Old Coach Road Trail, 2.5km walk, 2 July 2015

I (Heather) had some free time and decided to head out to explore some of the shorter trails that we tend to overlook around the city. I decided to start by looking through the Halifax Northwest Trails Association (HNWTA) brochure, and chose the Old Coach Road Trail first (it’s the farthest away; though only about a 15 minute drive). Like many names in Nova Scotia, “Old Coach Road” pops up all over the place, but here it refers to an historic route previously travelled by coaches to Bedford and beyond.

The HNWTA website describes the trail as a “fairly easy” 1km crusher dust trail with undulating slopes winding through the Bedford Ravines neighbourhood. On-street parking is located right at the trailhead. There is also an information kiosk just in from the street that tells some of the history of the area, along with a self-guided tour that is printed on laminated cards with copies located at both ends of the trail, so that you can carry them along with you and deposit them at the end of your walk.

The trail is well maintained and level and easy under foot. There are a few benches along the way. Despite passing through a highly developed subdivision and being close to houses on both sides for most of the walk, elevation changes make the trail seem more remote than it actually is. Below you can see number 2, relating to one of the stops on the self-guided tour. I must admit that I stopped looking at the sheet shortly after this point and just enjoyed the walk.

The small wetland areas are lovely. Aside from some mosquitoes (inevitable for Nova Scotia this time of year), I had the trail to myself.

The end of the trail is marked by a box to return the self-guided tour card. The trail continues on as a much less well-developed footpath. I followed it to its end at the site of a new residential development. Multiple side trails appeared to lead toward neighboring streets.

The view on the way back show the gentle rolling nature of the trail.

A few boardwalks avoid the wet areas.

This is a short trail but I was unexpectedly pleased at the fact that it still had a wilderness feel. The continual chatter of squirrels and songbirds added to the experience. If you are looking for a lovely short stroll that feels like wilderness in the heart of Bedford (with public transit access), be sure to consider the Old Coach Road Trail.