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Bras d'Or Lakes now on Water Trail Website

Bras d’Or Lakes now on Water Trail Website

The Nova Scotia Coastal Water Trail Website (www.trails.gov.ns.ca) has recently expanded with the addition of 37 launch sites for paddlers around the Bras d’Or Lakes.

These salt water lakes, in fact an inland sea, offer a unique paddling experience in Cape Breton. The summer waters are warm and there is very little tide or fog. Much of the 1000 km of shoreline is easy to land on. The lakes offer wide open vistas, secluded channels, and remote island beaches

All the launch sites are marked on maps on the website. Each site includes a description, difficulty rating, land and sea directions, GPS reading, and photos. Also listed are nearby services such as where to eat, buy groceries, get fresh water or stay overnight. This is handy to know around the Bras d’Or Lakes where services may be some distance apart. An introduction to paddling in that area is provided as well.

The Coastal Water Trail, part of the Nova Scotia Trails website, also lists over 100 launch sites for paddlers from Yarmouth County all the way to Halifax. Knowing where you can launch and land is key information for planning day trips and multi-day tours. Additionally, the water trail website has a general introduction called “Getting Started” packed with details on safety, weather, maps and outfitters, for paddling in Nova Scotia.

The long-term plan is to keep adding new sections of coast to the Web site. This will provide launch site information all around the province for both resident and visiting paddlers.

This is a project of Canoe Kayak Nova Scotia funded by the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion and Protection.