Little Harbour: Fishing Tradition and 100 Wild Islands

A coastal community with a long fishing tradition

Little Harbour combines a long fishing tradition with its location at the entrance to the 100 Wild Islands protected area. For many generations, the community has been a hub for inshore fishing. Work at sea is therefore part of its longstanding character; it offers a tangible connection for travellers who want to learn about a coastal community’s history of land use as well as its scenery. If you are looking for a vacation destination whose character is defined by more than just its natural landscapes, it is worth considering Little Harbour as a destination in its own right.

Nature between the park and the islands

One important natural attraction is Owls Head Provincial Park. It was designated on June 14, 2022, on approximately 266 hectares (659 acres) of Crown land. The park is home to two endangered species: the piping plover and the barn swallow. The protected area and its wildlife offer another facet of the destination, alongside inshore fishing. If you are interested in nature and species conservation, you can include this park in your selection of travel activities.

Little Harbour is at the entrance to the 100 Wild Islands protected area. The 100 Wild Islands are a remote, largely untouched group of islands and headlands. They include more than 7,000 acres of diverse, ecologically valuable coastal habitats. Its location at the entrance to the protected area makes this natural setting an important point of reference when planning your visit: Little Harbour is an ideal choice if you want to focus on the coastal landscape and its habitats as well as the history of fishing.

Two routes, different surfaces

Cyclists can choose between two routes with different profiles. The Clam Harbour Loop follows a four-kilometre paved route along Little Harbour Road to a public wharf and a small fishing community. The distance, paved surface and destination give you a clear idea of what makes this route distinctive. The public wharf and small fishing community are the named destinations; the route itself is four kilometres long.

Another route is two kilometres long and follows a gravel surface from Little Harbour Road via Southwest Cove Road to a boat landing and a lookout point. Compared with the paved Clam Harbour Loop, the two options differ in both surface and the destinations mentioned. When planning your trip, you can consider whether you would prefer a paved route to a public wharf and a small fishing community, or a gravel route to a boat landing and a lookout point.

On-the-water experience and getting there

An Egg Island tour departing from Little Harbour is scheduled for June 28. Egg Island is inaccessible in rough seas. This condition is important context for the tour: access to the island depends on sea conditions. If you are interested in this on-the-water experience, take this limitation into account when planning your trip.

Little Harbour is accessible via a side road from Owls Head. The community offers several concrete points to consider when deciding where to look for a vacation rental: its long tradition of inshore fishing, access to the 100 Wild Islands protected area, and the routes described above. Little Harbour is especially worth considering as a destination if these coastal and nature-related features are a deciding factor in your travel plans.

Discover more destinations

For more travel ideas, you can also explore Tangier, Portuguese Cove, Head Of Jeddore, Musquodoboit Harbour, Timberlea, Halifax, Lake Charlotte and Sambro.

For the broader travel overview: Halifax County.