Day Trips in Halifax

The cozy, artistic city of Halifax is a great home base for the areas best attractions. Nova Scotia is such beautiful and tranquil place. Located not far away from Halifax are some great day trip destinations including beaches, coves and wonderful scenery. The best part is you get to come home to Halifax each night and enjoy the areas eclectic and delicious restaurants. Relax and sip ambrosial microbrews or Absinthe with the friendly Halifax locals.

Cape Split / Blomidon Provincial Park

A wonderful short hike is only two hours away from Halifax. This pleasant hike is popular with locals as well as tourists. Depending on how fast you like to hike, the walk is one to two hours each way. The acme of this hike is the panoramic view of the Bay of Fundy’s Mina Basin. Blomidon Provincial Park is close by and provides similarly scenic hiking trails.

McNab´s Island

The great thing about McNab’s Island is that you don’t need a car to take a quick day trip out of Halifax. You can walk down to the waterfront and book your boat ride. Tickets don´t cost a lot. McNab´s Island is almost one thousand acres and is named after the man who settled this area, Peter McNab. Aside from the wonderful flora and fauna, there are several forts here, the original McNab house and a cemetery filled with the remains of cholera victims.

Beaches

There is nothing like a day at the beach. Only a short distance from Halifax, there are several great beaches you can visit on a day trip.

If you are a surfer you will want to head north of Halifax to Martinique and Lawrencetown beaches. Lawrencetown has great waves and southern exposure, Martinique is three times as big and has lifeguards in the busy season.

For water that is warm enough to enjoy swimming, you need to head to an interior lake. Less than thirty miles from Halifax are Shubenacadie-Grand Lake and Porters Lake. Both lakes have plenty of swimming and picnicking spots. These lakes are a perfect destination for families; bring food and beverages for a picnic lunch.

Peggy´s Cove

Endlessly photographed, this scenic area is only a forty-five minute drive from Halifax. The drive along the coastline in itself is striking. Once you arrive at this fishing village you will see the main attractions which are the spectacular ocean views and the quintessential lighthouse. A great romantic sunset spot when the weather is clear.