Lighthouse Route

Nova Scotia's Lighthouse Route
By Michael Russell

Nova Scotia is Canada's Atlantic province with a long history of seafaring and fishing. Its coastline is often rocky and treacherous for all boats that venture too close, or are lost in the fog banks. Lighthouses were built over the years and the Lighthouse Route is a tour from Yarmouth to Halifax along Nova Scotia's South Shore. There are over twenty lighthouses on the Lighthouse Route following Hwy 3 for over 570 kms.

The Lighthouse Route begins, appropriately, at one of Nova Scotia's most dramatic and historically significant lighthouses. The Yarmouth Light stands on the rocky point of Cape Forchu, named by Samuel de Champlain in 1604. The original lighthouse, built in 1839, was replaced by the current structure in the 1960s. Rising 23 meters above the ground, the lighthouse's two-million-candlepower beam can be seen over 30 nautical miles out at sea. The town of Yarmouth is an historic seaport whose proximity to New England and rich offshore fishing grounds contributed to the town's development and prosperity.

The Lighthouse Route leaves Yarmouth on Route 3 and after passing Roberts Island and Glenwood Provincial Park, the side road on Route 335 leads to the French-speaking communities of West Pubnico, Middle West Pubnico and Lower West Pubnico. Settled in 1653 by Acadians, these villages make up the oldest Acadian settlement in the province. In Middle West Pubnico, a monument displays millstones used here in 1699. Also in West Pubnico, the Abbott's Harbour Lighthouse offers a pleasant place for a picnic. The many islands in the area can be explored by sea kayak.

Many of the small towns and villages along this coastline, like Wedgeport, West Pubnico and Woods Harbour, depend on the sea for their livelihood. Colourful fleets of longliners, trawlers and scallop draggers work the offshore fishing grounds, while smaller craft like lobster boats harvest the inshore areas. At Woods Harbour the lighthouse, built in 1900, sits on a rock ledge in the harbour.

In Shag Harbour you can climb the tower in the Chapel Hill Museum for a panoramic view of the sea and outlying islands. At night the lights of several lighthouses- at Cape Sable, Bon Portage Island, Seal Island and Woods Harbour-are visible from this point. The rocks around Seal Island, called the Sea Wolves by Champlain, wrecked hundreds of ships before the building of the first lighthouse in 1830.