News release

Autumn Leaf Watch, Weekly Report

Tourism and Culture (Aug. 1999 - Dec. 2003)

NOTE TO EDITORS: The following is the second of seven weekly Nova Scotia Autumn Leaf Watch reports planned for this fall. Compiled by the Department of Tourism and Culture, the report includes summary paragraphs at the top of each trail section that can be lifted and used for a shorter report.


REGION 1: Evangeline Trail

Enjoy the early signs of autumn in the plants and the hardwoods with a drive or hike along one of the many travelways of the Evangeline Trail.

  • Site 1, Arcadia: A stroll along the Uktubok Trail boardwalk in Arcadia is enhanced by the plants of fall. Bright yellow clumps of goldenrod and the orange-red of the rose hips reward the walker.

  • Site 6, Bear River: Bracken ferns tinged with brown and yellow, and the red of individual maple and pin-cherry, are the first hints of autumn along the beautiful Bear River.

  • Site 8, Aylesford: Take a drive along Route 22, just north of Aylesford, for a taste of fall. Red apples in the foreground and patches of red in the maple make a striking contrast against the green shades of the North Mountain.

  • Site 10, Halls Harbour: Autumn is definitely on its way in Halls Harbour where splashes of bright yellow and red in the sugar maples make up 25 per cent of the colour change.

Enjoy Hants County Exhibition in Windsor -- Canada's oldest agricultural fair. Take in the livestock competitions, horticultural displays and arts and crafts, Sept. 24-26.


REGION 2: Glooscap and Sunrise trails

The Glooscap and Sunrise trail are still in the early stages of fall where most leaf watchers continue to report only a 10 per cent change. Enjoy the countryside as tinges of autumn colour spreading through the hardwoods create a feeling of anticipation for the drama to come.

  • Site 14, Walton Lighthouse and lookoff: Hints of fall colour are evident in this panoramic view that sweeps from the mouth of the Walton River to Cape Blomidon.

  • Near Site 15, Maitland: Take a drive to Maitland where the agricultural fields form a patchwork of browns and greens. Celebrate Maitland Launch Day on Saturday, Sept. 25, when a replica of the W.D. Lawrence, the largest wooden ship ever built in Canada, will be launched after the noon parade.

  • Near Site 25, Earltown: Picture this: an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of a pasture with Nuttby Mountain as a backdrop. Come to Earltown (on Highway 311) for this fall postcard where 25 per cent of the sugar maples are now yellow.

  • Site 20, Cape Chignecto Peninsula: The maples are just beginning to spread autumn colour into the spectacular coastal scenery of Cape Chignecto Provincial Park. Picnickers and fall hikers alike will be rewarded by a landscape of sheltered coves and the tallest cliffs in Nova Scotia.

  • Site 26, Mount Thom: "Autumn is on the verge here," reports Mount Thom's leaf watcher. With the nights getting cooler and the days getting shorter, it won't be long until this hillside, with its hundreds of acres of blueberry fields, is ablaze with colour.

Come to Tatamagouche's 20th annual Oktoberfest and enjoy the food, beer gardens and children's program, Sept. 25-26. Be prepared to polka.

Enjoy traditional music, craft and food in a spectacular outdoor setting at the Autumn Equinox Fair in New Glasgow, Oct. 2-3.


REGION 3: Cape Breton Island

It's still early for autumn colour on Cape Breton Island with most leaf watchers reporting less than 10 per cent change in the hardwoods. Salt marsh grasses are now attractive shades of bronze and rust, and there are bright patches of red appearing in the maples, mountain-ash and pin-cherries.

  • Site 31, Mabou Salt Marsh: The Mabou Salt Marsh is gleaming

with bronze grasses, now 50 per cent changed. Brown cattails rise above the waters of the marsh flooded by last week's rain, and at the fringe, a solitary maple turns deep red.

  • Site 33, Cap Le-Moine: The canopy of the forest at Cap Le-Moine has a rusty glow as birches and aspen turn to yellow, maples and oak to red, and alders to brown. There are splashes of bright red in the pin-cherries, rose hips and hawthorne berries.

  • Site 34, French Mountain: Visit the bog on this wheelchair-accessible boardwalk at French Mountain in Cape Breton Highlands National Park for the first hints of autumn in the scarlet coloured oaks, orange maples and yellow ferns and birch.

  • Site 35, Pleasant Bay: While you stroll along the easy walking trail at Pleasant Bay, enjoy the spectacular vista of the oldest sugar maple forest in North America. Notice the red tinge on the hillsides as the first maples, pin-cherries and mountain ash turn to red.

  • Site 39, Long Island: With more than 10 per cent of leaves now changed, there are patches of soft yellow and brown on Long Island, with hints of more colour to come.

While enjoying the early colour along the Cabot Trail, stop for Feis Chadaich A Tuath (North Shore's Gaelic Festival) at the Alexander Smith Community Hall in North Shore, Sept. 25-26.


REGION 4: Marine Drive and Halifax-Dartmouth

Autumn is slowly advancing along the Marine Drive and in Halifax-Dartmouth with all sites having less than 10 per cent leaf change. There are tinges and patches of colour in the hardwoods, particularly in those bordering lakes and rivers, a yellowing of grasses and ferns, and notes of brilliance in the red rose hips.

  • Site 48, Lundy: Across the Lundy Barrens, a smattering of red in the maples and mountain-ash, purples in the blueberry, and yellows in the birch heralds the start of autumn.

  • Site 52, Sheet Harbour: Enjoy the first hints of autumn in the yellowing grasses along the boardwalk at MacPhee House Museum and waterfalls in Sheet Harbour. Tinges of red in the maples and shining scarlet rose hips provide additional colour highlights.

  • Site 58, Laurie Park: The maples beside Grand Lake in Laurie Park have an orange sheen and there are splashes of yellow and orange among the birch and aspen. The understory is brightened by the lemon yellow of individual white ash. The seed heads of the marsh grasses have ripened to a warm bronze.

  • Site 59, Mount Uniacke: As you stroll the trails at Uniacke Estate Museum, look for the bright patches of red in the maples surrounding scenic Lake Martha, and dabs of yellow and gold in the birch, aspen and white ash along the Old Post Road. Witness a moment from the past when the Pony Express stops here, Sept. 29, at 6:30 p.m.

  • Site 60, Halifax: Autumn is creeping up the walls of the Abbie J. Lane Memorial Building with the reddening leaves of the Virginia Creeper. It gets prettier every day as the colour spreads.

Enjoy a scenic day hike on Saturday, Sept. 25, while learning about the natural history of the Musquodoboit Trailway. Pre-register with Oliver Maass, 902-662-3030.

There is more than just autumn in the air in Halifax this Sunday. On Sept. 26, Word on the Street will celebrate the written and spoken word in a host of tents and events along Spring Garden Road, from South Park to Grafton streets.


REGION 5: Lighthouse Route

Although just the first trace of autumn is evident along the Lighthouse Route with most sites reporting less than 10 per cent change, the first tinges of colour are enhancing the beauty of many picturesque places.

  • Near Site 61, Peggy's Cove: The gold, bronze and burnished browns of the alders, ferns and grasses contrast vividly with the blue of the water and white of the spray and granite rocks at scenic Peggy's Cove. There are hints of purple and maroon in the blackberry and wild rose, and splashes of scarlet among the rose hips.

  • Site 62, New Ross: As the hardwoods around Ross Farm slowly change, spots of red, orange and yellow appear amid a sea of green leaves. The leaf watcher described the red and orange on one maple as looking "like it was singed on one side by a flame."

  • Site 66, Falkland Ridge: Throughout the beautiful vista of hardwoods visible from the Falkland Ridge Loop, there are patches of red and orange as the maples and mountain-ash change. A tinge of yellow is spreading through the birch and aspen.

  • Site 67, Crescent Beach: The salt marsh grasses in the back harbour of historic Lockeport are slowly turning bronze as autumn descends on Crescent Beach, a lovely spot for a walk beside the ocean.

  • Site 74, Wedgeport: Stretch your legs and enjoy the season on Wedgeport Nature Trail where red maples are starting to turn red along leaf margins and there are hints of yellow in the birch.

Fall is the time for horse and ox pulls. Catch the Queens County Fair in Caledonia, Sept. 22-25.

Enjoy an autumn hike at Thomas Raddall Provincial Park from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Call 902-683-2876 to pre-register.