Once upon a time on Cape Split
an easy walk to the middle of the bay
Cape Split, an easy walk to the middle of the ocean
Cape Split is one of the coolest hikes in Nova Scotia, but it will soon be a little less cool.
My son and I hiked out to the point last summer along with a steady stream of day hikers. It’s actually an easy walk for anyone in moderate physical shape: not much elevation change, a clear trail and it’s a manageable distance.
A couple hours of easy strolling brings you to a incredible location, seemingly in the middle of the ocean; Cape Split is a narrow peninsula sticking 7km out into the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Minas Basin.
Cape Split sticks right out in the middle of the Bay of Fundy
The view from the open meadows at the end of the cape is stunning - not only does the point afford a great view of the surrounding shores, but there’s also an almost 360° view of the swirling tides - more water flows by this point every day than the output of all the freshwater rivers in the world combined.
Just below the meadows is a split rock formation which gives the cape its name and which sends the tide swirling and splashing round the point, forming wild ranks of standing waves.
It is fascinating to watch the tides and the seabirds from up here. But after a bit, you start wondering how to get to the beach. Even today, not a big majority of visitors find the way to the water. There are at least two paths down to the shore, one on the north and one on the south, but there is no easy way.
Looking down the beach to the split rocks below the Cape
Jony and I only found the way to the south beach thanks to a geocache hidden there at N45° 19.689 W64° 29.321 . The easiest way there is to take the main path to the end of the cape and then follow it as it wraps around the cape and heads back east on the southside of the cape.
Eventually you’ll find a path heading downwards and a series of ropes leading to the beach. It’s like entering another world down there, surrounded on all sides by cliffs, rocks and the waves.
There is an established campsite up on the the rocks at the far end of the beach.
We hurried to the far end of the beach and around some rocks for a quick peek west to the cape and the split rocks. I hear it is possible to hoof it all the way round the cape from here but only if you time it just right.
We weren’t that ambitious at all. We set up our tent on an established campsite on a small plateau at the east end of the beach. We spent a few hours just watching the waves smash against the rocks and fell asleep after a spectacular sunset.
This kind of trip will no longer be possible once the province begins developing the park. The paths to the shores will be closed. In the words of the province’s preliminary management plan:
Shoreline access will not be provided or encouraged.
and later:
Public access to the shoreline will not be provided for safety reasons.
Sunset from Cape Split
Suddenly the shoreline is dangerous. Okay true, the paths to the beach would require a lot of money - stairways would have to installed, and people could surely get in trouble if they didn’t pay attention to the tides.
But that is true around the whole province. Cape Chignecto Provincial Park directly across the bay has stairs to equally dangerous shores.
I don’t know Cape Split well enough to really complain about this decision, and Im too far away these days to do anything about it anyway.
But I am really happy Jony and I made that trip when we did. In the future it won’t be possible.
Below is our geocache log from our find on the beach:
Relaxing on the Beach (Cape Split) (GCY4JN)
thanks for showing us the way to the beach!! a great cache
a perfect answer to the question “why do we geocache?”
jony and i arrived with just enough time to go around the point at the north end of the cove and take a quick peek towards the rock formation at the cape
and get back fast
two hours after low tide the waves were smashing against the point at the end of the cove closing us in on the beach
quick find - the coordis were dead on and the cache was lieing in the open
covered it up just a bit
jony and i slept above the beach - windy but with a big fire at the lower firepit, it was toasty
fell asleep to the crashing of the waves
T4TC
“D
Directions to the park: From Highway 101, take Exit 11 to route 358 and drive north to Scott’s Bay. Watch for signs for Cape Split.
