Nova Scotia's great legends and traditions of the sea
come alive along the Marine Drive. Come explore this special
land of pristine coastal beauty, where quiet shoreline roads
lead through romantic seaside villages and the past is a
colourful part of everyday life.
You can experience the sights and sounds of a thriving 19th-
century town at Sherbrooke Village, one of Nova Scotia's
largest living history museums. Come stroll through the
past. Listen to the blacksmith's hammer ringing at his
forge, visit the general store and the chairmaker's shop.
Take a ride in a horse-drawn wagon, or visit the picturesque
sawmill where the slowly turning waterwheel powers the
province's only operating up-and-down saw.
The Marine Drive is a playground for nature lovers. Explore
magnificent unspoiled beaches and discover inlets, marshes
and estuaries that teem with birds and wildlife. The rugged
coastline with its bays, islands, and sparkling clear water
is a world-class destination for sea kayakers. And inland
lies a vast but amazingly accessible wilderness whose myriad
lakes and rivers are legendary with anglers and canoeists.
The Marine Drive leads through a world of fishermen and the
sea, and the region's early fishing and settlement history
is on display at Grassy Island National Historic Site. Visit
the wharf side interpretive centre in Canso, then hop aboard
a boat tour out to Grassy Island. There you can stroll a
fascinating interpretive trail past the foundations and
fortifications that are all that remain of a once-thriving
fishing and merchant community that existed here in the
early 1700s.
You can also visit the warm, inviting home of a
turn-of-the-century inshore fisherman at the Fisherman's
Life Museum in Jeddore Oyster Pond. Or, for a different
historic flavour, try strolling the widow's walk of Canso's
historic Whitman House, or learn about early train travel at
the Musquodoboit Railway Museum.