Directions:

Cape Chignecto is 40km west of Parrsboro and 80km south of Amherst. Follow route 209 to the park entrance in West Advocate.

Description:

Nova Scotia's newest provincial park. With 600 foot cliffs and the highest tides in the world Cape Chignecto will not dissapoint.

A great place to camp and hike. The best place to go in Nova Scotia that most people have not actually seen. This is a community run 50Km loop of average condition to good condition depending on the section. There are a few places where it gets very muddy, mostly on the New Brunswick side.

If you only have a day I recommend hiking in to Refugee Cove. It is a strenuous 12 km hike which takes 3-4 hours one way, but it is a great hike.

If you want to hike the whole thing I recommend 2-3 nights, there are groups that hike it in one shot and one group that runs it in a day. Since such feats are not for the average hiker I suggest hiking counter clockwise by heading on day one to Seal Cove via Eatonville (14km). This is a great warm up for the days to come with only few rolling hills. This trip to Eatonville is entirely in the woods and follows a few streams on and off. The section from Eatonville gets you a great view of the ocean and the New Brunswick side of the cape. Stay the night in Seal Cove, you will get to the camp sites, on the left, before the beach but I suggest a walk down to the beach after you get your tent set up.

Day two head down the coast past Key Hole Brook and around the cape to Refugee Cove (~20km). This hike is long and some may want to break it into 2 days. The coastal scenery is unbeliveable and you should stop at all of the lookout points along the way, this will however, make for a long day. Refugee Cove is a great campsite with lots of tent sites placed well up the gorge away from the ocean along a stream. The acent out of Refugee Cove is as strenuous as the decent, it is very steep. Don't worry it will be put into perspective when you hike in to Mill Brook which has 46-48 degree slopes. The hike out from Refugee Cove only takes a few hours but it has the most spectacular scenery so I suggest taking your time and savoring it. Follow the signs for Red Rocks, there are only seems to be references to Red Rocks on the trail. Red Rocks is next to the parking lot.