Anne-Charlotte PasseraThe Bay of Fundy is shared by the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada and is a dog heaven. With tons of walking trails and beaches, your dog will have the time of his life.
The Bay of Fundy is world-renown for its incredible high-tides. If you had never heard of it before, well you have now.
Twice a day you’ll notice the water rise up to 50 feet in the Bay of Fundy. No no, it’s not a typo.
According to the Bay of Fundy Tourism, that’s 160 billion tonnes of seawater that flows in and out of the Bay of Fundy every day. It’s amazing that in the short span of an hour the tide can rise 10’ vertically. There are 6 hours between low and high tides.
However, the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia is more than just about watching the tides roll in and out and jagged cinnamon hued shorelines. In fact, there are some pretty colourful towns to stop at either to grab a bite to eat or walk around and wish that you too lived there.
While your dog will certainly enjoy getting a paw massage while running around the ocean floor, don’t miss out on the spectacular cliff top views the Bay of Fundy has to offer. In two days you can cover a lot of grounds, but will that be enough? Here is a list of places in the Bay of Fundy to discover with your dog.
Getting to the Bay of Funday – Nova Scotia
First things first. Obviously, if you are traveling with a dog from the adjacent provinces, you’ll be arriving by car. Hopefully, you will have stopped in Alma, New Brunswick to catch your first glimpse of the Bay of Fundy which your dog will love.
If you’re heading to Halifax, you won’t have a choice but to go through the Minas Basin area.
This area is an eastern inlet of the Bay of Fundy that leads the way to central Nova Scotia. It is home to some of the highest tides in the world.
It was named by Samuel de Champlain in 1604 because of the mineral deposits which can be found along its shores.
To continue exploring the Bay of Fundy, you’ll have to head towards the Annapolis Valley.
It’s a scenic region known historically for its agriculture with many small towns and villages.
While driving along long windy roads you’ll become part of a patchwork of wheat fields that look like an infinity pool merging with the sky.
You can explore these two Nova Scotia regions in 2 days with your dog, hitting the main spots, but there are so many things that you could see or do that you might need some extra days to take it all in.
The best area to sleep in if you want to cut your trip in half is around Wolfville or Grand Pré.
Amherst
Amherst is the first real town you’ll come across when arriving from New Brunswick.
It’s an old town which looked pretty dead when we passed through but we only caught a glimpse of it. We were looking for a place to eat.
We opted for the Backyard BBQ Smokehouse located in a strip mall. It looked shady from the exterior, but inside it was bustling with people.
We got take out and parked our car around the building to be in the shade. The food was good and decently priced. When you travel with a dog, especially a big one or two in our case, take-out will become your new best friend.
Amherst is also the closest city to the Joggins Fossil Centre.
Joggings Fossil Centre
Joggings is a UNESCO World Heritage site. While this had been on our to do list, we didn’t have enough time to stop there.
It is open daily from May to October.
While you can’t access the museum part with your dog, you can access the beach for FREE.
Guided tours are also available and dogs are allowed on a leash. A 30 minute guided beach tour cost $8.75 CAD.
More information HERE.
Cape d’Or coastal park
The lighthouse of Cape d’Or will offer you panoramic views of the Bay of Fundy running into the channel of the Minas Channel.
It can be visited from June to November.
You can even sleep and dine there if you wish. The lodgings seem to be pet-friendly but it might be best to check with them before booking.
If you can’t eat there, there are places to do so in the village of Advocate Harbour at the foot of the Cape.
From the Cape Chignecto Provincial Park its a 12km walk one way to the lighthouse. You can of course park closer and walk to the lighthouse from Advocate Harbour (8.1km one way)
Five Islands Provincial Park
Five Islands Provincial Park is the perfect place to stop with a dog with 300 ft. sea cliffs overlooking the Bay of Fundy. While you could hike the 4.4km loop on the Red Head trail to catch the best views of islands and the basin, with a whole lot less effort you can walk on the bay floor during low tide.
When we went there, it was in the middle of the afternoon and low tide.
The park features 90 metre (300 ft.) sea cliffs overlooking the world’s highest tides.
The bay floor resembles mud flats and feel, in some parts, like you are walking in a huge pile of poop. Some areas are quite soft and your shoe might decide that it has just about had it and just wants to stay there.
Luckily, I took off my Birkenstocks and just walked bare foot.
This is not a place you go to sunbathe and lounge on a towel as you just can’t.
Since the place is spread out and huge, there is possibility to take your dog off leash without bothering anybody on the bay floor . The water was farely warm when we went there in July 2022.
Practical information
Bring fresh water for your dog if you plan to walk far and stay a while so that they don’t drink the bay water which is salty. Trust me, salty water is not good for dogs as it will upset their stomachs. I am speaking from experience. Yet again, dogs are not dum. Once they’ve tasted salt water, chances are they won’t do that ever again.
By the parking lot, there is a shower to rinse off your feet and your dog and a grass area to just enjoy the view.
Fare warning, the road to get there from Amherst can be rough at times. Our GPS took us through a 6km dirt road. Luckily there were houses along the way or else we would have pulled a U-turn.
Camping is also possible in the park.
The entrance to the park is FREE but one night of camping cost $35.60 + tax.
Burntcoat Head Park
Burntcoat Head Park is another place where you can walk on the bay floor and admire the tides. There are also wooded areas to walk through with your dog.
Guided ocean tours are available for $18 for adults and $10 for children under 18. They last 1h30 where you’ll learn about the bay’s ecosystem, the tide pools and get to walk along the ocean floor.
You can also access this park for FREE.
More information HERE.
Kipps Beach
Kipps beach is located near Scotch rocks and Cheverie and is dog-friendly. We did not have time to stop there but it is popular with dog owners.
Grand Pré National Historic Site
Grand Pré is a Unesco site. We went to visit it at the National Historic Site and it was the least interesting visit of our entire trip. I was expecting a stop overlooking miles on end of wheat fields. That was not the case. Instead, we saw a field with ready made tents. There is a garden with a church where you need to cross old railroad tracks to access. That was the nicest part.
Perhaps we didn’t stop where we should have.
More information HERE.
The area surrounding this stop however is spectacular.
Blomidon Provincial Park
Blomidon Provincial Park is a great place to spend the night camping and star gazing. In fact, we even got to spot Elon Musk’s Star Link, not to be confused with Santa Claus and his reindeers like my husband thought.
Practical information
The closest supermarket is located 20 minutes away in the quaint town of Canning. If camping is not your cup of tea, there are plenty of picturesque B&B to pick from. However, I’m not sure if any of them are pet-friendly.
Camping in Blomidon Provincial Park costs $35.70 per night. There is no fee to visit the park.
Our campsite was #63 and located in a huge open space close to toilets, water and access to the woodland trail. All campsites come with a fire pit and grill on top. Wood for the fire pit cost $5.
The Showers are free.
The trails
Some major trails are located around the campsites. There are gently rolling short and steep section trails.
- Woodland trail 2.2km one way (30-45 minutes)
- Look-off trail 1km loop (20 minutes)
- Jodrey trail upper 2.8km one way (1h15 minutes)
The trails mostly go through a forest with a few small look offs on the bay. The views aren’t particularly spectacular.
Keep the dogs on leash as we did see a humongous porcupine. Did you know that they climb on trees? I surely didn’t.
At the park entrance you’ll find another trail and access to a magnificent beach which you can bring your dog to.
Scots Bay
Due to lack of time and already exhausted dogs, we did not do this hike that was one of my top hike to do in the Bay of Fundy.
The Cape Split hike is about a 13km loop and takes 4-6h. You’ll be walking mostly through a forest until you hit a clearing. From there, you’ll have a huge open space overlooking the bay. They say to keep your dogs on leash in this part as you’ll be on the edge of cliffs and you wouldn’t want your pooch to fall down. Bring lots of water and comfortable shoes.
Fort Anne National Historic Site
Sitting on the banks of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis River lies the National Historic Site of Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal.
It’s a great place to stop by for a quick stroll on the grounds for Free and grab a bite to eat.
While the exterior is pet-friendly, the museum isn’t.
The fort is located on George Street which has plenty of heritage houses to admire. You’ll also find two popular places to eat where you can bring the take out to one of the picnic tables at the Fort:
Towns of the Annapolis valley
The Annapolis valley is a spectacular region with rolling hills of fields. There are plenty of quaint towns with Victorian style houses that will make you say: oh look at that one on repeat.
Wolfville
In Wolfville, you’ll find tons of trendy restaurants. It is the beating heart of the Annapolis Valley, probably because of all its wineries.
You can stock up on local produce at Noggins Corner farm with your dog.
The property of Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards do allow pets on the grounds. However, you can’t bring your dog along for the wine tasting which takes place inside.
Port williams
The tiny town of Port Williams is mostly known for its gin and honey.
Barreling tide distillery: 1164 parkway drive (opens at 11h)
You can’t bring the dogs in, but it is possible to leave them outside if you can find some shade.
Tasting is free. They have rhum, gin and vodka, all made locally. Try the chili pepper vodka, its definitely something your mouth will remember!
Wood’n’Hive Honey: 1284 Starrs Point Road (opens at 1pm on a Sunday)
Due to time, we did not stop by this place.
Digby
Digby is the clams capital of the world, or so they say. We stopped there to grab some food and it wasn’t seafood. There is a long main street that follows the bay. You’ll see tons of fishing boats going about their day. Digby is a good place to grab lunch.
Bear River
While the town of Bear River is nothing your dog will rave about it might interest you to pass through it.
It is a tidal village on stilts surrounded by luscious winding roads and beautiful homes.
Take the back roads to continue on to find 8 south which will then take you to the gorgeous park of Kejimkujik and the south shore of Nova Scotia.
