Fall has always felt like such a magical time of year here in Cape Breton, through morning fogs the boldest of reds and brightest of oranges contrast the deepest blue oceans, cascading over our endless rolling hills. We used to love taking long, drawn out drives along the Cabot Trail once the leaves began to change- taking stops along the way, enjoying the vast and breathtaking sights around us; celebrating Celtic Colors from various pubs and kitchen parties! Now that we have a little one around, our fall looks a lot more different, but feels all the more magical – the crunching of leaves beneath her tiny feet, the sound of laughter carried by the cool autumn breeze. At 19 months she is busier by the day and we have reached the point where the novelty of simply playing outside can only hold the wonder in her eyes for so long on its own, keeping her interests peaked requires a little bit more creativity these days. We love feeding into her curiosity and love of learning at this stage so we try to think of different ways to chase that magic by filling our days with scavenger hunts, fall crafts, fun, fresh air, and filling our adventures with lots of teaching moments along the way! Below is a list of some of our favorite local fall family activities to help you with planning the next Cape Breton adventure for your own family!
*in no particular order.
**Not sponsored content
I know, i know, it might seem a little Hallmark-movie cliché, but nothing makes a warm hearty home cooked meal taste better on a crisp and rainy fall day than fresh ingredients from the local Farmers Market! We love heading to Cape Breton Farmers Market on the weekends, Dad and L are huge jam fans, and they love getting to pick out all the different and fun flavors (most recently blueberry lime and apple pie Jam!) There are so many vendors, with so much to offer- every weekend you could find something new or exciting! This is also a great time of year to get a head start on all our Christmas shopping – we like starting early to help spread out the overall expense, and starting early is a great way to make sure you get all your items checked off your list, and even find that special something for that one person we all have on our lists who is always impossible to shop for! It always feels so much better when I’m shopping local knowing you’re helping to put a Christmas Turkey on a local families table rather than checking off our lists at the big box stores! The Cape Breton Farmers Market is such a great community hub, it’s a great way to stay connected with with community, and maybe even bump into an old familiar face you haven’t seen in a while! It’s a great spot to get out of the rain, and cold on those not-so-nice fall days, and grab some hot eats or a sweet treat and a nice fresh cup-a-joe!
We recently took a trip to Hanks farms with our Mommy Connections Cape Breton: Travelling Tots group, and we had so much fun! Farms offer so much fall fun, it’s easily always one of out first stops every year once the leaves start to change! Hanks Farms had so much to offer, even just on the drive in is the sweetest little crafted village made just for the pond ducks, when it is open L loved watching the little ducks waddle in and out of the buildings and amongst their little town! We started out in on of the two onsite playgrounds, and I’m sure if it were up to the Tots, they would have been happy enough to just have spent the whole day there! Aside from their vast offering of playground favorites, they have also found a way cleverly utilize simple common farm-found goods for play, such as culvert turned slides, and a tire tower the even has its own slide and tunnel! From there we made our way to the corn maze, the kids had such a blast getting lost in the tall field, and there were tons of fun facts and questions along the way to keep the Moms entertained and guessing as well. The pumpkin patch was right across from the exit of the corn maze, which worked perfectly. Our Moms & Tots were able to each pick out a pumpkin which was perfect timing for our upcoming holiday. Between the two playgrounds, just outside the field was a small barn which housed several varieties of animals, a hen had recently hatched some chicks which turned into a perfect teaching moment for the little ones. The farm had also designed several photo boards and displays, L loved the cow- she could have sworn it was real! And all the moms and tots enjoyed taking photos with the hay bale displays and beautiful sunflower patch just in its bloom creating the perfect instagram worthy fall backdrops! To finish off our morning, some of us head into the farmers market where the farm offers their selections of fresh grown produce, locally made preservatives, and delicious home baked goods. Prior to Covid, Hanks Farm even boasted several very popular bouncy houses and jumping castles we can’t wait to try out once they are back up and running again! Farms offer so much fall fun, we always try to make a point of making at least one farm trip each fall- we could have easily spent the entire day there, but even just spending the morning L, had the nap of the century when we finally got home.
I love going for Hikes, especially in beautiful Cape Breton, especially in the Fall– walking is the one form of exercise I can really seem to consistently get behind, and if I could I would do it every day! But in the summer and warmer months, the heat and the bugs can some days make the task seem a much less appealing than spending the day lounging on a beach somewhere instead! Once it gets too cold for the bugs, we are right back out on the trails again almost everyday and love exploring the may different ones our gorgeous island has to offer! When we’re looking for our next hiking adventure I like to look for “stroller-accessible” paths, even though miss L is too independent for us or the stroller- it usually ends up fulfilling its use to L’s utter dismay and defeat, at least some point on our walks! Living out in East Bay we are lucky enough to have so many amazing trails so close by saving us from long trips to and from in a car with a little one in tow. We love heading to the East Bay Hills Trail, just down the road it offers the perfect amount of exercise, its not too long, not too short, not too steep but still challenging enough to feel accomplished for afterward- our stroller is able to take on the path with minimal challenge and the forest views, and interesting information on it along the way makes for a very enjoyable morning! A little bit farther down the way, but well worth the trip is Goat Island, the trail warps around the outer edge of the island along the water offering incredible views from point of the path, the trail boasts several lovely displays and set ups along the trail utilized in their many interesting, and informative, interactive presentations about the history of the land and people put on frequently by the locals. One of L’s favorite points along this walk is their creatively designed mostly natural play ground including playhouse, swings, climbing structures, teeter-totters, etc. it is an absolutely beautiful trail, and I highly recommend making the trip during one of the presentation time slots if you can! One of the first trails L and I ventured to after she had been born was the Baille Ard (or SPEC) trail, I love that there are so many different path options, because there are times when I could spend the whole day walking, and other times I’m out of breath and ready to head home after the first 5 minutes, so it’s really nice to have the option to choose which is right for you, my personal favourite is the “brooks trail” I have always loved walking along the water, it seems to really make the experience all the more calming and relaxing! And lastly, farthest away but again so, so worth it is the Dalem Lake trail– we love this one in the summer for the beautiful warm fresh water beach and often take to the trail while there, or on the way to a picnic in one of their many picnic shelters, but in the winter and the fall the trail is a whole different kind of beautiful, its like someone has taken a page directly from an old woodland fairytale we try to make the trip at least once a season!
L loves the playground, and we love taking her there! Its a great spot to meet up with her friend, and let them burn off some of that pre-nap energy while I get to chat and catch up with the other moms! Some of our favorite playgrounds include Cantley Village, Open Hearth Park, and Indian Beach Park. Cantley Village is amazingly toddler friendly, as a mom I love the cushioned flooring the playground equipment sits on, L is at a stage where falling, bumps and bruises just seem to come along with the package deal so its nice to know at least here her landing will be a little more padded! All of the equipment is extremely toddler friendly and accessible as well, and the few pieces that aren’t have been cleverly crafted in a way that toddlers are physically out of reach, leaving those areas out of sight, and out of mind which saves us a lot of tantruming! We also love the fact that it offers both ultra modern playground equipment as well as homey, old -fashioned equipment right across the field- and I am always a sucker for nostalgia, especially in the fall! Open Hearth Park is always a favorite in the warmer months for the splash pad, but even in the cooler months we love going to this park for their incredibly versatile playground and outdoor space. They boast a toddler playground, an older child climbing gym, and a variety of slides in different shapes and sizes- L’s favorite spot is their musical playground, she loves tapping the chimes, banging the drums and playing on the xylophones available. There is also a beautiful wide open space perfect for letting toddlers get that little taste of freedom they so crave, gazebos are scattered along the pathways and make the perfect location for fall picnics! Another of our favorites is Indian Beach playground in North Sydney, we love any chance we get to stimulate L’s imagination, and the pirate ship theme is such a fun idea- she loves steering the ship and “bossing around her deck crew” (aka Mom & Dad and any one else who happens to be ‘on the deck’) Cape Breton has such a larger offering of playgrounds from small to large, from the most nostalgic to the ultra modern- we thought it would be such a fun adventure this year to try a new playground every week!
Much like with hikes, we absolutely love the wildlife park and if we could we would be there every single day, but sometimes in the summer and warmer months, the heat and bugs can make the beach seem so much more tempting! Once things start to cool down, we are there almost everyday (so thankful for the option of annual family passes!) I love how many teaching moments can be taken away from a single day here, we are lucky to have a woodsman as L’s dad he has so much knowledge and loves to share it- everything from animal calls, to fun facts about the wildlife and the beautiful nature surrounding us- and being his biggest fan L is usually on the edge of her seat listening to him every time! L is at a great age, where she can start to recognize certain common animals in books, and shows- and being able to show her in person, and seeing the wonder wash over her when she realizes that that animal, is REAL- is one of those absolutely incredible Mom moments you spend your pregnancy dreaming about! L is completely smitten with our cat ‘Puttins McMeowsie’ at home, so right now every animal she sees is “kitty” which is incredibly adorable if you ask me! Its so much fun helping her practice the real names, and she loves trying out every one of the animal noises- having the animals right there in front of her seems to help the new information really register on a much more long term level! She loved being able to feed the deer in the park, and even made a peacock friend or two as well- the petting zoo on the grounds was definitely one of her personal highlights to the trip as well being her first time getting to touch her story-book animals so close! Now that we’re on our fall playground tour- L loved that the Two Rivers Wild life Park offered their very own updated playground, and even their own jumping pad. With a choice of short loop or long loop (2.4K or 1.7K) on top of the nature trail, is also one of our favourite fall hiking spots, with an absolutely breath taking view of the Mira encompassed by a variety of historic woodland, and vast wildlife. Camping is one of my favourite activities anytime of year, I’ve camped every summer from the time I was 4 months old, and Lakelyn has carried on that tradition from the same age as well- so I love that the Wildlife Park also offers a campground onsite! The Wildlife park just seems to offer a little bit of everything, for everyone!
I hope this post helps to lead you on your next fall adventure, and keep that feeling of magic alive in one of the most beautiful places in the world to be this time of year with your little one!
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