This Hike Rocks! (Polly’s Cove, NS)

This past weekend we did a really great day hike! I had been meaning to go for some time now, and we finally got out there: Polly’s Cove. For those of you who aren’t familiar, I would love to fill you in on the secret! This hike is located 4 minutes from the famous Nova Scotia tourist destination Peggy’s Cove. There is a description of it in the Trails of Halifax Regional Municipality book, which, if you don’t have, I highly recommend picking up if you live in or near the HRM! The information for Polly’s Cove is very accurate. However, there are directions coming from Halifax, but not from Peggy’s Cove which we decided to check out first (our wee one—from here on out known as H—had not yet been and LOVED it! She has not stopped talking about “giant rocks and water” all week.). So if you are like us and are coming from Peggy’s Cove, it is simply 3-4 minutes’ drive after leaving Peggy’s. As Michael Hayne’s book describes, there is a parking lot that will barely hold three cars and the trail in unmarked. Easy to miss, so be on the lookout!

We parked and loaded our 30lbs 2-year-old in our backpack carrier. This is definitely not a stroller hike; to make the most of it, you will want to wear wee ones in a secure frontpack or—ideally—backpack. We have a Deuter Kid Comfort III carrier, which is fantastic! Sadly they cost a small fortune, but we purchased ours for cheap one year at an MEC gear swap. Older kiddos (toddlers/preschoolers and up) could walk a lot of it with help from an adult and some carrying when they've tired.

Off we went! The trail inwards is pretty linear and not too challenging but the terrain is uneven in places. At this point we let H out of the backpack. There are several short offshoots to the trail, which are great for kids to explore. We found Northern pitcher plants and explored them in awe for some time—I am totally fascinated by carnivorous plants! For the rest of the hike H looked at various things on the ground (dirt, rocks, grass, whatever!) and imitated Mama's excitement over the pitcher plants. It is so cool to see how easy it is to teach them to be fascinated by nature.

When you reach the end of the established trail (there will be a foundation to an unfinished building), the fun begins! BOULDERS EVERYWHERE! And a beautiful view of the ocean. Here you can hike around the barrens for quite some time. It is really beautiful! And feels like an epic hike while still being totally do-able with a wee one! Bring a picnic! Enjoy the beauty!