Camping In Nova Scotia

Ah, good ol' classic camping is back (finally!)

When Alison George got married, she registered not for traditional china, but for camping gear at Mountain Equipment Co-op, the plan being to go on a romantic canoeing trip with her new husband for their honeymoon. “Give me a barrel pack and a portable hammock and I’m in heaven,” the Toronto PR consultant says. She and her spouse, an architect, are now planning another canoeing trip for August, this time with their young child in tow. “We took our son car camping when he was six months old and on his first canoe trip when he was four,” George continues. “He’s nine now, so this summer marks his sixth camping trip. And I know there will be more.”

Despite her enthusiasm for it, George didn’t grow up camping; she came to it later in life, after launching her career in communications. In this respect, she is typical of the great tide of Canadians who are embracing camping in growing numbers, many for the first time. According to an Angus Reid survey commissioned by Canadian Tire and Coleman Canada, at least 46 per cent of Canadians now take camping trips as part of their summer vacations. And even though it’s still early in the season, “camping reservations at Parks Canada [campgrounds] are up 14 per cent over the same period last year and 24 per cent compared to the five-year average,” says the federal agency’s Natalie Fay.

Unlike “glamping,” the overly precious, mercifully brief trend toward “glamorous camping” (think “tenthouse suites” with heated slated floors), the current fondness for the great outdoors seems rooted in much less affected interests, from camping’s cost-effectiveness in an era of increasingly expensive air travel to its low carbon footprint to a genuine desire to really get to know one’s own country. (“Campcations” are also big in Britain this year.)

“I think everyone’s craving a more organic lifestyle and camping is part of that general societal movement right now,” says Maryam Mokhtari, a 27-year-old Toronto-based fashion illustrator who has also lived in New York. “It takes you away from the busyness and chaos of the city to connect with nature and also your friends in an intimate way. I derive a lot of inspiration from the great Canadian landscape.”

Mokhtari acquired her camping know-how as a teen on wilderness trips with friends, mastering cooking over an open fire and learning how to fish. Many, though, couldn’t tell a perch from a pickerel if their dinner depended on it. To remedy that, Ontario Parks and Parks Canada have joined forces this year to offer a spate of new workshops created specifically with campsite newbies, from lifelong urbanites to new Canadians, in mind. The federal agency is also offering or co-sponsoring similar programs in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia, while its website (www.parkscanada.gc.ca) includes how-to diagrams, instructional videos and up-to-the-minute information on such resources as new camper-friendly campgrounds across the country.

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia: Camping | Canada Forum | Fodor's ...

Hello. My family will have two weeks to spend in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia this summer. We are camping in a little pop-up trailer (there are four of us, two adults and two young teens), and we're hoping to spend a couple of days in each campsite where possible and not drive more than 4 hours between sites. We enjoy short-medium hikes, nice views, local culture, good mix of cities/towns and natural sites. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Frommer's Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island

Moon Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Fodor's 89, Canada

Canada