Cycle Touring Along the Rum Runners Trail

We finally did it, or almost did it! It has been a goal since we moved to Nova Scotia to complete the Rum Runners Trail as a cycle touring trip. We started in Mahone Bay and travelled to Halifax with a night spent at Graves Island Provincial Park. It was hard — with some bumpy, slippery trails on Day 1 and an 80km ride on Day 2 — but we think this route could be more accessible with a few simple improvements.

The Route

We were dropped off by a friend in Mahone Bay and followed various segments of the Rum Runners trail back to Halifax. We biked 120km in total with 40km on Day 1 and 80km on Day 2. We stopped at the Trail Burger in Martins River for ice cream (Day 1), Queensland Beach for lunch (Day 2), and the Bike and Bean for coffee and ice cream (Day 2). The condition of the trail improved as we approached Halifax and we’ve described it in lots of detail in a separate post and map.

Camping at Graves Island

It was our first time spending the night at Graves Island Provincial Park. We lucked out on a last minute cancellation to be able to grab a spot on the September long weekend so we couldn’t be picky about our site. Site 87 turned out to be a nice site with a view of the ocean, but there were no trees big enough to support the hammock. For future reference Sites 90 and 91 looked to have some great hammock trees and the walk in sites provided the best views. The coastal trail around the outside of the island also had a few viewpoints. A friend saw a whale from here, but we weren’t so lucky when we went back.

Making it more accessible

It took us over a year to make this trip happen for a few reasons: (1) it is logistically hard to do it in one direction, (2) it is tough to find accommodation that is reasonably priced.

For this trip to become a viable option for more people, a few things need to happen:

1. There needs to be a shuttle that can transport people and bikes to various locations along the Rum Runners trail. This would benefit all users of the trail, not just those who want to do the entire route.
2. There needs to be a campground or cheaper accommodation option in the Hubbards to Tantallon region. Most cottages and AirBnBs are $200+ dollars a night and there is literally nowhere to camp. Staying in this area would keep the distance for each day to about 40km which is approximately 3 hours of riding — far more reasonable than our 7 hour Day 2. If anyone living in the area has a yard they don’t mind sharing, Hip Camp, would be a great way to help us cyclists out!
3. The trail beyond Hubbards needs to be improved. It is definitely passable at the moment, but it is far bumpier and slipperier than the section from Halifax to Hubbards. The recent regrading of the Dynamite Trail shows work is being done, but it isn’t yet compressed adequately to make it easy to ride.