Nova Scotia This beautiful island's car tags say "Canada's Ocean Playground" which is appropriate for a land that is thick with evergreen trees, blue with lakes and oceans, rocky, friendly clean and --- The island is sparsely populated, occasionally dotted with small towns and villages. The shore is lined with small fishing villages and beautiful panoramic views. It is mostly trees and lakes; the evergreens and blue lakes make a postcard picture. In fact, it's hard to drive a golf ball without hitting water of some kind: stream, river, lake or ocean. There are some larger towns where shopping can be had: Halifax, Dartmouth, Truro, Sydney. Many of the campers we encountered were Nova Scotia residents, and some were from the mainland such as Quebec or Toronto. Not so much for US residents. Apparently the NS RV-ing population just likes to get away from home and go to a nearby campground for a few days. -- Shell, Esso -- provincial parks -- don't miss exit 15 - only road to Halifax Halifax Area Stayed with Mike and Claudia 9 Jul - 18 Jul Hwy 14 between Chester and Windsor Chester quaint town, marina restaurant ?? Windsor Spitfire Pub - good fish & chips 18 Jul - 23 Jul King Neptune Campground near Peggy's Cove beautiful view of ocean, but only from rigs next to the water other sites can walk to the water Rhubarb restaurant - 4 sta? - didn't eat there, need reservations Peggy's Cove -- Swiss Air Flight 111 disaster -- shopping mall in Halifax - Costco, Walmart, Best Buy, Starbucks, Petco, Staples, restaurants, fast food, etc -- reserve at provincial parks, if you are early enough order Nova Scotia Provincial Parks Guide from ??? Grand Pre NS [85610] 12:30 pm - [---] xxx Land of Evangeline Campground Rather large but pleasant campground. We were in site L26. Laundry facilities and washrooms. They have what they call a "store" but it just has ice cream. Mostly seasonal residents, with a few spaces reserved for transients. Some tent camping. Full hookups. Wi-fi, although the internet can be spotty for sites not near the office. Fire ring, picnic table. Sites are rather close together. The slideouts aren't quite touching, but you can often hear people talking in the next unit. Ocean is within walking distance. Grand Pre Historical Site "great meadow" History of Grand Pre people Town of Wolfville is about 10 minutes up the road (west). Neat town with shopping and restaurants. Town of New Minas is about 10 minutes past Wolfville. -- pub we ate at with Mike & claudia Annapolis Royal NS [85214] 11:30 am - [85783] 1:30 pm Fundy Trail Campground This campground has been owned by a young couple for a couple years. The area was apparently in disarray when they acquired it and have been working to improve it. They have a way to go to make it attractive to many RV-ers, especially those with big rigs. elec, water, sewer, fire ring, picnic table 30 amp [not really, 1 a/c blew breaker]. Now I'm afraid to run more than one appliance at the same time, since the circuit breaker is not at the site - owner has to go and unlock the breaker box elsewhere. some sites have 110, presumably tent sites. swimming pool, laundry - no camp store a short walk or drive down to the Bay of Fundy offers a beautiful view. However, not many sites can see it from the campground. site 64, never could get level, we don't have self-leveling jacks. It was hard to back into the site and took several tries, mainly due to drainage ditch in front of the site as well as the narrowness of the site. 50 & 30 amp wi-fi, although internet access seems to be limited to various periods during the day. When it is available, can be agonizingly slow. In retrospect, we should have booked our stay in the Annapolis Royal area a day or two longer, since Digby is close to that area. As it was, we had to make about an hour drive back from our campground inYarmouth and back, but it was well worth it [see below] Annapolis Royal and Port Royal area Annapolis Royal is not a large town, but is interesting. The wharf provides a panoramic view of the harbor. There are a few restaurants and pubs, but we didn't find a lot in the way of shopping for basics, especially RV needs. We ate at the Bistro restaurant. They serve French food, and the lobster roll on baguette and the chocolate mousse were very good. On the way back from Annapolis Royal and Port Royal, we stopped in at the Historic Gardens at Annapolis Royal. The grounds are beautiful, and somewhat reminiscent of the Buchards Gardens in Vancouver, although not as magnificent. There is an Irving station outside of town that has diesel. We also visited the Historic Site at Port Royal. It's not large, but it is informative as to the early settlement (1600's) in the area. The buildings were burned down by the British, but the site was reconstructed in historic accuracy in the 1900's. Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site Due to rain we were unable to visit this park. That's sad, because we were very much looking forward to it. Just up the road from Fundy Trail Campground is a seafood distributer called Nautical Seafood LD. They also have a little retail sales area, where they can steam a lobster for you, and also have scallops, haddock, mussels, chowder and other neat stuff. Close to ??? is another campground called Cove that looks very nice. Unlike the rather rustic nature of Fundy Trail, Cove is quite neat, almost manicured. It is rather pricy [avg $67] most if not all sites have an ocean view. If you decide to stay there and have a big rig, try to get site 35 or something like it, where you can park sideways for a full ocean view. The lady we talked to was quite friendly and took us for a tour in her golf cart. The sites that we saw were full service, and they have internet. Unless you have a small rig and like remote areas, you might want to look elsewhere. This campground is a bit far from places you might want to visit, like Port Royal, Annapolis Royal and Digby. You might also want to look at Upper Clements RV Park. We drove past it on the way to Yarmouth and it looked nice from the highway. It is also conveniently located about halfway between Annapolis Royal and Digby. -- Crow's Nest ?? Yarmouth NS [85865] 11:30 am -- [85950] 1:30 pm Darling Lake Campground and Cottages This campground's motto is "Clean, Quiet and Friendly", and it is certainly all three. As seems to be the theme with Nova Scotian campgrounds, this one is composed primarily of seasonals. -- 30 amp, water, fire ring, picnic table, dump station. No sewer, wi-fi or cable or pool. There are some sites for tenting, and there is a small play area for kids. There is also a clubhouse where the seasonals meet for campfires and cordiality. -- Excellent views of lake, large herons spacious common areas sites are comfortable and level During our stay at the campground they held a "Christmas in July" contest where the seasonal residents decorated their rigs in Christmas gala. I don't know who won but my personal favorite was Santa and the reindeer pulling a little travel trailer behind. Yarmouth Yarmouth is a relatively big town in Nova Scotia terms, perhaps only second to the Halifax - Dartmouth area,. Most of the "action" happens around Water Street and Main Street. Unfortunately, we only had a chance to spend a couple hours here, but there was shopping, pubs and restaurants. Away from the downtown area is where the big shopping is - Sobeys, Walmart, etc. We ate at Rudders restaurant on the waterfront. The seafood crepe and seafood casserole were great. Digby This is a picturesque town situated on a harbor rife with fishing boats. The wharf is home to Nautical Seafood Ltd, which owns the little seafood shack mentioned earlier close to Fundy Trail Campground. Digby advertises it self as the "Scallop Capital of the World". It must be well deserved, if our taste of Digby scallops are an indication. We ate at the Crows Nest restaurant on the waterfront. The patio has a wonderful view of the harbor. The pan-fried scallops and lobster roll were great, as was the thick chocolate shake I had for dessert. We also poked our noses into various coves and back roads outside of the town area. We were rewarded with many beautiful shore sights you don't get to see on the beaten trail. One road just past town took us to a rustic lighthouse area out on a point that offered beautiful views of the rocky coastline. My wife grows orchids, so naturally we have been looking for driftwood suitable for orchid mounting. We found our first specimens at one of these little coves, and learned a secret for driftwood hunting - look for wood lodged within the rocks and boulders that line the shores, not on the shore itself, as anything that comes in will likely go out again with the tide. There is a little monument to Admiral Digby at the edge of the downtown area, close to the wharf. It has a pretty little garden and a nice panoramic view of the water. Hunt's Point and the Liverpool area NS [86100] 12:00 pm -- [86208] ?? Fisherman's Cove RV & Campground We like this little campground very much. The sites are somewhat spacious, about an equal mixture of sealonals and transitionals. It's close to the ocean, and it's just up the road from a rustic but nice seafood restaurant called Seaside Seafood which has good fish & chips, and the chocolate shakes aren't bad either. We camped in site # 7 which had 30 amp, water and sewer. There is a laundry shed but no wi-fi or pool. We drove down to the seaside part of the Kejimkujik National Park, which is not far from the campground [exit 22 off 103, then hwy 3 to Port Joli; follow signs - left off 3, follow the road for quite a way, then another left into the park]. There are two walking trails - Harbor Rocks and Port Joli. I walked the Harbor Rocks trail which, depending on how fast you walk and how much you stop to take pictures, is around an hour's hike. For those not inclined to hike, go past the final left fork for a short drive to the rocky shore. There is a wilderness version of the park further to the northwith hiking trails, lakes and rivers, and canoeing and is not amenable to driving around. The seaside part has a stunning white sand beach. Barrington - "Lobster Capital of ??" Mahone Bay and Lunenburg NS [86272] 12:00 pm -- [86322] 1:5p pm Rayport Campground The road leading up to the campground is narrow and rough. Our fridge popped open from the roughness and several items came out, some causing a mess on the floor. Be that as it may, the short drive of a few hundred meters is worth it. The campground is clean and neat, composed of mostly seasonals with a couple dozen sites reserved for transitionals. If you can get a site next to, or close to the river, you won't be disappointed. We spent time sitting and watching the ducks playing behind the rig. The campground is located very close to the 103, and you can hear road noise especially at night. At the transient sites it isn't particularly bad except you can hear the big rigs passing by. The seasonals probably have gotten used to it. Be sure to reserve as early as possible, as sites here are normally in heavy demand. This is one of the best campgrounds we have stayed at on the island. The sites are spacious. We camped in site G6, which is right by the river. It is one of the few sites where we were able to part the truck next to the rig. The site is level with water and 30 / 50 amp. No sewer, but they do have a dump station and a free sewer-sucker service. The truck will come by if you notify them the day before, and you don't have to be there. The internet was reliable and fast except for an occasional glitch. Disconnecting and reconnecting usually fixed the problem. There is a small "camp store" that consists mostly of condiments and junk food. But Lunenburg is close by, and Halifax / Dartmouth is only about an hour away if you need big box items. Mahone Bay Mahone Bay is only about 6 km down Trunk 3. Thiere is a nice little town with a very picturesque harbor full of fishing boats and sailboats. At the edge of town there is an Irving gas station that has diesel. Close to the gas station is a grocery store where you can restock your fridge and freezer. We had dinner at the Mug and Anchor. The Steak and veggie stew, which is a little like an Irish stew. It was good. The restaurant is a bit pricy, probably due to the view of the harbor. There is an ice cream store next door that actually has green tea ice cream! Pick up a brochure that has a map of Mahone Bay at the campground desk. Lunenburg Historic Lunenburg is about 12 km away. It advertises itself as the "Balsam Fir Christmas Tree Capitol of the World." -- Bluenose II -- parking downtown is problematic We ate at the Old Fish Factory restaurant on the wharf area. The lobster tacos were really good but pricey [price includes the view]. If you like apple cider, try the Shipbuilder Cider. Shubie Park Campground NS [--] 12:10 am -- [86425] 1:31 pm This is a nice campground located at Shubie Park in Dartmouth, which has major shopping like Costco, Walmart, Ikea, etc. The city of Halifax is located immediately across the river from Dartmouth, and can be reached either by the bridge or by ferry. We parked in site # 9 which is spacious, level (not all sites are) and has 50 amp and water. There is no sewer but there is a dump station on the way out. Unlike most campgrounds we've been in at NS, there don't seem to be so many seasonals here. There is a nice kid's playground and a tennis court. The washers and dryers in the laundry are good. The office has junk food, ice cream and ice. They have wi-fi but it isn't very good. Their network name didn't even show up in the list of available nets. They did say they have plans to upgrade, but did not give a date. -- card $20 deposit -- Dartmouth Crossing across lake, can see Ikea, circuitous route -- RV dealers  There is a mobile RV repair guy that serves the Halifax / Dartmouth area. Bob Weber of 360 Group Ltd will come out to you site. He's not cheap, but we have used him twice and he was pretty good. 833.360.MYRV, robert@360groupltd.ca and www.360groupltd.ca.