Cape Breton Highlands National Park

   Magnificent scenery with steep cliffs dropping down to the ocean greets visitors traveling up the western coast of Cape Breton. Scenic overlooks and trails are accessed from the highway, the only road through the park which is a protected wilderness area.

  The scenic overlooks are accessible but most of the trails are not.  The Bog Trail, a short boardwalk trail, is accessible. Freshwater Lake Trail at Ingonish Beach should be accessible but we found an erosion control board across the path entryway making it impossible for scooters or electric wheelchairs to access. The first section of the trail is scenic but as it loops around it becomes just a path along the road.


   We stayed at Broad Cove Campground. The accessible sites are close to the restrooms but otherwise they are the same as the rest of the sites. Hard packed dirt and short grass makes pushing around fairly easy.
        
  The parking lot at the visitor center on the western entrance of the park is large enough for RVs. Most of the overlook parking areas are large enough for RVs but most trail head parking lots are small.  Broad Cove Campground has sites where large RVs will fit. Park
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Celtic Shores Coastal Trail

   The trail is about 60 miles long, stretching from Port Hastings to Inverness. It’s a shared trail with bikers, hikers, runners, quadders, skiers, snowmobilers, and  horse-back riders all using the same path. Not all of it is suitable for wheelchair users but the short section that we took near Mabou is fairly flat with a hard packed surface. It passes through a small forest and along wetlands.

  The parking area is large enough for RVs.  Trail
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Friday Night Ceilidh at the Red Shoe Pub

   A ceilidh (kay-lee) is a social gathering with Scottish or Irish folk music, often accompanied by dancing.  We were treated to wonderful fiddle playing by the very talented and enthusiastic Colin Grant along with equally talented and enthusiastic pianist Jason Roach. These two put their whole heart and bodies into their music! The Red Shoe Pub is much too small for dancing but the music had everyone tapping their toes.

   Ceilidhs take place at the Red Shoe every Friday evening (9:00 – 12:00) and Sunday afternoon (4:00 – 7:00). Arrive about an hour early to get a seat. A wheelchair ramp is located on the right side of the building.

  The parking lot is small but parking is available at the Mabou Community Hall across the street when there aren’t any functions scheduled. Parking is also available along the street and in the small marina lot at the bridge.  Red Shoe
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Halifax Boardwalk & 24 Hour Parking

  The boardwalk is about two miles long with the Casino Nova Scotia at the north end and the Canadian Museum of Immigration at the south end. Great views of McNabs Island, the lighthouse, and ship traffic can been seen on the water side. Restaurants, little shops, and snack shacks are along the inland side. For crafts and fresh local food take a stroll to the Farmers Market which is opened daily. The Maritime Museum, along with the ferry and tour boat docks, is located near the north end of the boardwalk.

  The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Discovery Centre, Halifax Citadel, Museum of Natural History and Halifax Public Gardens are all within walking distance of the boardwalk but the streets are very steep so you may want to drive to visit them.

  24 hour parking lots are located right along the waterfront. We parked in the lot on the corner of Lower Water Street and Morris Street. At $22.00 it’s a little expensive for what amounts to dry camping but the location is fabulous. Smaller RVs will fit into two spaces and the fee is the same as for a car. Payment is made through coin/credit card operated machines. The maximum fee per day is $16.00 which is good until 6:00 PM. The nightly fee is $6.00. It’s not possible to pay for all 24 hours at once. We visited after Labor Day and the lots always had open spaces.

The boardwalk is all accessible and in good condition. There isn’t an access path from the Lower Water/ Morris lot to the boardwalk so wheelchair users must exit the lot to the sidewalk and go through next lot to access the boardwalk.   Boardwalk
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Maritime Museum

   The museum has a wide variety of exhibits covering the maritime history of Nova Scotia and Halifax. Ship crews from Halifax recovered bodies of victims of the Titanic and also fished pieces of the ship from the water. Many of the Titanic artifacts are displayed. Another exhibit covers an explosion in the Halifax harbor of a WWII Norwegian munitions ship which killed 2,000 people and destroyed a large portion of the city.  Other exhibits are about the Canadian navy, shipwrecks along Nova Scotia’s coast, and the evolution from sail to steam. The CSS Acadia, hydrographic research ship, is located outside at the dock. Tours of the ship are included with  museum admission.

  The museum is all accessible. The CSS Acadia has a steep ramp with cleating. We didn’t have time to attempt a visit.

  Parking is available in several lots along the boardwalk. Smaller RVs will fit by taking up two spaces.  Museum
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Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

  Between 1928 and 1971 one million immigrants came to Canada through the terminal at Pier 21 in Halifax. Refugees, war brides, evacuee children, displaced persons, and people just looking for a better life - all found themselves in a unfamiliar place often very different from their home country. Their stories are told through artifacts, videos, and oral histories.

  Everything is accessible.

  Parking is available in several lots along the boardwalk. Smaller RVs will fit by taking up two spaces.  Museum
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Halifax Citadel National Historic Site

  This is the forth citadel built to protect Halifax – first from the French, then from the US, from the French again and lastly from the US. Located high on a hill overlooking the harbor, it never saw battle and was made obsolete by high powered weapons but was still used as a temporary barracks through WWII. The citadel was transferred to Parks Canada in the 1950s and has been completely restored to the Victorian period.

  Free guided tour are given throughout the day. A series of short films depicts life at the fort in different eras. Artifacts and exhibits are located in the buildings. Costumed interpreters are on hand to answer questions.

   The citadel grounds and many of the rooms are accessible. The grounds are hard packed, crushed stone which is fairly easy to roll along. Ramps access the rooms but some have a high edge where they meet the ground. The Army Museum  has an elevators to access the second floor.

  Two handicapped spaces are located near the entrance. Bus and RV parking is also located there. Citadel

Halifax Public Gardens

  Nova Scotia Horticultural Society began the gardens in 1836 and the city of Halifax added more to make a total of 16 acres by 1874. Richard Power, who was the garden’s superintendent from 1872 to 1915, introduced the bandstand, the fountains, statues, and wrought iron gates. All are still in place. The garden is a nice size for a leisurely stroll and the plantings are beautiful.
          
  The paths are surfaced with finely crushed stone making pushing around fairly easy.

  Metered parking is available along the surrounding streets. Gardens
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Fisherman’s Life Museum

  The lives of a typical rural family, who lived along the eastern shore of Nova Scotia in early 1900s, are portrayed in this small house museum. Ervine Myers, his wife Ethelda, and their 13 daughters were pretty self sufficient with a vegetable garden, chicken coop, and enough land to support a few animals. Ervine fished in the summer, bringing his catch back home to be salted and dried, and worked in a lumber camp in the winter.

  The site consists of the little house, a barn, fish house, and outbuildings. Staff in period costumes give a guided tour of the house. Visitors are free to roam the grounds on their own.

  The property is not accessible. A steep, grassy hill, lacking a clear path, must be navigated to get to the entrance to the house. The doorways are narrow and the house is small. Accessing the other buildings also requires climbing up or down steep hills.

  The parking area is large enough to park and turn around RVs.  Museum
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   Cute babies :-)

Sherbrooke Village

  Gold was discovered in 1861 near Sherbooke, a small fishing, farming and timber town, which started a gold boom. The boom lasted for a short time - about twenty years. Afterwards the economy returned to relying on fishing and timber. As people moved away or died their houses stood empty. Not wishing lose a treasure of 19th century buildings, the Sherbooke Village Restoration was established in 1969 to conserve the southern end of town.  Unlike many other living history villages this one is almost completely original with exhibits that depict the activates that would have taken place in each building in the mid and late 1800s.  Over thirty buildings are opened for touring. Most have staff dressed in period clothing to explain the history and answer questions.
     
   All of the buildings have ramps!  Many of the ramps are at the rear entrances and getting to them may require pushing through the grass but the ramps are a big help. A few of the buildings are two story without accessible access to the second floor. The recommended touring path follows a paved road and loops around on a gravel road to return to the information center. The gravel road has a slight uphill grade. We didn’t have time to visit the saw mill, stamp mill, lumber camp, or Anglican church which are all off site.

  The parking lot is large enough for any RV. .Museum   45.13803, -61.98298

Fortress of Louisbourg NHS

   By 1713 France had lost most of it’s holdings in Atlantic Canada but it still had possession of Cape Breton, the island on the northeast end of Nova Scotia. Fortress of Louisbourg started as a small fishing village but it’s location at the entrance to the St. Lawrence Seaway made it strategically important. A heavily fortified city was built to protect the fishing trade and the sea route to Quebec and Montreal. About 4,000 people lived in the city. Seasonal fishermen built huts on the shore by the ocean. A siege by the British in 1758 along with an assault on the inadequately protected southern side of the fortress ended in a French defeat. The British used the fort to launch an attack to captured Quebec and then destroyed the fort a year later in 1760.

  One quarter of the fortress has been reconstructed using original maps and plans. This is an excellent reconstruction on the same par as Williamsburg in Virginia but much smaller.  The reenactors  are well versed in the history of the site and willing and able to answer any question.

   Very little is wheelchair accessible. Follow the signs for handicapped parking in front of the visitor center. The visitor center has exhibits along the hallway that leads the bus loading area. The buses are not accessible. The hallway has strange angles and is steeply sloped downhill. Wheelchair users may not be able to get back up if they venture down the hallway. Visitor who need special access will be given a pass and can drive directly to the fortress site. The streets in the fortress are covered with loose gravel and many are sloped. A few of the buildings have ramps or raised paths at the back entrances but most have steps or other obstacles such as extremely high thresholds.

  The visitor center has a lot for RVs. The handicapped lot at the site is large enough for small RVs. Fortress
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