Middleton brings together nature, the Annapolis River, and railway history. The Wetland Trail and Riverside Park offer outdoor highlights, while museums and Old Holy Trinity Church showcase cultural history. When planning your visit, you can choose from these varied interests.
Nature Trails with Different Highlights
The Wetland Trail features sections with boardwalks and interpretive signage. It offers opportunities for birdwatching and photography. The South Shore Annapolis Trail offers a different experience: it follows a former railway line for about 47 km from Middleton to New Germany. In Middleton, it is suitable for hiking, cycling, ATV use, and horseback riding. This gives you a choice between a trail for observation and photography and one with several designated uses.
The River and a Spring Event
Riverside Park is located on the Annapolis River and has a public boat launch. Middleton also hosts the annual Shad Fishing Derby, a fishing event that celebrates the start of spring and the shad migration along the Annapolis River. The two river-related attractions differ: the park focuses on its boat launch, while the derby centers on fishing in connection with spring and the shad migration.
Heritage and Railway Museums
Old Holy Trinity Church dates from 1791 and is designated a Nova Scotia Heritage Site. The Annapolis Valley Macdonald Museum is located in Middleton in Canada’s first consolidated school, built in 1903. The Middleton Railway Museum is housed in a typical railway station of the period, built in 1917 for the Dominion Atlantic Railway. The outdoor exhibits include a 1905 steam locomotive, a tender car, and a freight car. The dates refer to different things: 1791 to the church, 1903 to the school, 1917 to the station’s construction, and 1905 to the steam locomotive. Together, a church building, a museum housed in a school, and railway artifacts offer different cultural-history highlights.
More Nature Experiences in Annapolis County
In Annapolis County, the trail system at Delaps Cove Wilderness Trail includes the Bohaker Trail, a 2.2 km loop that takes about an hour to walk, and the 1.9 km Charlies Trail loop. The two are connected in one direction by the 2.7 km Shore Road Trail. At Bohaker Trail near Bohaker Cove, there is a 43-foot waterfall; from a viewing platform, you can see basalt lava cliffs. The trail system passes through 130 acres of covered forest along the wind-swept coast of the Bay of Fundy. Also in Annapolis County, the 180-hectare McGill Lake Wilderness Area protects a wetland with diverse plant communities and scattered forest habitats within the South Mountain Rolling Plain natural landscape.
Discover more destinations: Larrys River, Margaree Valley.
Go to the main travel overview: Nova Scotia.
