Nova Scotia: Halifax, Lunenburg, & Peggy’s Cove with Kids

I was not eager to leave PEI after a beautiful few days on the island, but I was looking forward to seeing Nova Scotia. It was a 3 hour drive from Prince Edward Island to Halifax, Nova Scotia with kids who were beginning to get road-tripped out. We stopped in Truro at Victoria Park to stretch our legs at the playground and have a snack. We continued to our hotel in downtown Halifax. Once we checked in, we walked around Halifax toward the Waterfront and Pier 51.

Halifax

The main branch of the public library is modern and has a great children’s section. We walked through the market but it was closed at the time. The boardwalk at the Halifax Waterfront is beautiful and has many options for restaurants with patios but very few seemed comfortable with young children. There was a submarine shaped playground that the boys loved and we walked through a museum briefly before heading to a pub for dinner. It was a long day of driving and then a long, hot walk and we were all tired and hungry. We ended up getting a table in a little nook all to ourselves which was exactly what we needed. In the evening I stayed in the hotel room with the boys while they slept and Daood went out in search of a craft Brewery.

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Lunenburg

The next morning we drove to Lunenburg and saw the famous Bluenose II leaving the dock. We walked up and down the hilly streets of town, stopping in a few souvenir shops and playing at a playground.

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Peggy’s Cove

We drove along the “old highway” 3 instead of 103 so we could drive through the seaside villages on our way to Peggy’s Cove. If I did it again, I would’ve skipped the scenic drive and gone straight to Peggy’s Cove, where the scenery was best anyway, and then gone hiking in the area – maybe on the Polly Cove Hiking Trail. I also would have researched restaurant options because we ended up driving around looking for anything available.

Peggy’s Cove was our final stop on our road trip and it packed a surprisingly emotional punch. It is arguably the biggest tourist stop in Atlantic Canada and the parade of bus tours was never ending. Visitors are able to park at an information centre (with washrooms) and then walk through the tiny village, (home to about 30 permanent residents) toward the famous lighthouse. It is postcard perfect with rounded rocks that protect small bays of fishing vessels and lobster cages from the brutal waves of the Atlantic. We passed artists painting in plein air and a cook-your-own-lobster food truck surrounded by a crowd of hungry tourists. 

As the lighthouse came into view over a small rocky hill, a bagpiper’s music was carried away with the breeze. I quickly distracted myself so I didn’t ugly-cry as I looked with gratitude at our little family at the end of our first family trip.

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This road trip to Nova Scotia with kids was our first family trip, but three of us had already been on one other road trip. Read about it here.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of this road trip around Eastern Canada.