Eastern Shore, Nova Scotia: About the Area – An Outdoor Enthusiasts Paradise

Stretching from the edges of the Halifax Metro region to the Canso Causeway, Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore is a place where historically themed attractions, outdoor activities, comforting cuisine, and a natural paradise come together to create a one-of-a-kind travel experience. Outdoor enthusiasts will love this region. From Martinique Beach, Nova Scotia’s longest sandy beach, to Lawrencetown Beach, a popular year-round hot spot for surfing, this is the perfect destination for swimming, surfing, sea kayaking, or taking part in the annual sandcastle competition at Clam Harbour Beach Provincial Park. The seaside setting is home to numerous bird species, including eider ducks, great blue herons, Atlantic puffins, plovers, and sandpipers, making it a must-visit destination for birding enthusiasts. Hikers and cyclists will find numerous multi-use and wilderness trails to enjoy.

You can step into Nova Scotia’s past at one of the region’s living-history museums – the enduring, authentic late 1800s setting of Sherbrooke Village, or Memory Lane Heritage Village’s depiction of the province’s rural industries in the 1940s, including gold mining. See how a fisherman supported a family of fifteen in the tiny homestead that is now the Fisherman’s Life Museum in Oyster Pond.

The Eastern Shore is the ideal getaway for people looking to escape the urban way.

Eastern Shore Attractions:

Memory Lane Heritage Village, Lake Charlotte
Sherbrook Village
Port Bickerton Lighthouse, Port Bickerton
Fisherman’s Life Museum, Jeddore Oyster Pond
Lawrencetown Beach
Taylor Head Provincial Park
Clam Harbour Provincial Park
Coastal Adventures, Tangier

Duncan’s Cove, Nova Scotia

Read Duncan’s Cove Blog.
Duncan’s Cove is a small rural community on the Chebucto Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean on the Ketch Harbour Road (Route 349), 19 kilometers from Halifax. The community is located beside Chebucto Head, the prominent coastal headland.

History

Duncan’s Cove began as a small fishing community. The first recorded settler in Duncan’s Cove was Simon Duntoyn in 1752. The cove was named after Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan who defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Camperdown.

Overlooking the entrance to Halifax Harbour made it a strategic part of Halifax’s defense system in the 18th century. The Camperdown Signal Station, was built a few miles northward next to nearby Portuguese Cove in 1797, the first of a series of signal stations built by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. It later became a wireless station and was operational until 1925.

In World War Two, the area around Chebucto Head, including Duncan’s Cove, became a fortified coastal battery armed with three Elswick 6 inch naval guns. For these cannon, a four-story concrete director tower was built near the eastern shore of Duncan’s Cove with a longrange optical rangefinder installed on the top floor. By 1943, this range-finding apparatus had been supplanted by the latest radar artillery control unit. The battery complex was decommissioned in the 1950s but many bunkers remain, some converted into private residences.

After the Second World War two families of musicians who played with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra moved to Duncan’s Cove. One of those families embarked upon a decades-long construction project of unconventionally shaped timber-framed dwellings, and even had a small private airstrip. By the late 1960s, fishing from the cove had dwindled and the community become known as an artists’ colony, with many symphony players, visual artists and theatrical actors residing there. The landmark gunnery director tower stood derelict for many years, until finally passing into private hands in the 1990s. The building is virtually unrecognizable today, having been radically converted into a luxury residence.

Nature Reserve

Duncan’s Cove Nature Reserve has one of HRM’s top coastal hikes, if not the best. Whales have been spotted in this area in the spring, bringing a pair of binoculars will increase your chances of seeing them, as well as getting a closer look at seals and shipping traffic beginning or ending their long Atlantic journey.This area is also the only known mainland Nova Scotia locality supporting the provincially rare Arctic Blueberry.

Leisure:

Duncan’s Cove is within easy reach of Purcell’s Cove Marina and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. The Squadron is home to close to 900 members from Canada, the United States, and international regions and offer instructional programs and on-water activities for all ages, with the largest learn to sail program in Atlantic Canada. One of Halifax’s best loved beaches is just a short drive away from Duncan’s Cove, Crystal Crescent beach is actually three whitesand crescent beaches located at the mouth of Halifax Harbour. Boardwalks to the first two beaches. Trailhead for a hike to Pennant Point, 10 km (6 mi) which provides interesting birding and wildlife viewing.

Area Schools:

Sambro Elementary
Herring Cove Junior High
William King Elementary
Central Spryfield School
J L Ilsley High School

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Dartmouth, founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia.

Located on the Eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the “City of Lakes” after the large number of lakes located in the city. The 23 lakes provide opportunities for kayaking, windsurfing,canoeing and swimming.

The Dartmouth waterfront has boardwalks that lead east and west from the Dartmouth Ferry Terminal, providing visitors with excellent views of McNab’s Island, George’s Island and the two bridges (the Angus L.
McDonald and the A. Murray MacKay). The Dartmouth Events Plaza accommodates a variety of special events, Such as the Multicultural Festival and Canada Day celebrations. Dartmouth has the oldest saltwater ferry system in North America.

Commuting to Halifax from Dartmouth is achieved by two different methods. You can drive your car or take a bus over either of two bridges or you can take either of two ferries that travel between Dartmouth and Halifax.

Dartmouth is also home to Dartmouth Crossing a CAD$280 million commercial development owned by North American Development Group.When it was first being developed, it was the largest retail construction project in Canada east of Calgary. It is comprised of 3 districts that include a “big box” retail area with large to medium sized stores, a “main street” district containing smaller, fashion-oriented stores, known as ‘The Village Shops at Dartmouth Crossing and an entertainment district containing restaurants and anchored by a 12-screen Cineplex Cinemas movie theatre.

Area Schools:

Shannon Park (PR-06)
Hawthorne (PR-06)
Prince Arthur (07-09)
Dartmouth High (10-12)

Distance to:

Stanfield International Airport – 29mins
City of Halifax – 11mins

Chester, Nova Scotia

Less than an hour drive from Halifax, you can spend a day,a week or a lifetime in beautiful Chester Municipality. This vibrant community has something for everyone and the local,specialized shops that stock unique products made locally, are considered one of the area’s “best kept secrets.” The village of Chester was founded in 1759 by New Englanders. After more than 200 years it has become a place of pleasant cafes and restaurants, gracious homes, tree lined streets and a timeless air of gentility. Mansions and more humbler homes , spilling up
and down hillsides and out on “the peninsula.”

Chester looks out over the 360 islands of magnificent Mahone Bay, past the hump of Quaker Island to Big and Little Tancook and East Ironbound and beyond. It’s clear to see that this is a sailor’s paradise. There are plenty of places to run before the wind but also hundreds of sheltered coves and bays for idling and exploring. The community is well known for its annual summer sailing regatta, Chester Race Week, where keelboats from all over the eastern coast of North America compete during the second week of August.

Area Schools:
Chester District School
Chester Area Middle School
Forest Heights
Community School
Gold River-Western Shore School
Lunenburg Academy
South Shore Waldorf School & Kindergarden
Shatford Memorial Elementary School
Bayview Community School
Big Tancook Elementary School

Besides sailing, the village is home to the Chester Playhouse, one of the best-known community theatres on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. During the last weekend of July the ‘Chester Garden Show’ and the ‘House and Garden Tour’ are the main attraction. Tancook ferry dock and the yacht club are located on the front harbour, where there is always good food and good cheer. The Back Harbour is the site of the Lido, a salt water swimming pool, surrounded by some of the town’s most elegant homes.Visitors and residents to the area are also attracted by the stunning 18 hole golf course, with its own splendid views of the surrounding countryside, with its miles of unspoiled woodland hills. The Chester Connector, a municipal operated section of the previous rail line provides a wonderful trail for walkers and cyclists. It is shared with motorized vehicles.

Distance to:
Stanfield International Airport – 70mins
City of Halifax – 60mins

Canning, Nova Scotia

Canning is a small village of around 850 people near the base of theNorth Mountain. First settled by the Acadians it was later inhabited by the New England Planters and the Dutch. Canning was first known as Apple Tree Landing, a well known children centre in the community still bears that name.

Canning is also home to one of the most well known scenic areas in the Annapolis Valley, the Look Off. From an elevation of roughly 200 metres you can see amazing views of the Annapolis Valley as well as the Minas Basin.

Another well known landmark in Canning is the statue in memory of Harold Borden, who died in the Boer war, which is

believed to be the second oldest military monument in Nova Scotia.

The Borden Wharf Lighthouse which was built in 1904 was restored in 2004 and now resides behind the Canning library. The light was taken down in 1959, the light destroyed, and the base was used as a pig pen. It saw other uses along the way as well, for a while used as a tool shed and then a little more dignified use as a tourist bureau.

Medford Beach

Paddy’s Island on North Medford Beach was once tree-topped, but now barely maintains a tuft of grass atop the sandstone formation.Paddy’s Island was named for Patrick “Paddy” Burns, 1824-1882, a farmer who owned the property above the beach. He married Catherine Whalen of Chester. “Paddy” and his brother, John, were dairy farmers and neighbours.Many people do not realize that Paddy’s Island has also been the name given to the headlands at North Medford.

As recently as 1950, the Medford Women’s Institute reported this curiosity, so when people say they lived at Paddy’s Island they mean the land not the island. It is sometimes erroneously called Paddy Island.

Outdoor Activities

There are many great ways to spend some time outdoors in the Annapolis Valley. Check out one of the many hiking trails,go canoeing or kayaking, try horseback riding, or enjoy some cross-country or downhill skiing at nearby Ski Martock.

Local Schools:

Glooscap Elementary School
North East Kings Education Centre