Five Islands Provincial Park Camping and Hiking Trails

Thanks to our son, we went camping at Five Islands Provincial Park.

All grade 4 students are given two nights free stay at a provincial park in Nova Scotia. When Daniel was in Grade 4, we went to Dollar Lake Provincial Park near the airport.

Five Islands Provincial Park has always been on my list to explore, so we headed there to check it out!

Five Islands is perhaps best known as the setting for the famous Kluskap story where Kluskap tries to drive away Giant Beaver by throwing five great sods of mud into the bay, thus creating the islands.

We booked a site online before we got there. Although the site shows some pictures, it is hard to tell exactly what you are getting.

We ended up with a serviced site with a phenomenal view of the Minas Basin which led to beautiful sunsets.

There isn’t much shade at any of the sites, but there is a great breeze off the water at night.

It was really fun looking across the Minas Basin and seeing Cape Split and Blomidon from the “back side”.

The boys were excited because just last month they had a private flight where they flew over Cape Split and the Five Islands!

Beach Combing

You can access the beach from the public-use area. During high tide, you can swim at the beach.

During low tide, you can walk the shore to explore the rock formations.

Hiking

There are a few hiking trails that are accessible to non-campers, and some that can be walked off season when the main park is closed.

Trail Maps for Five Islands Here.

We combined the Estuary Trail with the Economy Mountain Trail to make an approximate 7 km hike.

They call this area Economy Mountain for a reason. Most of the trail is up and down the mountainous area, making for steep hills. Combined with the many roots and narrow paths, the trail is not suitable for strollers, or small children.

Despite this, the trails were lovely through different types of forests.

We also hiked the Red Head Trail. Downhill to the end, the trail offered beautiful viewpoints.

This campground would make a great launching point for visiting the Parrsboro shore and surrounding area, rather than spending the entire time in the park itself.

There is a lot of things to do along the shore. Check out our blog post: