Eastern Shore

Halifax and Guysborough Counties

This scenic region of Nova Scotia stretches east along the coast from the Halifax-Dartmouth urban area. Also known as “Marine Drive” It’s characterised by fantastic white sand beaches, popular with surfers, beachcombers and sand sculptors. The area features great salmon rivers, deep inlets and wonderful lakes and rivers for canoeing and kayaking.

For the second-home buyer, the Eastern Shore offers more competitively priced homes than on the South Shore, but availability is more limited, since the area is less developed. Small communites (most with fewer than 1,000 residents) dot the area.

Musquodoboit Harbour is easily accessible from Halifax International Airport, while Sheet Harbour, once a centre for the lumber industry, was founded after the American War of Independence in 1784 by British loyalists.

The charming town Sherbrooke has the popular tourist attraction of Sherbrooke Village, while anglers head for St Mary’s River for salmon fishing. Further along is Canso, whose name comes from the Mi’kmaq word meaning “opposite the lofty clifts”, and this small town (founded early in the 17th century) has a population of just under 500.

The county town of Guysborough, the largest community in the region, sits on the edge of a large, sheltered harbour, ideal for boating and sailing.

Approximate distances:
Halifax to Sheet Harbour: 67 miles/107 km
Halifax to Shelburne: 128 miles/206 km
Halifax to Canso: 201 miles/323 km

Regional highlights and attractions:

• Beaches - Lawrencetown Beach’s rolling waves make it a popular place for surfers (see Kannon Beach for Eastern Canada's biggest surf shop); Clam Harbour beach is home to an annual sand sculpture contest (mid-August), and wonderful beachcombing; Martinique Beach is a spectacular stretch of almost deserted white sand
• Sherbrooke Village Museum is Nova Scotia’s largest provincial museum. This restored 19th century lumbering and shipbuilding community has about 80 buildings, of which more than 25 are open to the public. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/sv/index.php
• Canso Islands National Historic Site has a visitors’ centre and an interpretative trail. This was the site of one of the earliest fishing ports in North America, and was attacked and destroyed by the French in 1744. http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/canso/index_e.asp
• A number of Nova Scotia folk artists live and work in the region, including Barry Colpitts at West Jeddore, which is also home to the Black Sheep Art Gallery. www.lighthouse.ca.visitus.html
• The annual Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Canso showcases musicians from around the world at the end of June each year.
• Only 20 minutes’ from Halifax is the community of Fisherman’s Cove, a popular destination for food, shops, beaches and history. Learn more at www.fishermanscove.ns.ca/

More useful websites about the region:

www.museum.gov.ns.ca
www.nshistoricplaces.ca
www.sherbrookenow.ca