WATERFALLS OF NOVA SCOTIA

HALLS HARBOUR FALLS
Halls Harbour, Kings County
N 45° 11.990 W 064° 36.577

20T E 373580 N 500641 0

RIVER: Houghton Weir Brook
CLASS: oceanside plunge
SIZE: 50'
RATING: excellent (****)

TRAIL: beach
DISTANCE: 250m
HIKING TIME: 1 0 minutes
CONDITIONS: moderate

Geocache: none

NS Atlas Page: 46/Y1
NS topo map: 21 H02 (Berwick)



DIRECTIONS: from Kentville, downtown, travel north on HWY359, 1 8km, 
to its terminus at the fishing village of Halls Harbour. Turn right onto Cove Road 
and drive to near its conclusion, where you will notice a pull-off with a trail leading 
down to the beach. Park here, well out of the way of traffic.

Trail Description: follow the trail down to the beach. About halfway down it 
crosses over private property, so please be respectful. At the beach, head to 
your right, you should be able to see these oceanside falls almost immediately. 
They fall over the cliffs of the Minas Basin draining Houghton Weir Brook directly 
into the ocean. At fifty feet in height, they arent the most dramatic of Nova Scotia's 
oceanside waterfalls, but they are among the more approachable.

Watch the tides, as the Minas Basin features the highest tides in the world, and 
come right up to the cliffs at their highest, leaving no beach behind. The best approach 
to these falls is around low tide, where they drop directly onto a large outcropping on 
the beach, in a natural shower. A perfect place on a hot summer day.

You can check the tide times for Halls Harbour at
http://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/eng/station?sid=282


Just off to the right hand side of the falls, as you look at them, is a sea cave, a 25'-
deep slot formed by constant ocean forces. Halls Harbour is a vibrant example of a 
Nova Scotia fishing village, with an active lobster, shark and halibut fishery. The low 
tides here often leave the fishing boats on dry land, until the high incoming tides pick 
them up again. The village is also home to many artists, and several galleries are located 
here, as well as the Fish House Museum which details the fishing industry's history in 
the village, and the Old Schoolhouse Museum which details the history of the area and 
it's many personalities.

One such individual, Charles MacDonald built the Concrete Cottages at nearby
Huntington Point. A proponent on the advatages of concrete construction, and the owner 
of Kentville Concrete, MacDonald and his company constructed five fantasical aesthetic 
cottages at the point between 1934 and 1938. Four of the five remain today, three of them 
as private homes,and the Blue Faerie Cottage converted into a musuem and is a Registered 
Historic Place in Nova Scotia. The most appealing of the cottages, the Teapot Cottage, was 
destroyed in 1982.

Further hiking oppurtunities in the immediate area of Halls Harbour are served by
the Halls Harbour Ecotrail. Two trails, bot well marked and gravelled, make for nice hikes
around the area, with rest benches along the way and vistas over the Bay of Fundy. In 
February of each year, the village plays host to IceFest, a Climb NovaScotia event, with 
nearly vertical ascents off the ice falls along the cliffs.

slot cave next to falls....