Northumberland Shore
The Northumberland Shore faces Prince Edward Island across the Northumberland Strait and boasts the warmest saltwater beaches north of the Carolinas — think Caribou, Melmerby, and Heather beaches. It's Anne of Green Gables territory (the PEI ferry sails from Caribou), with Tatamagouche, Pictou, and blueberry country inland. Family-friendly swimming and gentle tides define the summer experience.
Top Highlights
The Jubilee East Coast Music Festival
The New Glasgow Music Jubilee celebrates its milestone 30th anniversary in 2026, bringing top Canadian and Maritime acts
The Townhouse
Local craft beer and farm-to-table dining in Antigonish.
Jost Vineyards
Nova Scotia's largest and longest-operating winery in Malagash on the Northumberland Shore. Daily complimentary wine tas
What to Do & See
Restaurants
10 items The Townhouse
🍽️Local craft beer and farm-to-table dining in Antigonish.
Menu Highlights:
- Local craft beer selection
- Farm-to-table menu
- Handmade cocktails
- Community gathering spot
Sugar Moon Farm
🍽️A 200-acre working maple syrup farm in the Cobequid Hills of northern Nova Scotia, now operating pop-up brunches plus tours and tastings by advance reservation (bookable via Tock), with maple syrup and farm products available by appointment. Hiking trails, including the on-site Rogart Mountain Trail, remain open year-round.
Menu Highlights:
- Sugar camp tours & maple syrup education
- Rogart Mountain hiking trail on-site
- Organic maple syrup & farm products shop
- Family-friendly year-round destination
Our Backyard BBQ and Smokehouse
🍽️Our Backyard BBQ and Smokehouse in Amherst serves authentic Southern BBQ with a Maritime twist. All meats are smoked in-house daily, sides made fresh from scratch, with inventive sauces like Blueberry and Rootbeer BBQ.
Menu Highlights:
- In-house smoked brisket, ribs, chicken, and pulled pork
- 6 scratch-made BBQ sauces including Blueberry and Maple
- Daily lunch special 11AM-2PM
- Delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats
- Family-style Ultimate Platter feeds 4
Explore
2 itemsDiscover the Strait Boat Tours
🚶Experience the Northumberland Strait aboard an authentic Nova Scotia lobster fishing boat. Guided by a real Northumberland fisherman, choose from sightseeing cruises, sunset tours with fish and chips, lobster trap-hauling adventures, or Pictou Island beach excursions.
Tour Highlights:
- Authentic lobster fishing boat tours with a real fisherman guide
- Multiple options: sightseeing, sunset, lobster fishing, Pictou Island
- Learn to haul traps, measure and band lobsters
- Sunset cruises with fish and chips dinner onboard
- Small group tours for a personal experience
Tatamagouche Brewing Company
🎯Tatamagouche Brewing Company (aka TataBrew) is a family-owned microbrewery on Main Street in Tatamagouche on Nova Scotia's Northumberland Shore. Housed in a converted butcher shop since 2014, they craft small-batch beers ranging from traditional ales to barrel-aged sours and experimental batches. The taproom is open daily year-round, with brewery tours and Canada-wide shipping from tatabrew.com.
What to Experience:
- Small-batch handcrafted beers - from traditional styles to barrel-aged sours
- Welcoming taproom open daily with flights, pints and merchandise
- Brewery tours - see how TataBrew crafts its small-batch beers
- Family-owned and operated since 2014 in a converted butcher shop
- Canada-wide beer shipping from tatabrew.com
Attractions
2 items Jost Vineyards
🏛️Nova Scotia's largest and longest-operating winery in Malagash on the Northumberland Shore. Daily complimentary wine tastings, Seagrape Café serving seasonal fare, vineyard trails, and award-winning wines. Google 4.6 rating with hundreds of awards.
Key Features:
- Wine Tastings
- Seagrape Café
- Vineyard Trails
- Wine Boutique
- Tidal Bay Wines
- Award-Winning Reds & Whites
Hector Heritage Quay and Ship Hector
🏛️Step aboard the full-size replica of the Ship Hector, which brought the first Scottish emigrants to Nova Scotia in 1773. This Nova Scotia Signature Attraction on the Pictou waterfront features an Interpretive Centre with the story of the 11-week Atlantic crossing, costumed guides, and the annual Highland Homecoming.
Key Features:
- Full-size replica of the 1773 Ship Hector
- Interpretive Centre with exhibits on Scottish emigration
- Costumed guides and period demonstrations
- Annual Highland Homecoming in September
- Pictou waterfront location
- Interactive exhibits about 18th-century shipboard life
Events
1 items
Nova Scotia Tulip Festival
🎉Nova Scotia's first-ever tulip festival at RiverBreeze Farm in Upper Onslow. 200,000+ tulips in bloom across two fields, pick-your-own flowers, photo ops, and family-friendly fun. Seasonal spring event.
Event Features:
- 200,000 Plus Tulips
- You-Pick Flowers
- Photo Opportunities
- Family-Friendly
- Spiked Lemonade Flights
- RiverBreeze Farm
Why Northumberland Shore Belongs on Your Nova Scotia Itinerary
Northumberland Shore faces Prince Edward Island across a warm, shallow strait and boasts the warmest saltwater beaches north of the Carolinas - Caribou, Melmerby, and Heather among them. It's ideal family territory, and our Family Travel guide covers kid-friendly stops, safe swimming, and stroller tips along these gentle tides. For something genuinely rare, the Sable Island guide explains how to reach the remote sandbar of wild horses and grey seals that lies offshore.
The shore is also a budget-friendly base. The Free Things to Do guide rounds up no-cost beaches, trails, and blueberry-country drives, and the Camping guide maps provincial-park sites near the warm water. Because the Caribou–Wood Islands ferry sails from here to PEI, the Maritimes Multi-Province Loop guide shows how to turn a Northumberland stay into an NS–NB–PEI road trip.