Cape Chignecto Provincial Park

Cape Chignecto Provincial Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
The cliffs of Cape Chignecto viewed from Red Rocks trailhead and visitor centre
Location	Nova Scotia, Canada
Nearest city	Amherst, Nova Scotia, Truro, Nova Scotia
Coordinates	45°21′01″N 64°49′30.5″W
Area	42 km2 (16 sq mi)
Established	1989
Governing body	Cumberland Regional Economical Development Association / Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources

Cape Chignecto Provincial Park is a Canadian provincial park located in Nova Scotia. A wilderness park, it derives its name from Cape Chignecto, a prominent headland which divides the Bay of Fundy with Chignecto Bay to the north and the Minas Channel leading to the Minas Basin to the east. The park, which opened in 1998, is the largest provincial park in Nova Scotia.

The park's landscape is renowned for spectacular shoreline with extensive backpacking trails and scenic day hikes. The highest cliffs in Mainland Nova Scotia are located along the park's southern coast, measuring 200 metres (600 ft). The park occupies 42 square kilometres (16 sq mi) and has 30 kilometres (19 mi) of wilderness coastline with unique geological features such as raised beaches, caves and sea stacks. The spectacular coastal landscapes of the park make it popular for hikers and kayakers. It also contains several abandoned logging camps, saw mills and the ghost towns of Eatonville and New Yarmouth. A secluded ravine named Refugee Cove was the site where Mi'kmaq sheltered fleeing Acadians during the Expulsion of the Acadians.

The mixing of warm summer temperatures with the cold tidal waters of the Bay of Fundy create frequent fogs resulting in moist rain forest like conditions which nurture "fog forests" of large red spruce and many unique and endangered species of lichens. The park's high southern cliffs support species of vetch and primrose with Alpine characteristics which are unique in Nova Scotia. Cape Chignecto also provides shelter for Nova Scotia's endangered mainland moose herd.

The park maintains over 50 kilometres of trails, both for day use hikers and overnight backpackers. An interpretation centre, picnic area, washrooms and giftshop are based at the trailhead at Red Rocks near the community of Advocate Harbour. In addition to 51 back country campsites and 28 walk-in sites, an overnight cabin and bunk house on the trail system may be rented by hikers. A fire tower is staffed seasonally by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources at the highest point of the park in New Yarmouth. A new, off-grid interpretation centre and day use trails at Eatonville were constructed in 2008-2009. Partially funded by a federal-provincial contribution of $350,000 announced in July 2008, the centre's completion was delayed by bad weather but opened on July 30, 2009 The Cape Chignecto Trails are part of the 400 km Cape to Cape hiking trail system under construction to connect Cape Chignecto with Cape George, Antigonish County. The park is accessible from Route 209 and is one of the features on the Fundy Shore Ecotour.

The Government of Nova Scotia purchased the land currently comprising the park in 1989 and added it to the Crown land reserve, administered by the Department of Natural Resources. This land was redesignated for a provincial park in the mid-1990s and Cape Chignecto Provincial Park opened to the public in 1998 after several years of planning and trail and campsite development. By area, Cape Chignecto is the largest provincial park in Nova Scotia.

Ruth Allen, a former Deputy Warden Cumberland County and resident of Port Greville, was instrumental in the founding and development of the park. She worked for 18 years to gather support for the park through bodies such as the Community Economic development Board and received several awards for her contributions.^{[citation needed]}.

Unique among other provincial parks administered by Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources, this park is managed by a local community organization and the Cumberland Regional Economic Development Association. This means that, while owned by the provincial government, the park is operated by a very small seasonal staff. It is open from mid-May to mid-November.

Pictures

• 

  Eatonville Interpretation Centre

• 

  The park as viewed from atop the Eatonville Interpretation Centre

• 

  Eatonville Harbour saltmarsh and site of former mill and shipyard

• 

  The "Three Sisters" sea stacks

• 

  The abandoned upland farm fields of New Yarmouh

References

• Cape Chignecto Provincial Park, map and visitor guide, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, 2004.
• Halifax Chronicle Herald, Monday April 16, 2007, p. B7.

External links

• Cape Chignecto Provincial Park website
• "Cape Chignecto: Cliffs, Currents and the Highest Tides on Earth" Article and Photographs by Scott Cunningham
• "A Crown Jewell" 'Outdoor Nova Scotia' by Ron Robinson
• "A Photographic Journey Through Cape Chignecto Park" Text & photos by Stu Curtis