Nova Scotia Buzz
If you’re up for a challenging hike on Cape Breton Island this summer, let us recommend the hike to Pollett’s Cove. It’s amazingly scenic.
The land is owned by Matthew Moore of Pleasant Bay, Cape Breton. Moore won Lotto 6-49 and purchased the pristine wilderness from a family who had owned it for over a century.
We’d recommended to overnight in Pollett’s Cove as the hike takes about five hours each way from Pleasant Bay. The trail is well worn and climbs into the mountains so there’s lots of terrain we were careful of. You have to cross Otter River about halfway through the hike, so be prepared for that.
The beach in Pollett’s Cove is sandy and stretches for about a kilometer. The cove is one of the secrets of The Cape Breton Highlands as it’s so remote.
Now for the part that drew your attention, the horses. A farmer from nearby Big Intervale owns the horses and they walk the trail in every spring. Many believe the horses are wild, but as you can see from our photos, they are pretty tame. By no means do we recommend trying to mount one though!
The Cove was first settled by and once home to Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaq. Some Europeans settled around 1838. During World War II, Pollett’s Cove was connected by telegraph wire to the rest of Nova Scotia to warn of German U-Boats entering the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These buildings and others from its past were burned by wildfires in 1947.
Pollette’s Cove is Mother Nature’s home. As you settle into your tent for the night, be prepared for an amazing show. There is no light pollution in Pollette’s Cove, it is as remote as it gets in Nova Scotia, except for maybe Sable Island, which ironically is also home to horses.
If you decide to visit, please take everything you came with. One thing we noticed was the garbage from people that came before.
Special thanks to Folk & Forest for sharing the photos of the trip.
