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5 Best New Years Day Hikes In Halifax

Start The New Year On The Right Trail

     The past few years have forced us to look forward through a different lens, with realigned values and priorities. Many have prioritized spending more time outside, putting our environment top of mind. A great resolution this year would be to support the volunteer group that looks after your favourite trail. They know how to put your dollars to good use.

     Start your recalibrated new year by embarking on the perfect reset with a breath of fresh air.  If the revelry of New Year’s Eve left you feeling sub-par, fear not, these hikes strike the right balance between exertion & enjoyment. Here are 5 all-natural remedies for what ails ya:

5) Charlie’s Lake Trail

     New Year’s redemption can be found overlooking Charlie’s lake.  A short but hilly & rugged 1km hike from the parking lot at Maskwa Aquatic Club, leads to a spectacular place of rejuvenation.  Re-fill your lungs with certified fresh organic, gluten-free 2024 oxygen atop the steep rocky shoreline.

     This amphitheater-like atmosphere would have had great acoustics for your epic Karaoke rendition of Sweet Caroline, but for now, it just amplifies the peace and quiet…and the ringing in your ears.  The only thing that could make this place any better would be if it served an all-day breakfast.

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4) Susies Lake

     Post a pic at this scenic look-off and you’re sure to shame everyone who’s still in bed.  Inspire your social media followers with the drive, determination, skill, and effort it must have taken to explore this epic wilderness.  Sure it may be in Bayers Lake Business Park, and your activity tracker says it was only a 40-minute return trip, but we’ll just leave those parts out.

     Enjoy the view while enjoying your still-warm Timmies while you sample one of Halifax’s finest Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness views.  Be warned, even though it’s a 20-minute hike to the look-off, it is un-marked and rugged.  It’s not to be taken as lightly as your decision to have another drink was last night.

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3) Point Pleasant Park

    Stroll, hike, call it what you will but it’s your best option to be seen doing “great, thanks!” (as your grimace turns into a smile).  Sure last night was a rough one, but you’re still out getting fresh air, exercise, and seizing the new year! There are different routes to choose from, with plenty of benches along most of them, allowing you to take in the scenery while being scolded by your stomach.

     Always a place of good cheer, today you may be awarded a special wink and nod from fellow party revelers who also opted for nature over nurture for the first day of 2024.  The brisk salty air will cure what ails ya, or at least remind you that you’re in the Maritimes, so lace up those hikers and give ‘er!

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2) Long Lake Provincial Park

     If you want to get away, but just far enough that no one will notice that you look like an extra from “The Walking Dead”,  revive your soul with a nature-cleanse at Long Lake Provincial Park.  You can continue in zombie mode along the 5km, easy-to-walk, Lakeview Trail, or enter via St. Margaret’s bay road to do the “Pipeline Loop” or just stroll the shoreline to find a place to ponder all of the amazing things you will be accomplishing this year, once you get your voice back.

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1) Herring Cove Provincial Park

     Sure it might be a little chilly and breezy, but we are in Nova Scotia and nothing rings in a fresh new year like some crisp ocean air. Don’t wear your dancing shoes from last night because this trail will require you to step lively in a different way. It’s unmarked, full of roots, mud, ice & rocks that are about as forgiving as your ex.

     This outing is still easy enough that you don’t have to worry about starring in a survival story if you realize your New Year aspirations may be a notch too high. The parking lot is “like a drive in theater for nature lovers” that you can enjoy latte’ in-hand, but the look-off at the end of the trail is a nice payoff for a 2km round-trip.

Map & Guide.

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🎉Have A Trailblazing New Year!


Ski, Skate, Snowshoe & Sled: Check Out My Outdoor Winter Activity Guide.

 

Greg Taylor
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