5 Nova Scotia Beaches For Your Summer Bucket List

If you’re anything like me, you love an East Coast summer. And nothing is better than a beach day.

I love the beach the most in the spring and early summer, when the sun is warm, and the breeze is still cool, but a summer beach trip is a great way to relax and unwind. And, with Nova Scotia having thousands of kilometres of coastline, you’ll have no shortage of beaches to explore.

Whether you’re a seasoned local (like me) or just visiting, taking time to appreciate the stunning coastline that Nova Scotia has to offer is a summer essential. Below, I’ve compiled a list of my top 5 favourite beaches in the Halifax area that I think you should add to your summer bucket list.

Queensland Beach

The first beach on this list is Queensland Beach, which is about 40 minutes from downtown Halifax.

This beach is one of my personal favourites, and I often drive out here when I’m looking for a good place to watch the sunset. However, this spot makes for an excellent beach day. I do find the water at this beach stays fairly cool in the summer, but that may just be my experience. The beach does have lifeguards in July and August, but keep an eye on the signage to be safe.

To get to this beach from downtown, you can take Highway 103 outbound to exit 5 or 5a, then take St. Margarets Bay Road. I prefer getting off at exit 5 and spending more time on St. Margarets Bay Road because it’s a beautiful coastal drive, and you can see the boats in the coves along the way.

One thing I love about this area is that there’s an ice cream shop on St. Margarets Bay Road (called The Little Ice Cream Shop) that’s open from mid-May to early September. They have a variety of ice cream flavours and toppings to choose from, including Vegan and gluten-free options.

My only objection to this beach is that it is a smaller beach compared to others on this list, so on hot summer days, it can get a bit crowded. That being said, it’s perfect for a spring, early-summer, or early-fall beach day. Think May, June, or September.

Rainbow Haven Beach

The next beach on this list is Rainbow Haven Beach, which is about a 30-minute drive from downtown Halifax. This beach is a really good size, and while it does get busy in the summer, I’ve always been able to still find a good spot.

The water does tend to warm up later in the summer if you’re someone who likes swimming, and it does have lifeguards in July and August, but always check the signage just to be safe.

My favourite part about this beach is driving in and out of the parking lot. The surrounding area is grassland, and it’s so beautiful, especially at sunset.

While this beach is lacking in the beach-side-ice-cream-shop department, there are some excellent options on Portland Street and Cole Harbour Road.

The most direct way to get to this beach from downtown Halifax is to take the Macdonald Bridge over into Dartmouth, then find your way to Portland Street, which turns into Cole Harbour Road to Bissett Road. This also applies to the next two beaches (for Lawrencetown, you’ll stay on Cole Harbour Road until you get there).

This beach can get buggy in the summer, so if you’re like me and mosquitoes are enemy #1, bring bug spray with you!!

Lawrencetown Beach

If you’re looking for a beach that is more rock than it is sand, Lawrencetown is the beach for you. This beach is about 35 minutes from downtown Halifax (in the same direction as Rainbow Haven) and has some beautiful coastline that you can see from the beach. This beach has beautiful boardwalks from the parking lot, and they recently paved the parking lot, so your car doesn’t get as dusty.

Lawrencetown has a cafe near the beach, aptly named the Lawrencetown Beach Cafe, that is open year-round. Here you can grab coffee, a bite to eat, some cooking/baking supplies, and they occasionally host events like open-mic nights!

This beach is also one of two beaches on this list that have surfing lessons that can be booked through East Coast Surf School, if you’ve ever wanted to learn!

This beach can also get buggy in the summer, in my experience, more than Rainbow Haven, so bring bug spray!

Martinique Beach

Next up: Martinique Beach. This beach is about an 1hr drive from downtown Halifax, also in the same direction as Rainbow Haven and Lawrencetown. The beach is the longest sandy beach in Nova Scotia, measuring 5km long, with smaller parking lots along the length of the beach, rather than one central lot.

Martinique is also a protected area for Piping Plovers, an endangered species of shorebird, so keep an eye out for signage, and you might be able to spot one (but please be respectful and stay out of any roped-off areas).

Martinique is the second beach on this list that has surfing lessons that can be booked through Halifax Surf School. Outside of surfing lessons, the beach is supervised during July and August for swimming.

I may sound like a broken record, but with this beach being in the same direction as Rainbow Haven and Lawrencetown, bring bug spray and swim safely if you choose to do so!

Crescent Beach

This beach is the farthest from downtown Halifax, about 1 hour and 30 minutes; however, it’s relatively close to Lunenburg and Bridgewater, so it makes for a great day trip! Crescent Beach is about 2km long and (fun fact) is the only beach in Nova Scotia that you can drive on!

This beach is absolutely stunning, and over the years, many of my peers have compared it to a tropical vacation, and I would definitely agree. This beach can be good for swimming and hanging out in the water; however, the beach doesn’t have lifeguards, so stay safe if you do choose to swim!

Additionally, being able to drive on and off the beach makes it more accessible for people with mobility issues since you can drive your car to the spot you want! Regardless, you can cut out the drag-all-the-stuff-from-the-car part and get to the enjoying-the-beach part.

The downside of this beach is that there are no on-site washrooms or changerooms. Rissers Beach is a 2-minute drive down the road, where you can find both.

Honourable Mention: Rissers Beach

I’d like to give an honourable mention to Rissers Beach, which, as I mentioned above, is really close to Crescent Beach. I haven’t been to Rissers Beach, so I can’t speak from personal experience, but I thought I’d briefly talk about it anyway since it is a popular beach.

Rissers is a popular camping spot in the summer, and while I’m not a big fan of camping, I know a lot of people are. I’ve heard great things about the Rissers Beach Campground; they have a variety of serviced, unserviced, and walk-in campsites, restrooms with showers, waste and recycling facilities, a park office, and a few walking trails in the area.

So, if you’re more outdoorsy than I am, Rissers might be the perfect beach for you!

Regardless of your plans this summer, I hope you’re able to make time to appreciate the coastline that Nova Scotia has to offer. Whether it’s one of the beaches on this list or another beach entirely (we have tons to choose from), there’s a beach in Nova Scotia waiting for you!

Guest Contributor, Georgia Sinclaire

Georgia is an NSCC digital marketing graduate based in Nova Scotia. She’s passionate about building brands in the digital environment, and telling a client’s story through the content she creates. When she’s not at her desk you’ll find her, camera in hand, exploring the world around her, or hanging out with her cat Ben.