Salt Marsh Trail easy, scenic hike
The Salt Marsh Trail is part of the greater Trans Canada Trail project through the Cole Harbour Parks and Trail Association.
While this is a popular railsto-trails system (built on an abandoned CN Railway now owned by the province and protected under the Provincial Parks Act), this visit is only our second but certainly not our last.
The Salt Marsh Trail is great for walking, jogging, biking, birdwatching and perfect for families of all ages. It’s an easy hike (in fact, I’d call it a walk) and fun to walk “through the ocean.”
The trail is a one-way, wide, flat crushed dust trail that’s super accessible and really well-maintained. We’ll definitely return for a family bike ride when the weather permits.
It was a bit slushy and slippery in a couple spots on the grey, wintery day we were there. I’ve heard it gets quite busy but in the late afternoon and mid-week, we only saw a handful of other people.
Being a one-way trail rather than a loop just means you get to take in the scenery from both sides. There’s ample space to cross paths with people coming from the other direction.
There are three parking lots along Bissett Road you can use. Number three is at the trailhead, with the Salt Marsh Trail stretching out straight ahead. Across the street in the opposite direction is the Shearwater Flyer Trail. To the left you’d head toward the other parking lots on the 2.5-kilometre Heritage Trail that takes you to Cole Harbour Heritage Park.
We parked in lot number two, thinking that was the trailhead. This was no big deal as it’s just a few hundred metres to lot three and the start of the trail. From there to West Lawrencetown Road is 6.5 km. From Lawrencetown, the Salt Marsh Trail extends into the Atlantic View Trail, which continues another 10 km.
As we headed off, the trail travels through the woods, through the marsh and then directly across the water. The kids loved this concept of walking over the ocean, surrounded by water on both sides.
Once on the water, about 600 metres in, the trailway is exposed and windy. Be sure to dress warmly in windproof layers. It will be a hot hike in the summer, with no shade at all. There is a washroom facility (a vault toilet) not far onto the trail. Beware, there are signs warning of poison ivy, so stay on the trail and away from the grassy sides to avoid that.
There are dog bag dispensers and plenty of garbage cans, so there’s no excuse to leave any mess behind. Dogs have to say on-leash. Being a one-way linear path directly across the water means there’s nowhere for them to run and play
There are plenty of points along the way to stop and enjoy the lovely scenic views. The first stopping point is called Rosemary’s Way, which is somewhat of a small inlet off the trail with a couple of benches to quietly sit and enjoy the scenery. Further along, a sheltered picnic table beckons our return on a warmer day.
There are more benches, more scenic views, information kiosks and panels with history of the area and information on wildlife to look for, as well as distance markers.
We travelled to the first wooden bridge on the trail, the Bald Eagle Bridge, which is just beyond the one-kilometre marker.
Just beyond this bridge is the Canada Goose Bridge, followed by the Ready Aye Ready Bridge and the Conrad Brothers Bridge beyond that, but we didn’t continue any further this time.
It took us one hour to do this return trip of two kilometres with limited stops (but plenty of photos) as that’s all the time we had. I like that we could hike for longer or turn around sooner.
This simple, accessible trail provided great scenery, pristine views and nary a complaint from the children.