Annapolis County: Trails, Landscapes and Museums

In Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, trails, protected landscapes and museums offer different starting points for trip planning. Routes range from a loop trail with an approximate one-hour walking time to a trailway about 115 kilometres long; wetlands and forest areas also shape the natural landscape. Museums in several communities complement the nature-related attractions.

Hiking and Multi-Use Trails

The Delaps Cove Wilderness Trail system includes the Bohaker Trail, a 2.2 km loop with an approximate one-hour walking time, and the 1.9 km Charlies Trail, also a loop. Both are connected in one direction by the 2.7 km Shore Road Trail. This makes it easy to distinguish the lengths of the two loop trails from that of the connecting trail.

At Bohaker Cove, the Bohaker Trail features a 43-foot-high waterfall. From a viewing platform, you can see basalt lava rocks along the cliff. The Delaps Cove Wilderness Trail also passes through 130 acres of covered forest on the wind-swept coast of the Bay of Fundy. Birdwatching and photography are also possible activities there. In more remote sections, visitors may see stone walls, foundations and lilac bushes.

For a much longer route, there is the Harvest Moon Trailway: about 115 km long, it officially opened in 2017 and connects communities in the Annapolis Valley between Annapolis Royal in Annapolis County and Grand Pré in Kings County. Large sections of the route are multi-use trails for hiking and cycling. The historic route was known as the Dominion Atlantic Railway (CP). This makes the measured loop trails at Delaps Cove quite distinct from the regional length of the trailway.

In Upper Clements, Upper Clements Trails is a multi-use recreational trail system with more than 16 km of singletrack and doubletrack trails for non-motorized activities. The different measurements help illustrate the range of trails in the county: from individual loop trails to a long trailway used for hiking and cycling, and a larger recreational trail system.

Protected Areas and Landscapes

The 180-hectare McGill Lake Wilderness Area protects a wetland with diverse plant communities and scattered forest habitats. It lies within the South Mountain Rolling Plain natural landscape in Annapolis County. Here, the wetland, plant life and forest habitats are all part of the protected area's focus.

There are five wilderness areas in Annapolis County; the province's wilderness areas are considered important protected areas for Nova Scotia. Medway Wilderness Area protects many of the county's paddling areas.

Guidance for Cycling and Paddling Routes

For cycling planning, there is a free guide available in print and online, Bicycle Annapolis County – A Cyclist's Guide to Outdoor Adventure. It includes 22 colour-coded routes graded from easy to challenging. Canoe Annapolis County features 27 paddling routes and provides information on trip planning, safety, equipment, wilderness ethics, and canoe and kayak services. A photo album focuses on paddling in earlier times. The two guides therefore have clearly distinct focuses: cycling routes on one hand, and paddling plans with supplementary topics on the other.

Museums in Several Communities

Museums are also among the named destinations in the county. The Farm Museum is at 570 Highway #1 Main Street in Lawrencetown. The James House Museum is at 12 Queen Street in Bridgetown. In Middleton, the Macdonald Museum is at 21 School Street and the Middleton Railway Museum is at 61 School Street. The locations show that the museums are spread across several communities.

Discover more destinations: Deep Brook, Annapolis Royal, Granville Ferry, Bridgetown, West Springhill, Victoria County, Antigonish County, Yarmouth County.

For the broader travel overview: Nova Scotia.