Annapolis-Digby-Clare-Yarmouth
I share this post with high hopes that anyone who reads it and is inspired to go on their own adventure will honor these beautiful places and leave no trace behind. Waterfalls hold a special place for us and I hope you can hold them in the same regard.
For a long time now, I’ve been pursing waterfall adventures. “Chasing waterfalls” is something that brings us so much inspiration and happiness. We love to find & visit them as a family, bonus points are awarded to the ones that provide swimming, rope climbs or little cliff jumps into the water. 63 Waterfalls is my current count, 36 of them being here in Nova Scotia.
For this, I’m only including our top 5 favorites for Annapolis, Digby & Clare Counties.
In order from Annapolis->Clare
Poole Brook Fall aka (St. Croix Fall)
This fall is my second favorite fall on the list! It’s mega beautiful and a Fall for all seasons, I’ve been bringing my children there since my oldest was 6 years old. Poole Brook is a very short hike from the road, but has steep sections and a rocky pool where some children are definitely going to need help.
Once you make it down the rocky path to the fall you get a great view from underneath the fall and of the pool of water in which it descends to. Poole brook Fall is a pretty big waterfall and depending on the season, it can have a high flow volume (Generally in the late summer / autumn the fall is pretty quiet unless you go after a heavy rain.)
If it suits your fancy, You can definitely swim in the pool if there’s enough water. I had a really fun couples photography session there last September where my clients enjoyed an evening swim in the pool and climbed under the fall…. They said they had a blast and that they will always remember how much fun our adventure was at this location.
One of my favorite parts about this fall is it’s unique history regarding a washed up ship and the deaths of presumed Portuguese sailors, you can check this out for yourself in the Photograph of the article I’ve attached.
Tip ->There’s an extra special adventure awaiting there for those who seek it.
Mill Fall
We love Keji for many reasons and Mill Fall is one of them.
Mill fall usually has pretty warm (Nova Scotia speaking) dark brown & bubbly “Mersey Tea” waters. It’s a great spot to swim for the whole family and personally we really enjoy jumping from the rock on the far side of the falls ever since we seen some other people doing it.
When you’re tired of swimming, relaxing on the nearby sun kissed rocks sure feels great or you could choose to take on one of Kejis many other adventures. When we go, we usually plan a whole day of it.
Delaps Cove Fall
Delaps Cove Fall is a great one to choose if you’re looking for a longer hike. The hike has some fun paths through the woods that lead to the shoreline that you fallow until the Fall. The Fall it’s self is at the end of the hike and can be seen from the viewing platform and trails around it.
For a closer look, you will want to make sure that you time your hike so that you arrive at the fall when the tide is out & do the little rope climb that leads you down the cliff to the shore and to the bottom of the falls. When we went, there wasn’t much of a waterflow but I’m sure that looks very different after a good rain.
Our girls did the climb with two adult spotters/helpers at the ages of 5 & 8 but as most of you already know, all children are different in development so use your discretion regarding if your littles are ready or not.
Clementsport Fall
The only slide style fall on the list!
This waterfall is pretty tall and slides down to a smaller pool of water at the bottom where you can have a little dip if you please. The whole area around the fall is very steep with a ton of changes in elevation (we definitely keep the smaller kiddos close once near the falls.) We found the best way to the pool was to take the trails down that are on the far side of the pool to the stream and fallow it into the gully. I love the view from the top, but if your going anywhere near the fall be mindful of how slippery the area around it can be.
Our Children love this adventure because the hike up & into the woods isn’t really that long and it rewards you with something really beautiful to experience. We have taken the trail to the falls from both ends the shorter way being by the monument where Moose River empties but it’s also the steeper choice vs the other end that starts at the “Big Tree” on the Waldeck Line Rd. The “Big Tree” is truly big, old and impressive and worth a mention incase some of you would like to see that too.
Note->The old dog at the beginning of the trail barks at hikers but we just keep walking and completely ignore him. The rooster on guard though is a whole other story, we run for our lives if he see’s us!
St. Benoni Fall
St. Benoni takes the number 1 spot of our favorite local fall and here’s why!
Not only do we love waterfalls but we really love swimming and jumping during the warmer months, this place has both options and as a bonus it’s literally just off to the side of the road. The water in the big pool next to the cliff (not by the waterfall) is very deep in spots and often warm, treading water there is one of my favorite ways of exercising & swim.
In my opinion, it’s best to enjoy this spot without younger children because there’s no where safe for them to hang out. The whole area has steep rock ledges and the current of the river can be strong, especially during a heavier water flow. Our older children were in swimming lessons at the time but we still wanted to make sure that that were safe swimming there with us, so we tided a rope to their life jackets and let them try it out. Our oldest child (9 years of age at the time) could manage to tread the water but got tired of it fairly quickly, where our younger child (7 years of age at the time) loved the challenge but she was so light that if she needed to rest that she would float down stream and we would reel her back in with the attached rope.
So kids aside, Lets get to the fun part…
The Jumping!
I only recommend trying this if you get the opportunity to watch someone experienced actually doing it first. This should be easy because there is a high chance of running into other people looking to cool down & have some fun just like you.
You can jump from the rock in the middle of the waterfall on the farthest point out but getting there when the water is too strong can be a challenge in it’s self. Our favorite places to jump are at two different points on the large cliff across the river at the big pool. One day, we marked out measurements on a rope with a rock tied to the end and roughly found out how tall the jumps were. The lower jump sit’s around 15ft and the higher jump sit’s around an exciting 21ft. When you jump, you don’t hit the bottom nor can you even see it if you try to swim down. I’ve seen people dive off the lower jump and do flips off both.
The whole cliff and both jump points are slippery when wet and there are obvious dangers evolved but some of us live to take those calculated risks, If that doesn’t sound like you that’s okay! It’s pretty fun to watch someone else doing it.
The downfall to this location is that there is often a lot of people around, unfortunately not always respecting the environment and leaving all sorts of trash behind.
Let’s Do Better!
Tip-> Down river there is a much larger waterfall named Indian Fall but there isn’t a great trail to get to it. We went to it once and it required a lot of bush waking, we found it best to just view it from the bridge “Thunder Bridge.”
DISCLAIMER
I am not responsible if you go on one of these adventures and get hurt. Use common sense out there and always know yours & your children’s limits.
