Sunrise Trail

Warm waters, Warm welcomes

There's a special feeling of welcome all along the Sunrise Trail. It's a part of everything, from the warmth of the gentle surf that caresses broad sand beaches to the friendly people met along the way.

There's a special beauty along the Sunrise Trail, too. Gently rolling farmlands create a quilt of emerald green fields that meets the sparkling blue waters of the Northumberland Strait. Country roads wind along sandy shores with their bright red bluffs and tidal salt marshes that are vibrant with life. Timeless towns and villages, where generations have harvested the bounty of land and sea, now wait to be explored. Gracious accommodations offer a home away from home. There are fine restaurants, colourful shops and art galleries, as well as museums.

Good food and festivals are a specialty of the area as well. Celebrate rich Scottish heritage and get swept away by the captivating magic of bagpipes, fiddles and traditional dancing at the Gathering of the Clans in Pugwash on July 1st. If you love to eat, you'll enjoy special festivals celebrating our blueberries, fine wines and the delicious seafood of the Northumberland Strait. In coastal towns all along the Northumberland Shore, the lobster boats can be seen leaving early in the morning and returning in mid-afternoon loaded with their delicious cargo. Many communities have public wharves and lobster pounds where you can purchase lobster right from the fisherman. From the sea to you - it doesn't get any fresher than that!

For swimmers and beachcombers, our 450 km (280 mi.) of shoreline and over thirty fine-sand beaches offer an irresistible invitation to enjoy the warmest salt water north of the Carolinas. There are twelve beautiful provincial parks, and nature lovers will enjoy exploring our hiking trails, sand dunes and wildlife-filled salt marshes. The region is also one of the safest places in Nova Scotia to experience the wonderful world of sea kayaking. On a sea kayaking adventure visitors may view one of the largest breeding grounds for grey seals and will gain a unique vantage point on this gentle coastline.

History comes alive along the Sunrise Trail. At the Balmoral Grist Mill you can see grain ground into flour by water power, or visit the Sutherland Steam Mill, where steam power turns logs into lumber just as it did when the mill was built in 1894.

The Sunrise Trail Heritage Tour introduces you to the industry and imagination of Canada's earliest peoples-the Mi'kmaq, the Scots, the Acadians. Pick up the brochure at visitor information centres and tour the shoreline where the age of sail meets the age of rail.

Places to visit along the Sunrise Trail:

• Amherst & Area - 198 KB
• Tidnish & Area - 182 KB
• Oxford & Area - 556 KB
• Pugwash & Area - 150 KB
• Wallace / Malagash - 160 KB
• Wentworth & Area - 220 KB
• Tatamagouche & Area - 408 KB