Observations & Fun Facts About Nova Scotia
I have lived in Nova Scotia on two occasions in addition to spending a summer working out of Wolfville. When I finally returned to the province after a long hiatus it was interesting to see and experience it with fresh eyes. Enjoy these 45 random observations and fun facts about Nova Scotia.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
1. People aren’t afraid of a little colour in Nova Scotia. It’s a treat to see something other than beige.
2. The highest tides in the world occur on the Bay of Fundy. That means you have to time your trips by boat with precision or you’ll get left high and dry – one of the fun facts about Nova Scotia.
3. You can find homemade butter tarts in almost every café or even gas station you stop at.
4. In Annapolis Royal there is a 9:30 PM candlelit graveyard tour led by Alan Melanson three days a week from June 1st until October 15th. It was fascinating, entertaining, enlightening and one of the highlights (really) of my trip to Nova Scotia.
5. Tax is high in Nova Scotia – 15% – a combination of the federal 5% GST and the 10% provincial sales tax.
6. Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia. It’s home to the biggest population east of Quebec City – 431,479 people at last count. For 26 interesting facts about Halifax click here.
Halifax also is a super interesting city to visit with fascinating things to do like the tunnel tour on Georges Island.
7. Craftiness is alive and well. Over and over again I was surprised at the ingenious items I’d see outside on people’s lawns or gates. Incredible creativity is obvious. The Nova Scotia College of Art & Design is located in Halifax.
8. There are three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Nova Scotia including Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Old Town Lunenburg and the Landscape of Grand Pré.
9. A stay in some beautiful B&B’s like the one pictured below near Kejimkujik National Park will run you a reasonable $99 in low season and as little as $129 in high season. There are very few places in Canada with such reasonable prices.
10. It was a refreshing change to see so few big box stores outside of the Halifax area. I did notice a few in Kentville but that was about it.
11. There are a lot of used lobster traps for sale. Some are offered for as little as $2.50/trap.
12. There is a timeless beauty to the Peggy’s Cove area. A visit never gets old.
13. The best lobster roll I had was at The Rope Loft in Chester. I savoured every mouthful and went back twice. It’s worth visiting Nova Scotia for the lobster rolls alone.
14. There are a lot of small cars on the road – partly I suspect as a function of the economy and the price of gas. During the COVID-19 crisis the price has dropped to about 66.8 cents a litre but in winter 2024 it’s as low as about $1.53/litre.
15. I’ve only seen signs like this offering pickled eggs and Solomon Gundy in Nova Scotia. I didn’t know people still ate pickled eggs.
16. Oil and wood are primarily used for heating homes unless you live in the Halifax-Dartmouth area. At one B&B I stayed at they told me they went through 40 cords of wood in a winter.
17. Since 1971 a Christmas tree has been given to Boston as a way of saying thanks for their assistance after the 1917 Halifax explosion. It’s kept lit in the Boston Commons area throughout the Christmas season.
18. In June lupines are everywhere. I never got tired of seeing field after field of them.
19. Nova Scotia is home to two national parks – Kejimkujik and Cape Breton Highlands. Kejimkujik has two locations – an interior one and one on the coast.
20. Wineries have taken off in Nova Scotia. There are wine tours galore – especially in the Grand Pré and Bear River regions.
21. People in Nova Scotia still hang out their laundry to dry; I think that’s great. What a treat it is when you get to a place and sleep between sheets dried by sea breezes.
22. There are some glorious deserted homes that harken back to another era. Some of them look haunted.
23. Backroads are in abysmal shape. On the paved road into Thomas Raddall Provincial Park I had to stay in the grooves or I would have bottomed out. Even the highways have some major potholes.
24. Churches are in great abundance. Some small towns boast three or more churches in just a few blocks – cue Mahone Bay. Most are white and black.
25. Parks are almost deserted in June so it’s a great time to visit. I felt like I had the whole of Thomas Raddall Provincial Park to myself one night. I saw one other vehicle.
26. Nova Scotia – which means New Scotland is the second smallest province in Canada.
27. Some of the most out of the way places have the most incredible food. I think the winner from my experience is the Lighthouse at Cape d’Or.
People I met elsewhere swooned in their description of his lunchtime grilled cheese sandwiches. And if you’re in nearby Advocate Harbour don’t miss Wild Caraway – a place where I had a giant piece of fresh halibut for $20 – after a three day solo backpacking trip eating granola and peanut butter.
Nova Scotia has more lighthouses than any other province
28. One of the fun facts about Nova Scotia is that there are 185 lighthouses scattered all over the province. I’d be hard pressed to pick the prettiest. I sure loved the feeling of desolation though at the one at Cape d’Or. You can stay in the Lightkeeper’s Cottage – an experience I’d highly recommend.
One of the most popular lighthouses to visit is the Cape Forchu Lighthouse near Yarmouth.
29. Inland Nova Scotia – Kejimkujik National Park excepted – is relatively uninteresting though there are lots of people in Nova Scotia that wouldn’t agree with me. It’s heavily forested. Stay to the coast for the scenery – and to avoid the bugs.
30. Kayaking is superb in Nova Scotia – though more challenging than I expected. The half day guided trip to the Three Sisters off Cape Chignecto will thrill you with its beauty. It’s a great way to see the tides of the Bay of Fundy in action.
The Cabot Trail is one of Canada’s most beautiful drives
31. Don’t miss a drive of the Cabot Trail – or if you’re feeling adventurous try biking it over five to six days. If you want to see a moose, head for the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
32. Bear River is a small town where some of the stores/houses are built on stilts because of the tide. This might be an idea for those people in Calgary living along the river.
33. The memorial to Swiss Air Flight 111 where 229 people perished in the cold Atlantic Ocean on September 2nd, 1998 is very moving – still after all these years.
34. There are some beautiful plants in the seaside Kejimkujik National Park including these pitcher plants that I’ve seen nowhere else but in Nova Scotia.
35. Strawberries are in season in June and July and judging by the number of towns I traveled through there are a lot of strawberry socials on the calendar.
36. The Cape Chignecto Coastal Trail seems to be deserted on weekdays in June. It offers incredible beauty with its fog forests and huge cliffs. Enjoy superlative views of the Bay of Fundy.
37. You can get a big glass of wine in restaurants for $9 – and I’m not talking gut – rot kind of wine here. What a treat to pay those kinds of prices.
38. Teenagers in Nova Scotia are the same as anywhere else I’ve been.
Nova Scotia feels a lot like Scotland
39. You make think you’re in Scotland when you go into cafes looking for food. Oats are big – and oatcakes seem to be de rigeur as an offering.
40. There were glorious fields of flowers, especially in the Wolfville – Halls Harbour region.
41. Walk into a general store and you might just find the local ladies all playing bingo. You feel like you’ve stepped back in time when the internet didn’t exist.
42. You can get amazing bowls of fish chowder in the most unlikely looking places – this one from The Deck – on a rural road near Hubbards – one of the fun Nova Scotia facts.
43. Biking is excellent around Annapolis Royal – and along the south shore. I found drivers to be extremely courteous – which is a good thing since there weren’t any shoulders 90% of the time.
44. One of the fun facts about Nova Scotia is that the houses in Lunenburg are colourful, beautiful and loaded with architectural details. In fact Lunenburg is a UNESCO site because it’s the best “surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America.“
45. The people I ran into in Nova Scotia were unbelievably friendly – and very proud of their province, one of the fun Nova Scotia facts. It was a breeze to be traveling solo – and surprisingly social, especially if you stay in B&B’s. And there are B&B’s everywhere.
Click on the photo to bookmark to your Pinterest boards.
I know – time… but you’ve missed the whole beautiful Eastern Shore – Highway 7 from Halifax to Cape Breton, or Marine Drive if you loop via Canso and Guysborough. You could spend your whole vacation just along our beautiful coast. Kayak through the 100 Islands Legacy (NS Nature Trust) for example and then down through the two mapped Bay of Islands routes. Trails, villages, excellent value (food and accommodations) and great people! You’ll simply have to come back. One free night, air bnb at the half-way point 🙂
@Gail I have done some of that drive though not on this trip. I’m always happy to go back to Nova Scotia!
Lots of hiking trails along the Glooscap Trail (Rte. 2). Most hiking trails are of wilderness standard from moderate to challenging…along banks of the Bay or Fundy or inland in Provincial Protected Areas. Check out Kenomee Wilderness Hiking Trails. Did you know that every river or stream in the Cobequid Hills has a waterfall? Did you know at Five Islands Provincial Park there is a timeline between Triassic and Jurassic eras that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world….except Morocco! On Jacob’s Lane in Economy you get one of the most spectacular views of the tide out/tide in, in the province! Stop at Cobequid Interpretive Centre in Economy to learn so much more than can ever be put in print!
I really enjoyed this! A great fresh perspective from someone who hasn’t grown accustomed to the scenery. Isn’t the fiat awesome? And I love the restaurant suggestions – I’ve been wanting to try Wild Caraway for some time. Through the comments I see that you’ve been given the opportunity to see that Nova Scotians can be very proud and very negative. Our most recent OneNS report even pointed it out as a provincial weakness.
@Steph I’ve had the full range of comments but overall hats off to Nova Scotians for being so proud of their province. I chuckled about the provincial weakness and thank you for that fact!
Hi great post…..do not forget our Beautiful Victoria Park in Truro.,,,the hub of NS…it is a thousand acres of beauty!!!!
@Vicki Thanks for that information.
I do not feel like I can relate to much in this article, actually I take offence to a lot of it, I feel like it stereotypes Nova Scotians, granted maybe some of Nova Scotia is this way but a majority of it is not….
Great observations and great pictures. We have a fantastic province, don’t we? I’d never heard the term “fog forests” before. Love it.
@Rob You are very lucky to live in Nova Scotia; the fog forest is very rare and I first heard about it while in Cape Chignecto Provincial Park.
I live in Nova Scotia. All of the photos and descriptions were wonderful, however, someone who has never been here might conclude that we don’t have any “pully” clotheslines or “cities”. A photo of the Halifax/Dartmouth harbor with the two bridges included would have balanced out the “tacky” pictures.
@Pat This post was random observations on a two week trip – and on this one I didn’t make it past the Halifax airport.
Great observations. So very true. Hopefully you may get to enjoy the over 650 km of inland salt water sea known as the Bras d’Or Lakes the next time. Louisbourg is amazing too. But, I guess, you can only ‘sea’ so much:).
The Pitcher plant, I discovered, grows in much more abundance in Newfoundland. I saw countless on a 9km hike from Sandy Cove to Salvage (highly recommend this hike). I later also discovered that this is the provincial plant of NL.
@Yosh Thanks for the comment. They are a beautiful plant and thanks for the hiking recommendation.
Lovely! Nice to see all those pictures. Surely, people can understand that you couldn’t go everywhere! I love this province and after 64 years of living here, I haven’t seen it all… thanks for sharing your adventure and insight! Come back soon!
@Nancy I love people like you who don’t admonish me for everything I didn’t cover. We all try and do our best and I have covered more of the province than most between visits and actually living in Nova Scotia on several occasions.
@Nancy You are the greatest!
Oh dear. Nova Scotia without whale watching off Brier Island ? Why ?
@Cindy I couldn’t do it all. Nice to know about.
I enjoyed your comments, but you must visit the South Shore and the French shores next time. the food, the scnery and the people are wonderful.
@Jean I have spent a lot of time on the south shore – on many,many occasions. The French shore is not a term I have heard – where is that?
The French Shore is highly overlooked when people visit N.S. The Gilbert’s Cove lighthouse is a must see and the many beautiful churches along the french shore.
Thank you for posting this “tour” of Nova Scotia. I have lived here most of my life and I love giving my family and friends who come to visit a personal tour of the province. They all think it’s a great place and can’t wait to come back. Nova Scotians are very proud and friendly people and we love sharing our province with tourist! Everyone should visit it atleast once (although I’m sure you’ll want to come back!)
@Catheryn I have lived in Nova Scotia on two occasions and have visited perhaps another half dozen times – so every so often I feel the tug of the province.
Also the Rappie Pie on the Acadian South Shore is a must try
@David That’s a new one on me. Thanks for the suggestion.
You should have went whale watching in digby neck, I think it’s arguably the best in the world and also went biking or as we do 4 wheelin to the settlement/electric city in New France
@David I did do a lot of biking around the Annapalis Royal area and agree that whale watching out of Digby would be great – next time.
Managed to miss everything French/Acadian, Yarmouth-related or sport related, eh? Doesn’t sound like the Nova Scotia I grew up in. Seems like you visited the valley, the island and spent a day or two in Halifax. Please, for the love of Nova Scotia change the title of your piece.
Actually Dave i have lived in Nova Scotia on several occasions (Halls’ Harbour, Wolfville, Halifax) and on the last trip I stayed for two weeks. I have vacationed on several other occasions as well. Why such a caustic remark?
@Dave I was in the province to kayak, hike and backpack – all rather sports related though not the country club variety.
I agree that I missed the Yarmouth area – but in two weeks I covered more of Nova Scotia than most people ever see on a visit. I didn’t actually go near Halifax, I backpacked the Cape Chignecto trail on my own for three days, kayaked very cool islands near Peggy’s Cove, ran into a mother bear & 2 cubs while alone in Keji NP – seaside addition – and that’s just a sampling from the trip.
I’m a native Nova Scotian now living in Florida and I thoroughly enjoyed your list and photos. Having cycled through every place you mentioned (and more), this brought back many wonderful memories. There is no place like it and will always be the home of my heart.
@Molly Thanks for your upbeat comment. Nice when someone isn’t critical of the post!!
I am so proud to call Nova Scotia my home-especially the valley. Thanks for taking the time to visit and enjoy so many of the natural beauties our little province has to offer!
I grew up in Annapolis Valley, living in Kingston-Greenwood area and then later on in Wolfville……my Grandparents lived in Grand Pre, and my other Grandparents were from Cape Breton.
Very nice to see these photos…….makes me homesick!!!!
@Lorna I lived in Hall’s Harbour and Wolfville at one point. Love this part of the world.
@Sarah And thank you to take the time to leave a positive comment.
@Michel I am quoting what the B&B owners told me in one located close to Keji. It’s a rambling old house with no insulation and it was a non-stop job to keep it warm.
We do have electricity here as well and many homes in the entire province are heated with it!
@Pat I know!
Your photos were great, I LOVE my province…SO many many places of beauty… I did take some exception to some of your comments though..not great exception but.. just sayin’. #1:White Sails USED to be great, It has been taken over by a Korean family who has no idea how to bake the “martitime” way and their products are gross and taste like shortening (as of summer 2013if they were voted “best places to eat in Canada” in 2012, they did not taste their wares in the early 2000’s, you had to get there early or there often would be nothing left. Everything(bread, squares, pies, cakes…) was ” OFF the hook!!)
#13 Lobster Roll : try the one from Masstown Market, outside Truro, on the TC104, 1.5 lbs of real lobster in it. May through October, as long as they can get it..
#34 Pitcher plant : take the road to Tor Bay, Guysborough County… all along the road in summer+ you are going to one absolutely beautiful Beach.
#37 Where is THIS $5 glass of wine….??!????
A Fan of anyone who travels the Cabot Trail on a bike, Susan Richey
@Susan Thanks for your informative comment. The Cabot Trail was an awesome trip by bike.
It seems to me like you had missed out on the best part of the trip, and maybe put a little too much focus on the mainland. There is SO much more Cape Breton island has to offer.
@Sean I had about 9 days on Cape Breton – second time I visited but agree that I have missed much the island has to offer.