Cape Chignecto Provincial Park is a Canadian

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

located in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. A wilderness park, it derives its name from

Cape Chignecto Cape Chignecto is a headland located on the Bay of Fundy coast of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Cape Chignecto is located at the westernmost tip of Cumberland County and is the western limit of the Cobequid Hills, a low mountain range that ...

, a prominent headland which divides the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is the hi ...

with

Chignecto Bay Chignecto Bay (french: Baie de Chignectou) is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy located between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and separated from the waters of the Northumberland Strait by the Isthmus of Chignecto. It is a u ...

to the north and the Minas Channel leading to the

Minas Basin , image = Lookout On Way to Cape Split - 25006718579.jpg , alt = , caption = Looking east across the Southern Bight of Minas Basin from The Lookoff , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , ca ...

to the east. The park, which opened in 1998, is the largest provincial park in Nova Scotia. It also anchors one end of the UNESCO Cliffs of Fundy Global

Geopark A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences. In 20 ...

Landscape

The park's landscape is renowned for spectacular shoreline with extensive backpacking trails and scenic day hikes. The highest cliffs in Mainland Nova Scotia are located along the park's southern coast, measuring 200 metres (600 ft). The park occupies and has of wilderness coastline with unique geological features such as

raised beach A raised beach, coastal terrace,Pinter, N (2010): 'Coastal Terraces, Sealevel, and Active Tectonics' (educational exercise), from 2/04/2011/ref> or perched coastline is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently inclined surface of marine origin,P ...

es, caves and

sea stacks A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...

. The complex geology was created by continental collision along the

Cobequid fault The Cobequid Fault is a fault that is the extension of the Chedabucto Fault. This fault runs from Truro to Cape Chignecto south of the Cobequid Hills. Both the Cobequid fault and the Chedabucto Fault form the Minas Fault zone splitting Nova Scoti ...

. The spectacular coastal landscapes of the park make it popular for hikers and kayakers. It also contains several abandoned logging camps, saw mills and the ghost towns of

Eatonville Eatonville may refer to: * Eatonville, Florida, United States * Eatonville, Minnesota, United States, an alternative name for the former Dakota village Ḣeyate Otuŋwe * Eatonville, Mississippi, United States * Eatonville, Ontario, a neighbourhood ...

and

New Yarmouth New Yarmouth is an abandoned farming and forestry community which is now part of the Cape Chignecto Provincial Park in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia near the village of Advocate. Geography New Yarmouth occupies a plateau 244 metres (800 fee ...

. A secluded ravine named Refugee Cove was the site where

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

sheltered fleeing Acadians during the

Expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian pe ...

. The mixing of warm summer temperatures with the cold tidal waters of the Bay of Fundy create frequent fogs resulting in moist

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

-like conditions which nurture "fog forests" of large

red spruce ''Picea rubens'', commonly known as red spruce, is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia, west to the Adirondack Mountains and south through New England along the Appalachians to western ...

and many unique and endangered species of

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus, fungi species in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship.vetch ''Vicia'' is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other ...

and primrose with

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

characteristics which are unique in Nova Scotia. Cape Chignecto also provides shelter for Nova Scotia's endangered mainland

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

herd. Tides rise and fall 12 metres along the park's coastline, producing rip currents and rapid flooding at certain points. Several hikers have been trapped and had to be rescued when rising tides trapped them against sheer cliffs, including a couple and a dog who had to be rescued from rising waters at Eatonville by a helicopter from

CFB Greenwood Canadian Forces Base Greenwood , or CFB Greenwood, is a Canadian Forces Base located east of Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the ...

in July 2014.

Facilities

The park maintains over 50 kilometres of trails, both for day use hikers and overnight backpackers. An interpretation centre, picnic area, washrooms and giftshop are based at the trailhead at Red Rocks near the community of

Advocate Harbour Advocate Harbour (2011 pop.: 826) is a rural community located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The community is situated on Route 209 and has a small well-protected fishing harbour opening on the Bay of Fundy; the harbour dries at low ...

. In addition to 51 back country campsites and 28 walk-in sites, several overnight cabins and bunk houses on the trail system may be rented by hikers. A mothballed

fire tower A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain or ...

, closed since 2012, is located at the highest point of the park in

. A new, off-grid interpretation centre and day use trails at

were constructed in 2008–2009. Partially funded by a federal-provincial contribution of $350,000 announced in July 2008, the centre's completion was delayed by bad weather but opened on July 30, 2009. The Cape Chignecto Trails are part of the 400 km Cape to Cape hiking trail system under construction to connect Cape Chignecto with Cape George,

Antigonish County , nickname = , settlement_type = List of counties of Nova Scotia, County , motto = , image_skyline = Antigonish Harbour Panorama2.jpg , image_caption = , image_flag ...

. The park is open from mid June to mid October. It is accessible from

Route 209 The following highways are numbered 209: Canada * Manitoba Provincial Road 209 * Nova Scotia Route 209 * Prince Edward Island Route 209 * Quebec Route 209 * Saskatchewan Highway 209 China * China National Highway 209 Costa Rica * National Rout ...

and is one of the features on the

Fundy Shore Ecotour The Fundy Shore Ecotour is a former scenic drive and network of tourist destinations in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and encircles several sub-basins of the Bay of Fundy, which contains the highest tidal range on the planet. The Fundy Sh ...

History of the park

The Government of Nova Scotia purchased the land currently comprising the park in 1989 and added it to the Crown land reserve, administered by the Department of Natural Resources. This land was redesignated for a provincial park in the mid-1990s and Cape Chignecto Provincial Park opened to the public in 1998 after several years of planning and trail and campsite development. By area, Cape Chignecto is the largest provincial park in Nova Scotia. Although Cape Chignecto is Nova Scotia's largest provincial park and is owned administered by Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources, it was created, and until 2012, run by a local community development organization, the Cumberland Regional Economic Development Association. The park was operated by a very small seasonal staff based in Advocate and

Amherst, Nova Scotia Amherst ( ) is a town in northwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, and south of the Northumberland Strait. The town sits on a height of land at the eastern boundary of th ...

. However, in the spring of 2012 the Department of Natural Resources took over management of the park and brought its fees in line with other provincial parks. In 2020, the Park was designated as part of the UNESCO "Cliffs of Fundy Global

with the Three Sisters Day Use trails at Eatonville marking the beginning of the Geopark which stretches all around Cape Chignecto and down the coast to

Debert Debert () (2006 pop: 1,471) is an unincorporated farming community in Nova Scotia, Canada. Located in the central-western part of Colchester County, it is approximately west of Truro. The community has two churches ( United Baptist Church and ...

.Francis Campbell, "Nova Scotia's Cliffs of Fundy designated UNESCO Global Geopark site", ''Halifax Chronicle Herald'', July 10, 2020.
an
"Three Sisters", Cliffs of Fundy Geopark
/ref>

Pictures

Image:Eatonville Centre.JPG,

Interpretation Centre Image:Eatonville2.JPG, The park as viewed from atop the

Interpretation Centre Image:Eatonville1.JPG,

Harbour saltmarsh and site of former mill and shipyard Image:ThreeSistersNS.JPG, The "Three Sisters" sea stacks at

Image:New Yarmouth lanscape.jpg, The abandoned upland farm fields of

References

* Cape Chignecto Provincial Park, map and visitor guide, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, 2004. * Halifax Chronicle Herald, Monday April 16, 2007, p. B7.

External links

Cape Chignecto Provincial Park website
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070817100737/http://www.outdoorns.com/features/chignectopark.htm "A Crown Jewell" 'Outdoor Nova Scotia' by Ron Robinson
"A Photographic Journey Through Cape Chignecto Park" Text & photos by Stu Curtis
{{Nova Scotia parks Tourist attractions in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Provincial parks of Nova Scotia Hiking trails in Nova Scotia Geography of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia