visiting a winery is always a great, adults-only outing to try new wines and see beautiful scenery. If this is up your alley, you should make a beeline to Avondale Sky Winery. They produce several different kinds of wine, and they also have a lovely dining room so you can enjoy the wine with some great food. With tastings at 10$ a person, it’s a great time to try local wine and food and enjoying being out in the grapes with your friends.
Cost: 10$ per person for tasting
Address: 80 Avondale Cross Road
Phone: 902-253-2047
Website
Golf in the Valley
The Avon Valley Golf & Country Club is one of the highlights of Hants County. Only 45 minutes away from metro HRM, it offers a beautiful and challenging 18-hole course. They’ve also got a great practice area, there are rentals available for everything from clubs to golf clubs, and they’ve got a nice restaurant too. If you’re looking for a hilly course with challenging breezes against beautiful backdrops, this is the place to go!
Cost
Address: 595 Falmouth Back Road, Falmouth
Phone: 902-798-2673 ext. 2
Website
Ring Bells in the Park
Bell Park Trail is part of Bell Park, a beautiful nature park in Mount Uniacke. Just off of Highway 1, the trail will take you into the heart of a mixed-hardwoods forest. Amongst the trees you’ll find views of the lake, look offs, and a picnic area. The trail is about 2km all together with clear signage, and if you want more walking you can step off the trail and do a little bit of exploring—keep the path in site though, or at least have someone in your group carry a bell!
Cost: Free
Address: Highway 1, Mount Uniacke
Website
Visit a (Farm) Castle
There may not be any castles in Hants County, but there is Castle Frederick Farms, and that almost counts. Settled in Falmouth on over 2,000 acres, this farm is partly a cow operation and partly a woodlot. They’ve got several trails ranging from short beginner ones to more difficult ones that wind through the woods. Pick up some beef or wood to take home and enjoy a day on the farm!
Cost: Free
Address: 568-620 Castle Frederick Road
Phone: 902-798-8037
Website
Visit the Gazebo in Maitland
If you’ve read articles by me before, you know that I love gazebos; if you haven’t, now you know. The best gazebo I could find in Hants County is at Dawson Dowell Park. Dawson Dowell Park is in Maitland, overlooking Cobequid Bay. It’s full of pretty plants, a playground for the kiddos, and a gazebo for picnics and pictures. Maitland is also a pretty place to explore, so when you’ve had your fill of the park, wander down to the village.
Cost: Free
Address: 8471 NS-215 Maitland
Website
A Day Out With Dot
If you’ve got very small kids, you have to tailor your outdoor adventures to them—you want everyone to have fun, after all. If you’re in the Enfield area, you should check out Dot Buchanan Park. There’s a beautifully designed playground, fields for soccer, baseball, and a trail. The trail is 1.7 km in total and is made up of a bunch of loops, so you can take as short a trip into the forest as you wish.
Cost: Free
Address: 162 B Old Enfield Road, Enfield
Website
A-Maze-ing Flowers
Credit: Dakeyne Farm
I love mazes, but I am a complete coward when it comes to corn mazes. Dakeyne Farm has created a sunny and cheerful alternative with their sunflower maze. You can stroll through the sunflowers and get lost on purpose (or by accident, it is a maze), and then enjoy beautiful flowers as you make your way out. There’s lots of other things you can do at the farm, like picnic, fly a kite, and watch the farm animals enjoy their day.
Cost: Available at site below
Address: 1137 Highway 1, Mount Denson
Phone: 902-790-0542
Website
Skate for the Community
Edmond Chater was a good man, dedicated to the community of Mount Uniacke, and left a lasting legacy when he passed away in 2017. One example of his legacy is the Edmond Chater Memorial Skate Park, just a two-minute drive up from the convenience store he founded (Eddy’s Variety). The park is beautiful, with the obstacles laid out in a check mark so more people can skate or BMX at the same time—talk about checking off your to-do list! It’s appropriate for beginners to pros, so everyone can have a great time here.
Cost: Free
Address: 628 Highway 1, Mount Uniacke
Website
Find the Quiet Park
Tucked away in an Elmsdale neighbourhood, you’ll find Elmwood Park. This is a pretty little playground with open fields around it, as well as a multi-purpose court. They’ve also got green outdoor fitness equipment, so you could do a mini day at the gym. Since it’s off the beaten path, this is a great place for a low-energy outing or a quick stop after a long drive.
Cost: Free
Address: 62 Tannery Drive, Elmsdale
Website
Fall (onto a towel) by the Lake
It’s good to spend a day at the lake, and it’s good to have a picnic on a nice summer day. At Falls Lake, you can do both! It’s a small picnic park on the side of Falls Lake, complete with a boat launch. You can bring a canoe or a kayak to go out onto the lake, or you can just go swimming. Fishing is also allowed, so if you’re feeling particularly ambitious you can plan to catch your lunch (I would advise bringing food just in case). Spend some time in a small town by the lake in whatever way makes you happiest; Falls Lake has room for all kinds.
Cost: Free
Address: 1541 New Ross Road
Website
Learn About the Tides
Credit: Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre
Ah, the good old Bay of Fundy. You know the stories, you know that the tides are nuts here, but do you know why? If you’re curious about any aspect of the Bay, the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre will help you find answers. You’ll learn about the tides, the Tidal Bore, the reversing rivers, and more as you watch the tides come in and out. There’s a nature park close by, so you can roam the trails and watch the waters of the Shubenacadie River rise and fall.
Address: 9865 Highway 236 South, Maitland
Phone: 902-261-2250
Website
Find Nature in Gardens and Meadows
The words “garden” and “meadow” both bring to mind tamed nature, places where by human hands or not, the wilds of nature has paused and you may come in, whether you’re looking for beauty or simply a place to be quiet among the green. The Garden Meadows Trail System has captured that feeling beautifully as they wind through Belnan. The trail system is still in development, with more paths being added all the time, so it may look different visit to visit. Enjoy these urban trails and feel your way into nature at your own pace.
Cost: Free
Address: Off Royal Oaks Way, Belnan
Website
Swim at the Quarry
Once people dug here for rocks, but now the Kempt Quarry Recreation Site is best known for swimming! The quarry’s full of water now, and you can leap off the rocks in the deeper parts; there’s also a shallow area for little ones. The site also has several picnic tables overlooking the quarry, so you can take a break to eat and enjoy a rest before you go back for more swimming. If you’re done swimming, you can always take a very quick 3-minute drive up the road and walk the Cheverie Salt Marsh Trail.
Cost: Free
Address: 6020 Highway 215, Kempt Shore
Phone: 902-798-6938
Website
Visit the Racing Lake
In the fall, Lake Pisiquid is home to an intense race—a race of pumpkins as boats, to be exact. It’s insane to watch, and if you’re coming in the fall, I highly recommend going to watch it. The lake’s also worth checking out in the summertime—there’s an accessible trail all around the lake, so everyone can take a nice walk together. You’re likely to see members of the Pisiquid Canoe Club paddling around for summer camps and lessons—if you’re interested, join them on Tuesday evenings for open dock!
Cost: Free
Address: Highway 101
Website
Walk the Community Trail
The Village of Shubenacadie has plenty of natural beauty to offer, and thanks to Ross MacInnis you can experience it on a beautiful and accessible trail. Ross MacInnis and his family donated a lot of land to help bring the MacInnis Trail to life in 2014, and it’s been well appreciated by locals and visitors ever since. It’s a 2.2 km loop that’s appropriate for wheelchairs and people with mobility challenges, which makes this a welcoming outdoor experience for many.
Cost: Free
Address: 2676 Nova Scotia Trunk 2, Shubenacadie
Website
Have Fun on the Milford Trail
There are a lot of trails in Hants County that are 2.2 km long; I’m not sure why, but I like patterns, so it works for me. This example is the Milford Recreation Trail, which goes through the woods beside the Milford Community Centre. It’s maintained year-round by the Milford Recreation Association, so you can enjoy the woods in all four seasons. It’s technically 1.1 km long, but unless you want to live in the woods you have to make the mainly flat journey out, so it still fits the pattern!
Cost: Free
Address: 288 Highway 2, Milford
Website
Go 10 Kilometres Down Nine Mile
Hants County has an interesting mix of farmland and forests. The Nine Mile River Trail explores the latter, but it’s only a minute’s drive from the former. The trail is actually ten kilometres long (the river is called Nine Mile River, but while close by the trail never actually interacts with the river), and winds its way through various forest areas on either boardwalk or maintained trail. The trail is made up of three loops, so you can explore for as long as you want, taking in the trees and the birds and the sounds of nature in harmony.
Cost: Free
Address: Old Enfield Road, Nine Mile River
Website
Climb Up And Around Trees
Credit: OnTreePark
During the winter, this place is known as Ski Martock, where lots of Nova Scotians learn how to ski and snowboard for the first time. In the summer, it becomes OnTree Park, a fun and adventure park that takes advantage of the ski hill’s features to create a wonderful experience. They’ve got zip lines, a climbing wall, a base jump, Tarzan ropes, and so much more. They’ve also got courses to run—some designed for adults (from easy to very difficult), some for small children, and a few for training. If you’re looking for a high-adrenaline adventure that’s fun for the whole family, OnTree Park is the place for you.
Cost
Address: 370 Ski Martock Road, Windsor
Phone: 1-902-798-8855
Website
Have a Picnic in the Park
Just a two-minute drive from MacInnis Trail (see above), you’ll find Rex McCoul Park. It’s an urban walking trail with a short loop around a field. It’s a great place to have a picnic and a short walk, maybe before or after you visit MacInnis Trail. Sometimes trees can be confining, so it’s good to have an open space to walk and enjoy urban nature.
Cost: Free
Address: 2868 Nova Scotia Trunk 2 Shubenacadie
Website
Visit Robin Hood
If you want to play Robin Hood, where better than the Sherwood Park Walkway? This is a short trail of about 350m one way, so it’s perfect if you’ve got people in your group who have trouble with walking longer distance (or if they’re prone to temper tantrums). The walkway winds through trees perfect for hiding behind, and I’m sure an ambush point would be easy to create. Just make sure everyone knows that you’re playing Robin Hood and don’t jump out at strangers, and you’ll have a great day.
Cost: Free
Address: Sherwood Drive, Enfield
Website
Ride a Raft at the Resort
Credit: Tidal Bore Rafting Resort
If you’re looking for a place to stay that offers fun outdoor activities, you should consider Shubenacadie Tidal Bore Rafting Resort. The resort is made up of cottages and chalets with all the amenities you could ever think of (including air conditioning!) They offer rafting trips up and down the Shubenacadie River at all tide times, exploring the river and riding the rapids. With packages when you stay and raft, and other activities available, this is a great place to get away and get wet!
Cost
Address: 12215 Highway 215 Urbania
Phone: 902-400-0104
Website
Visit the Museum in the Park
Uniacke Estate Museum Park combines history and nature in a uniquely Nova Scotian manner. This estate was built by Richard John Uniacke around 1813, and the house has been beautifully preserved, providing a wonderful place to learn about the history of the area and this fascinating man, who fought in the American Revolution, worked (and did) abolish slavery in Nova Scotia, and worked towards the Confederation of Canada. When you’ve had your fill of the house, you can wander one of the seven trails on the property or follow the self-guided outdoor tour to important landmarks on the property.
Cost: 2.90 for adults, 2.80 for children and seniors, 8.65 for families
Address: 758 Highway 1 Mount Uniacke
Website
Visit A Park With A Music Gazebo
There’s a gazebo in Victoria Park, so Hants County has certainly fulfilled their quota*! Located in Windsor, Victoria Park is right beside the Windsor Community Centre. It’s a nice open park with benches to sit on and paths to walk, so if you want a quick dose of outdoors this is a great place to visit. Keep your ears open too, because the gazebo often houses people making music!
* This is my own quota and has no meaning in the greater scheme of things except for other gazebo fans.
Cost: Free
Address: 78 Stannus Street, Windsor
Website
Climb the Lighthouse
Credit: Walton Lighthouse
No Nova Scotian County is complete without a lighthouse! Walton Lighthouse Trail leads you up to Walton Lighthouse, which was built in 1873. Despite being so old, you can actually go into this one and climb the stairs to the light, getting the same view that the light keepers of old would see (if you’re there on a foggy day it’s probably pretty creepy). The park that includes the lighthouse and the trail also has a picnic area, along with a GAZEBO! I’ve been here before and it’s a spectacular place to see just off the beaten path.
Cost: Free
Address: 119 Lorne Smith Road, off Highway 215
Website
By: Adrienne Colborne
