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Meridiela.

Cape Split

A headland above the narrows where fourteen billion tonnes of water pass twice a day, audibly.

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WhereNova Scotia
Nearest cityWolfville
Best seasonMay to October
Time to allowA day
Getting thereNova Scotia; road from Wolfville to Scots Bay, about 30 km, then a 13 km return hike
EntryFree

Cape Split runs out into the Minas Channel, the narrows through which the Bay of Fundy tide enters the Minas Basin; roughly fourteen billion tonnes of water pass through with each tide, more than the combined flow of every freshwater river on earth, and the current running past the cape can be heard from the clifftop as a sustained roar that locals call the voice of the Moon. The hike is about thirteen kilometres return through hardwood forest to a grassy headland with sea stacks below and drops of about ninety metres on unfenced edges. Bald eagles and peregrines use the cliffs.

What you actually see

  • The tidal roar - the sound of the current audible from the headland.
  • The grassy point - an open clifftop meadow at the end of the walk.
  • The sea stacks - rock towers separated from the cape below.
  • The Minas Channel - the narrows the whole Fundy tide passes through.

When to go

May to October; the trail is muddy in spring and icy in winter. Time the walk for a running tide rather than slack water to hear the current. Allow four to five hours.

Honest expectations

The thirteen-kilometre return walk is longer than many expect and the last section is rooted and rough. The clifftop is unfenced with ninety-metre drops and people have died there. Parking is limited.

Nearby

Wolfville lies south; Burntcoat Head is east across the basin.

What to pack for Cape Split

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Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.

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