The Musquodoboit Trailway is a 14.5-kilometre-long (9.0 mi) multiuse rail trail located in Halifax County, Nova Scotia, running the distance from Gibralter to Musquodoboit Harbour. The entire route is part of the Halifax spur of The Great Trail, and follows Nova Scotia Route 357 for its length.
The railbed that the trail uses was originally built by the Intercolonial Railway just prior to World War I and absorbed into Canadian National when the Government of Canada created it. The rails originally ran from Dartmouth to Upper Musquodoboit, hauling timber, gravel, and agricultural goods, as well as passengers. An extension to Guysborough was planned, but never materialized.
Route
The trailway begins at the Musquodoboit Harbour Railway Museum, but it mostly considered starting at Park Road, a few hundred meters north of Nova Scotia Trunk 7 in Musquodoboit Harbour, and almost immediately crosses the Trestle Bridge, a 40-metre-long (130 ft) steel truss bridge over the Musquodoboit River, offering a view of its extensive and largely undeveloped flood plains. Soon thereafter, the old Bayer Mill Road is passed on the left, and to the right, tall granite cliffs of the Eastern Shore Granite Ridge become visible, some reaching up to 100 m (330 ft) in height. Aptly named Little Lake is passed around the 1 km mark, and a turnoff to the Admiral Lake Trail is present at 2 km (1.2 mi).
For about a kilometer, the trailway is squeezed between steep granite cliffs of the Eastern Shore Granite Ridge on the eastern side and Bayer Lake to the left. An intersection to the Bayer Lake Loop Trail (which goes along the top of the cliffs) is present at 2.4 km (1.5 mi), and a few hundred meters beyond that lies the first picnic table.
Beyond the picnic table lie the Turtle Cove bridge, a wooden trestle bridge, and another trailhead for the Admiral Lake Loop, as well as the South Granite Ridge Trail. From this point onwards the trail passes mainly through the rich lower Musquodoboit Valley, sometimes approaching the granite cliffs to the east, sometimes with glimpses of the river to the west. At around the halfway point is Norma's Place, a picnic shelter, and a connection to the North and South Granite Ridge Trails.
The trail continues over Kelly's Meadow Bridge and through the valley until coming to another picnic table at 11 km (6.8 mi). Here it enters thicker forest, and the last 2 km (1.2 mi) run right next to Highway 357 and a steep granite embankment. A trailhead to Gibralter Rock Loop and the North Granite Ridge trail is present at 13.5 km (8.4 mi).[1]
Spur rails
Aside from the main trail, the Musquodoboit Trailways association maintains several trails that go up into the Eastern Shore Granite Ridge to the east of the main trail. These trails are for hiking only narrow, rugged, and have steep grades.[2]
Skull Rock
This is a lookout off of a side trail known as Admiral Lake Loop Trail. The lookout is set on a mountain that resembles a skull. The lookout has a picnic spot. A women fell off of the rock in the late 2010s.
musquodoboit, trailway, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, dec. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Musquodoboit Trailway news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message 44 47 28 N 63 09 00 W 44 791 N 63 150 W 44 791 63 150 Musquodoboit TrailwayLength14 5 km 9 0 mi LocationNova Scotia CanadaTrailheadsGibralterMusquodoboit HarbourUseHikingrunningcyclingskateboardingcross country skiingDifficultyAccessible to easyHazardsRough terrain on spur trailsvteMusquodoboit TrailwayLegendkm0 0 Railway Museumtrailhead0 5 Park Road parking lot1 0 Trestle Bridge2 5 Admiral Lake Loop2 9 Bayer Lake Loop3 1 Bayer Lake picnic table3 3 Admiral Lake Loop3 3 Turtle Cove Bridge5 57 8 Granite Ridge trail7 8 Norma s Place picnic table8 2 Kelly Meadow Bridge10 511 5 Picnic table14 0 Granite Ridge trail15 0 Gibralter Rock Loop15 0 Gibralter trailheadThe Musquodoboit Trailway is a 14 5 kilometre long 9 0 mi multiuse rail trail located in Halifax County Nova Scotia running the distance from Gibralter to Musquodoboit Harbour The entire route is part of the Halifax spur of The Great Trail and follows Nova Scotia Route 357 for its length Contents 1 History 2 Route 3 Spur rails 4 Skull Rock 5 ReferencesHistory EditThe railbed that the trail uses was originally built by the Intercolonial Railway just prior to World War I and absorbed into Canadian National when the Government of Canada created it The rails originally ran from Dartmouth to Upper Musquodoboit hauling timber gravel and agricultural goods as well as passengers An extension to Guysborough was planned but never materialized Route EditThe trailway begins at the Musquodoboit Harbour Railway Museum but it mostly considered starting at Park Road a few hundred meters north of Nova Scotia Trunk 7 in Musquodoboit Harbour and almost immediately crosses the Trestle Bridge a 40 metre long 130 ft steel truss bridge over the Musquodoboit River offering a view of its extensive and largely undeveloped flood plains Soon thereafter the old Bayer Mill Road is passed on the left and to the right tall granite cliffs of the Eastern Shore Granite Ridge become visible some reaching up to 100 m 330 ft in height Aptly named Little Lake is passed around the 1 km mark and a turnoff to the Admiral Lake Trail is present at 2 km 1 2 mi For about a kilometer the trailway is squeezed between steep granite cliffs of the Eastern Shore Granite Ridge on the eastern side and Bayer Lake to the left An intersection to the Bayer Lake Loop Trail which goes along the top of the cliffs is present at 2 4 km 1 5 mi and a few hundred meters beyond that lies the first picnic table Beyond the picnic table lie the Turtle Cove bridge a wooden trestle bridge and another trailhead for the Admiral Lake Loop as well as the South Granite Ridge Trail From this point onwards the trail passes mainly through the rich lower Musquodoboit Valley sometimes approaching the granite cliffs to the east sometimes with glimpses of the river to the west At around the halfway point is Norma s Place a picnic shelter and a connection to the North and South Granite Ridge Trails The trail continues over Kelly s Meadow Bridge and through the valley until coming to another picnic table at 11 km 6 8 mi Here it enters thicker forest and the last 2 km 1 2 mi run right next to Highway 357 and a steep granite embankment A trailhead to Gibralter Rock Loop and the North Granite Ridge trail is present at 13 5 km 8 4 mi 1 Spur rails EditAside from the main trail the Musquodoboit Trailways association maintains several trails that go up into the Eastern Shore Granite Ridge to the east of the main trail These trails are for hiking only narrow rugged and have steep grades 2 Skull Rock EditThis is a lookout off of a side trail known as Admiral Lake Loop Trail The lookout is set on a mountain that resembles a skull The lookout has a picnic spot A women fell off of the rock in the late 2010s References Edit Musquodoboit Trailway The Trails Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Musquodoboit Trailway amp oldid 1126653626, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
