Nova Scotia | The Ferry Left Without Us

This one starts in Winter Harbor, Maine, and ends in a parking lot in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, ferry left without us. We travel and work at the same time, which is part of how this went the way it did. Rig: Airstream is a 27-foot Flying Cloud behind an F-350. In between: the Bay of Fundy tidal bore on the Shubenacadie River, Peggy's Cove, the Cabot Trail, and a few days of not knowing whether we'd get to Newfoundland at all. Marine Atlantic — what we learned the hard way Two routes run between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, both out of North Sydney: Port aux Basques (the short one) and Argentia. Reservations: 1-800-341-7981. Weather offshore can move a sailing before it's weather where you are. Ours was pushed four hours earlier the morning of departure because of a storm building well out in the Cabot Strait. We were parked in sunshine. Check your email the morning of, even when you already know the schedule. Check the marine forecast for the crossing, not the forecast for where you're camped. Marine Atlantic also posts advisories on their site and answers the phone — use all three. Summer sailings book up early. If you miss one, ask at the terminal gate about standby. Nobody on the phone mentioned it to us; the person at the gate did. Your license plate is optional at booking but required at check-in. Skyline Trail — new for 2026 Parking reservations are now required for the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, June 26 through October 25. Skyline only — no other trail in the park requires it. Six four-hour slots daily: 8–12, 9–1, 12–4, 1–5, 4–8, 5–9. $13 online, $15 by phone, separate from park admission. One slot per vehicle per day, no in-and-out. For anyone towing: roughly 50 spots total, and only five oversized spaces per timeslot, for vehicles 6–13 m (20–42.5 ft). Book well ahead. There is no same-day parking for anything over 32 feet. Bring the confirmation, photo ID, and your plate number. Cell service in the park is unreliable — screenshot the confirmation before you go. Parks Canada's stated reason is that the lot kept hitting capacity, causing closures and turned-away visitors. Having seen the lots in June, that tracks. Winter Harbor, Maine The Schoodic side of Acadia is the mainland portion, and it runs about a tenth of the park's traffic — roughly 389,000 of Acadia's 4.08 million visits in 2025. Quieter, though it's growing fast. There's a seasonal passenger ferry across Frenchman Bay between Winter Harbor and Bar Harbor. No vehicles — walk on, bring a bike. The Island Explorer shuttle meets it on the Winter Harbor side and runs the Schoodic Loop, so a car-free day works in either direction. Polly's Cove, a couple of kilometres up the road from Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia, has around 10 km of unmarked trail across granite barrens. Unmarked is accurate. Stay on rock where you can — the braiding out there does damage that doesn't come back. Shubenacadie tidal bore We rafted with Shubie River Wranglers out of Green Oaks. Early June, cold, rain. The tide rating that day was extreme. The Bay of Fundy has the largest tidal range in the world, over 16 metres at the head of the bay. Twice a day the incoming tide overpowers the Shubenacadie and reverses it. The lower 30 km of the river is tidal. Great Wide Open — North America, one region at a time.