Nova Scotia
Leaf Peeper's Paradise Paradise and Surfer's Dream Land

Word and Photos by L. Paul Mann

I’d just booked my first Fall visit to Nova Scotia in nearly a decade to surf and re-explore this leaf-peeping paradise. Unfortunately, I came down with a nasty case of the flu three days before the non-refundable voyage and my friends were already there waiting for me.

I took some cold medicine, boarded an all-night flight from Los Angeles and arrived in Halifax the next morning. After trudging through customs, I found my rental car and started the long 4-hour drive south to Liverpool to the seaside rental cottages of Darlene and Jeff Norman. A pioneering Liverpudlian surfer, Jeff also runs Rossignol Surf Shop and gives surfing and kayak lessons during the summer months. Darlene is involved in local politics and charities and can offer a treasure chest of local lore. Exhausted, I arrived at my cottage midday and fell into a deep sleep.

I awoke nearly twenty-four hours later to a beautifully sunny Fall day. I felt rejuvenated, but still somewhat weak. Luckily, there was no surf to distract me from my recovery. My friends and I decided to spend the day hiking throughout Kejimkujik National Park Seaside Adjunct. It was the beginning of the third week of October, a perfect time to visit Liverpool and its surrounding environs.

New England Planters founded Liverpool, a picturesque natural port town where the Mersey River meets the ocean, in 1759. It thrived during the War of 1812 as a base for loyalist privateers. These legally sanctioned pirates preyed on American shipping during the War and plundered fantastic wealth from them. Large elegant Victorian homes were built throughout the town and still exist today. Liverpool, in my opinion is home to some of the best; most consistent and accessible surfing breaks in the Maritimes.

At Kejimkujik, long rolling marshes give way to a sweeping coastline. An offshore island, barely more than a large rock, jutted several miles out into the bay. A large fishing vessel was marooned on top, looking like Noah’s Ark. It was an awesome testament to the powerful ocean swells generated in this Atlantic region.

The next day we awoke to stormy skies with near Gale Force winds. My friend the doctor already had the local coastal maps out to find a secluded bay sheltered from the wind. He found a hidden cove with surfing potential about an hour south and loaded up the car and slowly plowed through the storm. The huge Nova Scotia coastline is made up of an endless array of coves, beaches, points, reefs, and islands. With slow, windy roads jutting in and out of fishing villages, it can take nearly a day to explore just a short section of coastline.

We arrived at our surf spot and stopped at a local café, where the patrons met our plans with incredulity. Nonetheless, we donned our wetsuits right there in the café, complete with hoods and booties, and walked out on the point about half a mile away. It was nearly impossible to stand straight in the fierce wind and rain, but as we rounded the point, we found a sheltered offshore cove. Perfect little 3 to 4-foot offshore peaks were forming in the bay and peeling across a left-hand reef.

As we entered the water, we were shocked to discover how balmy the temperature was compared to the cold, rainy air. Everyone assumes the waters are freezing year round. But Nova Scotia sticks far out into the Eastern Atlantic and in direct line with the warm Gulf Stream. Starting with the first tropical storms pushing from the Caribbean in late June or July, the water warms up to nearly 70 degrees and it stays this warm straight thorough the Fall season. We had enjoyable surf and headed back to Liverpool thorough the blinding rain for some dinner.

The next morning we awoke to a thick, still fog and decide to explore some of the local surf spots. White Point Beach resort was our first stop. This popular beach break is a gathering point for locals and the home of Jeff Norman’s Rossignol surf school. There is almost always something to ride at this predominantly onshore spot. But on the occasional day when the swell is up and the wind swings offshore, the break can offer some bowling beach break tubes. We drove on through the fog to Scott's Harbor to check the surf. We could hear thundering waves breaking outside the harbor mouth, but we couldn’t see anything because of the fog. We finally ended further up the coast at Eagle Head, a long, lumbering left point. The sun began to break through the fog, revealing 4 to 6-foot waves bowling up on the outside rocky reef, then slowly rolling into the bay, in long perfect walls. A few locals finally arrived mid-day to join us and it turned into a clear, sunny day.

According to local accounts, on a really big swell the waves can break all the way across the bay for nearly two kilometers. After a while I went off exploring on my own. I drove up the coastline until I came to a large rock outcropping at the end of the road. An awesome view confronted me: There were big bays on both sides of me with long, breaking waves. About a mile out in the ocean, sat a small island with a right point jutting off of it. Fantastic large breakers were coming in from different angles creating explosive 10 to 15-foot peaking waves. There were left barrels, right point waves, and huge deep-sea peaks on outer reefs exploding everywhere. It was some of the biggest surf I had ever witnessed on the East Coast and definitely had tow-in surfing potential. I call the place "Big Wave Park."

As I sat photographing the huge breakers, my cell phone rang. My friends were ecstatic! Near the harbor we had checked earlier that morning, a big left-hand point had emerged in sunny afternoon conditions. I hurried back to find a half dozen surfers riding a 6 to 8-foot left-hand point wave with perfect conditions. As I quickly suited up and paddled out, I realized this was a real deep-water groundswell. The waves were surging in, and breaking in an incredible top-to-bottom towering tube. Like a big Central California reef wave, it was a challenging world-class spot. Coming in was challenging as well, with a 6-foot shorebreak pounding onto a steep stone beach. After a few more days of perfect surf I returned to Halifax.

I awoke in the morning to another perfectly sunny day. I ventured up the coast, stopping first at Lawerencetown Beach point, the most famous surfing spot in Nova Scotia. Often compared to Rincon in California, it's actually a less perfect and more walled-up version of that famous break. I continued along the Marine Drive, a region of pine covered islands and points. Finally I made it inland and across the bridge connecting to the Northern Island region of Cape Breton.

Cape Breton, located at the top of Nova Scotia, is a giant island with dramatic scenery. A cross between the awesome coastline of Big Sur in California and the colorful Fall forests of Maine or Vermont, it's a leaf peeping paradise. Baddeck is the main tourist town on the island and a good base to launch an exploration of the region. An inland port, it's also a popular cruise ship destination. I stayed in the Telegraph House bed and breakfast, which was built by the Dunlop family and housed the office of the first transatlantic telegraph company. In the beautiful dining room, they serve delicious authentic meals from the Victorian age. It is a great place near the gateway to the Cabot Trail.

I ventured next morning up the Cabot Trail, a 185-mile scenic loop highway that links some of the most spectacular and pristine scenery in the world, including Cape Breton Highlands National Park. After exploring the St Ann’s Bay area (one of the most beautiful leaf peeping spots I've ever seen), I passed many little surf spots and point breaks. Near the top of the trail is the small mountain town of Ingonish, which looks out over a big bay and several left points. While I sipped coffee at an inn surveying the scene, the innkeeper told me that locals surf here all winter. After a session, they jump on the ski lift and go snow boarding.

As I ventured further around the trail, shimmering forests rich with autumn colors opened into large bays, rivers and streams. Waterfalls sprang from mountainsides. An occasional farmhouse or church were the only man-made structures for miles. At the northernmost tip of the trail, ferocious clouds darted in and out from the sea, swirling with wind and rain, parting occasionally to let in bright bursts of sunlight. As I rounded the trail on the way back, a spectacular sunset lit up the coastline.

For information on Surfing in Liverpool visit the Rossignol Surf Shop website: www.surfnovascotia.com. For information on The Telegraph House visit www.baddeck.com/telegraph