Shy & Opinionated: Beach Weekend in the New Glasgow Area

Here is my itinerary for a long weekend in the New Glasgow area – keep in mind that I planned the beach times according to the low tide. I googled Caribou Tides for this and there are several websites with the information. I enjoy the beaches much more if the tide is out and therefore planned accordingly.

This is also a summer, good weather plan, starting on a Friday evening and ending Friday afternoon.

	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
Morning		Farmers Market	Flea Market	If driving in the direction of Truro
Lunch		Have take-out (Sea Snack Shack or Subway) or BBQ at Caribou Beach	Swiss Chalet, or if you are in the mood for something quick, Wendy’s	Have a picnic at Victoria Park (I like to get Subway)
Afternoon		Caribou Beach Pictou Market (closes at 5) and museums in Pictou	Melmerby Beach	Explore Victoria Park, check out the waterfalls and try Jacobs Ladder
Supper	Café Italia (you can eat outside if the weather is good)	Saltwater Café or Sharon’s in Pictou	East Side Restaurant or Pizza Delight
Evening	Trenton park to walk, see the ducks & check out the playground if you have kids	Ice cream on the Warf (Pictou)	Go for a walk on the Samson trail
Notes

If you are using New Glasgow as a base this itinerary works well but you could also camp at Caribou and use the same itinerary but with more BBQs instead of eating out, a bonfire with s’mores on Sunday night, kite flying and catching fireflies. If the weather turns bad you can check out the Museum of Industry just off the highway in Stellarton.

There are a few other beaches I should mention, Waterside, Powell Point Park and Sinclairs. Of these three Waterside is my favorite. Of the five, Caribou is my first choice. All the beaches have some type of washroom with the exception of Sinclairs. Of them all Caribou and Powell Point Park have the best picnic areas. Powell Point Park has a small section of beach available but it is primarily a picnic type park. Sinclairs has the least amount of parking. There is a tiny area where one or two cars can pull off the side of the road but is mostly just assessable to the cabins in the area. Just around the corner there is a Warf that is picturesque, especially at sunset and there is a rocky area that is fun to explore. There is a little more parking in this area. Waterside, Caribou and Melmerby all have running water to wash your feet off at the end of the day but the one at Caribou is the most visible one. At the Merb you only have assess at the first parking area and at Waterside there is a small tap on a boardwalk to the left which you have to go in search of, it is not on the main boardwalk.

I do have to mention the restaurants in Pictou. I have Sharon’s and the Saltwater Café listed but there are a few others, these are just the two that we enjoy the most. Sharon’s is a favorite of the locals and always busy. Saltwater Café has summer hours only and it is located right by the Warf, you can sit inside on their screened porch to watch the boats coming and going, for ambiance this is the place to go. The reason I am elaborating on this is that the last time we were there it wasn’t very good, it was the first time this year and my husband did not like his meal, the menu had changed and the waitress wasn’t very knowledgeable. The other disturbing thing was that we saw the butts of two waitress’ as the dress code is apparently non-existent and their shorts were so short that we got more of a view than we bargained for. I will try this place again because of our previous experiences there but it should be mentioned. Also, we sometimes get take out from the Sea Snack Shack on the Warf and either eat it there or take it to Caribou Beach. This place changes hands often so next year it could be called something else. As it is at the moment we enjoy the food there for the most part but we have to get onion rings in place of the fries because they are never fully cooked (one of my pet peeves). These are things to keep in mind while eating in the Pictou area.

There isn’t a large selection of restaurants in New Glasgow either. The East Side Restaurant is small and cramped but the food is good. One thing to note is that the people of Pictou County love their pizza. It is made with what I’m told is a Greek sauce – it looks like gravy. Pictou County people think it is the only kind of pizza to eat. If you want to try something different there are a couple of places there are quite a few places that sell it, the most popular being Acrople or Sam’s in Stellarton. Be warned – it is very different and the people there love it and think it is the only kind of pizza to eat, personally I don’t like it at all, but try it and judge for yourself.

Trenton Park