A New Favourite Morning Walk: Conrad's Beach (West Lawrencetown, NS)

I attribute my satisfaction with this beautiful Saturday to a combination of starting off with fresh air and to going with the flow. Today started with a walk on the beautiful Conrad's Beach. We spent a couple hours wandering the shoreline and meandering back through the woods. I can't think of a better way to start the day!

The best part of walking a beach first thing in the morning is you beat the crowds! It is truly peaceful.

The trail from the second beach through the woods is short and sweet. A perfect blend of beach and Nova Scotian forest! We even saw wild irises growing! 

A bit more about Conrad's:

• There are two beaches separated by a bed of rocks. 
• The boardwalk, which had been badly damaged, has been replaced! 
• This is a breeding area for Piping Plover, so stick closer to the water especially with dogs and don't go near restricted areas.

The Trip That Marries Provincial and National Parks: Kejimkujik Seaside & Thomas Raddall (Port Joli, NS)

On June 5th, we finally kicked off our camping season! First on our list this year was Thomas Raddall Provincial Park and Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct.

Thomas Raddall is a beautiful, clean park located in Port Joli on the south shore of Nova Scotia. It is big but has excellent wilderness and privacy! Some of its walk-in sites mirror the backcountry while still having the convenience of car camping. 

First campfire of the camping season! Oh yeah!

Thomas Raddall is known as a "nature lovers' haven". After being there, I would agree. Even the walk to the comfort station for flushing toilets was an opportunity to take in the wilderness of the meadowy area while walking down a boardwalk. We even saw two bunnies grazing and hanging out in the campsite beside ours, which was a huge hit for our 4-year-old. 

From playing "Sleeping Bunnies" to actually photographing the bunnies!

I would love to tell you more about the trails and show you more of the sights, but we happened to visit during 24 hours of absolute pouring rain! On Sunday morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and dried our gear before hitting the road for Keji Seaside! 

NOTE: Ticks are very prevalent in this area. Be sure to check your whole body twice daily. Tuck your pants into your socks if possible. Know how to properly remove a tick. 

Keji Seaside, also located in Port Joli, is an adjunct to one of NS's three national parks: Kejimkujik. Its trails lead you to Saint Catherine's River Beach, a gorgeous white sand beach on the ocean. Its view has been seen by many Nova Scotians who don't even know it as this picturesque seaside is the face of the NS health card. 

The park has two trails: Harbour Rocks trail and Port Joli Head trail. We hiked the Harbour Rocks trail along the beach. The hike is very easy, though once you are down on the beach, strollers would not work, so babywearing is a must for wee wee ones. Toddlers can certainly toddle on this trail, though be cautious of helping kiddos with their footing on the big beachrock. There is lots of wildlife, so bring binoculars! If you are a birder, you will be thrilled (or at least the birder with us expressed as much!). We saw seals, a porcupine, toads, and many shorebirds. 

After about 2 km on the wide gravel path, the trail zigs and zags from this to beach.

In case you forget your binoculars, they've got you covered. 

The view is gorgeous and the hiking is stellar, but don't take my word, get out there and see if for yourself! 

First hike in FOUR MONTHS: Pennant Point Trail (Crystal Crescent Beach, NS)

I realized something today that completely unsettled me: I had not been hiking in four months!! Between my Masters and full-time work, there has literally been no time... except of course for those few days when there was a wee bit of time, and instead we were faced with this:

Snowmageddon 2015: Near state of emergency in Halifax, NS.

So my poor body is suffering, and my child has not had near as much outdoor time as I would have liked her to over the past few months. But there is good news: my blogging hiatus is over! My studies are over until September, so here begins hiking season and its accompanying blog updates!


Today we hiked Pennant Point trail at Crystal Crescent Beach!
Crystal Crescent Beach is a gorgeous white sand beach located in Sambro (30 minutes from Halifax). There are three beaches and a 13km hiking trail. This is one of my favourite times of year for beach hiking. The beach is not quite ready for the crowds yet, though, their sands are warm and their traces of winter are few. 

TIP: Remember that before parks are officially open, there is additional hiking just to get to the summertime parking lot. The roads into the parks are great for running and cycling with kiddos since no cars can pass the gates to access them!

Jaunt into Crystal Crescent in the off-season. 

The Pennant Point trail runs along a coastline that ranges from white sandy beaches to boldorous surfaces like those at Peggy's Cove & Polly's Cove. The waves are gorgeous, and if you bring binoculars, you can look out and see people paddling near the islands. It is a great family hike as most of it is easy; a lot of the trail is boardwalked. This is another hike though where you can add to the challenge by doing more scrambling in the rocks than boardwalking. 

Forested hikes often receive less sunlight, so they still have a fair bit of snow in April. 

This was the most snow we saw at Crystal Crescent. 

One of my favourite parts of the hike! 

Perfect level of challenge for preschoolers! 

If you live in or near the HRM and have not checked this beach out, it is a must! Whether you choose to have a beach day or a hike, the coastline is exhilarating! 

Notes:
-GPS: N44 28.307 W63 37.364
-Strollers are not recommended. Babywearing is best choice. 
-Third beach is a nude beach when warm weather comes.
-Remember to dress in more layers than seems necessary when spring hiking on the coast as temperatures vary greatly. 

An Elaborate Walk on the Beach: Munroes Island, Caribou, NS

Munroes Island is an 11 km hike in Caribou, Nova Scotia. It is beautiful, though it is essentially just a really long walk on the beach with some very rocky areas. It is, for the most part, quite easy; though the terrain is not one that would allow for a jogging stroller (at least not for very long)! A kid carrier would be best for this hike. Or for toddlers, a mixture of waking and piggybacks would work well. And rainboots so they can splash and walk out to sandbars. This hike is best at low tide to give you more width to your path, not to mention sandbars in which to play!! 

This hike is known for its many shorebirds and heron. In the salt marsh you will likely spot some sandpipers and ducks! On our hike, we saw what seemed to be a breeding ground for crabs! There were baby crabs the size of spiders crawling everywhere we looked. It was very neat! We also found beautiful sand dollars. 

If you are fascinated by boats, you may also like watching the PEI ferry coming into Caribou. Fishing boats are also frequently spotted from Munroes. This is a hit with wee ones! 

Awesome Day Hike for Babywearing Mamas & Papas (Hopewell Rocks, NB)

An awesome family hike (and also a visit to a famous tourist destination) is the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick. It is a fairly easy hike, but not one that allows for strollers as you will be walking on the ocean floor! It is perfect for those using front or back child carriers. We used our Deuter Kid ComfortIII. It was fantastic! The hike in is on a very wide, very well maintained trail. It was beautiful! There were a few steep areas off the main trail that allowed you to look out at various rock formations. At the end of the trail is a very large staircase down to the ocean floor.

What we found ideal was to hike in at high-ish tide and take in the view of the rocks semi-submersed, have a picnic lunch, then when the tide was low head down to walk on the ocean floor! It was perfect! Our wee one was 15 months when we did it, and even at that age, she loved seeing the rocks and water. After hiking from the stairs past Diamond Rock, H was asleep on my back so it was a nice time to take it in and chat with my partner.

All in all, I would say plan a whole day for it; take your time. Have a picnic, play in the play area, enjoy the mystical scenery of the Fundy tides! Not just anywhere can you walk past rocks as tall as buildings with seaweed taller than yourself! 

Top 5 Favourite Things about Camping with Kids

1. Freedom!!!
I love watching my baby girl run free! It's so good for her and for us. 

2. Teaching them to help.
Even if "helping" doesn't actually make you‒the parent‒more efficient, remember that it's important to take the time to slow down and give them "jobs" to do. Even if it is simply carrying their sleeping bag or walking with you to fetch water, this makes them feel confident while camping and prepares them to help around camp more when they're able to!

3. They learn so much about nature first hand!

4. Enjoy some down time with your partner and/or friends after they're asleep!
Watching the campfire burning is so relaxing, and part of good parenting is taking time to unwind for yourself!

5. Watch the sunrise again!
Either together or while they are still asleep. It's an incredible way to start the day!