Glooscap Trail, Nova Scotia: Ride Along the Bay of Fundy

Drive the Glooscap Trail, which winds along the Eastern Coast of the Bay of Fundy and its myriad of bays and bights. Stay the night at Joggins, a small town known for its fossil cliffs. People are allowed to walk the beaches and collect the rocks and perhaps find a fossil or two. People are not allowed to take any from the cliffs.  But with the tides on the Bay of Fundy, some fossils are falling to beach every day.  Take a walk down to the beach in the evening to watch the world renowned tides roll in. It had already come in over one hundred yards.

The Bay of Fundy is noted for its high tides, up to 54 feet. It is quite an experience watching it . In some places called the tidal bores where the rivers enter into the bay, the wave can be as low as two feet and as high as fifteen feet entering the river.

Continue tp drive down the Glooscap Trail, named after a Micmac Spirit credited with forming the Five Islands on the Northern Coast of the Minas Basin. Your first stop should be Cape Chignecto Provincial Park to see the Three Sisters, a series of rock pillars rising 150 feet above the beach. The hike is a minimum of six hours each way. The park is run by local townspeople, who are very solicitous about catering to the needs of the public for hiking and the other amenities they provide.

Next go to Cape d’Or, named because of the copper deposits in the rock. A gravel road leads up to an overlook with hiking trails and a B & B. The views are spectacular from the lighthouse. There are sea caves, sea pillars and an incredible rip tide at high tide. This is well worth the trip for the views.

On along the northern coast of the Minas Basin and stay at the municipal campground at Parrsboro. You are right on the Basin and once again. Be mesmerized by the tidal action.

Drive from Parrsboro to Halifax. Cross over the Salmon River at Truro, one of the tidal bores. The river was to the top of its bank and you could see the currents fighting each other for control. It is interesting.  About one hundred people stand on the banks of the river waiting for the tidal bore to come.  All of a sudden you can see an eighteen inch wall of water working its way up the river.  Relentlessly, it keeps coming.

About the Author

John Pelley is a Geriatric Gypsy. He is retired from the rat race of working. He is a full-time RVer, who ran away from home. He began our travels on the East Coast and, like the migrating birds, seek the warmth of the seasons He has discovered volunteering with the National Park System. He has a CD he has recorded of Native American flute music., A Day with Kokopelli. For pictures, links, and more information visit http://www.jmpelley.org.

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