Nova Scotia

East Hants

Diving in British Columbia is some of the finest in the world. From the shores of Vancouver, North to the Sunshine coast, and then to the inlets of Vancouver Island, there are phenomenal opportunities to view sea life and explore the underwater terrain. Local operators offer their guidance, expertise and advice; rely on their knowledge and understanding of their region. Explore the variety of dive locations and dive safely!

Canada

This is an interesting freshwater dive as the gypsum quarry changes the pH of the water and the quarry is spring fed, making visibility uncharacteristically good. It is usually 15 m and I've never seen less than 10m visibility.

There is a flowering green plant much like grass over most of the rolling terrain in the quarry, except for the steep walls, which are white gypsum with grey veins running through it.

This makes an interesting summer dive with some small fishes and frogs as well as many insects. It excels as a unique, clear water ice diving location - but only for trained ice diving personnel in appropriate teams with the right equipment.

In the community of Walton, the Gypsum Quarry is visible up a short dirt road of only a hundred meters or so in length. It is a steep walled rock quarry on all sides but the entry road. Using Goggle Earth, the parking at the head of the quarry is exactly at 45°13'35.87"N 63°59'15.51"W.

Walton

Walton Gypsum Quarry

Good site to see Atlantic Lobster and on the soft bottom Tube Sea Anemones of several colours are common. Great picnic spot with tables and very easy diver access.

West of Halifax out from Exit #5 on the Hwy #103 onto the Hwy #3 then west towards Hubbards. In the community of Boutiliers Point is the Provincial Park with picnic tables, a boat launch ramp and a working wharf.

Diving is best straight out and to the right or west of the wharf. There is usually enough depth to jump off the end, but the ramp just east of the wharf is recommended for exits.

This spot is small boulders and gravels in the shallows grading down to mud and soft bottom organisms deeper out.

Boutiliers Point is also known as Boutiliers Point Lookout Provincial Park.

Boutiliers Point

The dive site is shallow gradually sloping out from the shore to the east. There are piles of shal rocks forming ridges and mounds with rich marine life on them - sea anemones, sponges, coraline algae, barnacles and other marine life. The bottom is soft with numerous stalked sea anemones. The area has been a dumping ground and spot for vessel strandings in the past, so there is industrial debris scattered about - old cable, pipes, steam ship remains, making for some interesting exploring.

Princess Lodge is a shallow dive site with parking down a steep drive very close to the water. It is along the west side of the Bedford Basin, and must be accessed from driving north along the Bedford Highway, as the steep driveway is just a small break in the guardrail. The drive is rough so go slowly, and watch for trains, which cross the drive, but do so slowly around 20 km/hr as it is in town.

Three of four vehicles at most can fit. It is a park, so we usually only dive here shoulder seasons. In winter, the driveway down isn't plowed, so check before taking a group there.

Princess Lodge

This spot is rarely dived, but we give preference to local beach users as the beach is only 30m long and at high tide it shrinks to 10m long and maybe 2m wide.

It is an easy fun site to just do a long leisurely, shallow dive at. Nothing exciting, but very easy access, good parking and a pleasant experience.

Note - coming from Hubbards, the beach is on your left so you have to pass it; turn around in a driveway; and come back to park on the widened shoulder along the guardrail adjacent to the beach.

The little community beach is at the mouth of Hubbards Cove on the west side on the Highway 329 leading out to Fox Point and Blandford. Hubbards is on the Hwy #3 nust off Exit #6 from the Hwy #103, Nova Scotia.

The beach is adjacent to an old, closed shrimp cannery, thus my name for the beach. The local community keeps the few steps down to the beach, and the roadside widened parking for ~5 vehicles in good repair. Thus we dive this only outside of summer, as parking is limited and we leave the nice little beach to the locals. Fall, winter and spring we have it to ourselves.

The beach is sandy slipping out to gravels and eventually mud. Off the the right, around the wharf and on the flanks of the little point with the old cannery is nice boulders with richer marine life and the best diving.

Hubbards Shrimp Cannery Beach

Since the site is shalllow, a little extra wight is recommended. It is good for macrophotography with lots of fish, crabs, lobsters and other subjects to shoot. 

This is an easy, basic dive spot and good when others are too rough as it is very protected from east, west and north winds.

Out the Hwy #333 that makes the Peggy's Cove loop, on the east side of St. Margaret's Bay is Indian Point. It is a long narrow point with the "Indian Point Road" running its length. Watch for the road sign on the right and the road makes a loop so you can't get lost!

The dive site is on the inside or east tip of the point. Indian Point has two island off its tip - the first is connected by a berm sheltering the dive site. One can dive on the sheltered inside or hike across to the open bay side.

The dive is quite shallow, so high tide is recommended for this spot. It is very easy with good parking along the edge of the road and a nice easy "driveway" like slope to walk down on.

Indian Point

The making of the park shoreline resulted in a steep slope of boulders interspaced with soft, muddy stretches offering a wealth of home for marine life to attach to rocks or live in the silt. Thus the larger boulders are cloaked in sponges, sea anemones, barnacles and other marine life, while thesilty areas have a rich fauna of Ceranthid Tube Anemones. This makes an interesting dive site for macrophotography.

We dive this site on the off season, from November to April, as it is a popular boat launch spot in the boating season and we prefer to avoid the period of boat activity. If diving during the warmer months, be respectful of the boaers - it is their launch ramp we enter and exit off of, and use a dive float.

The Stalked Anemones are richest to the south of the ramp, and the rocks and hard bottom marine life more plentiful to the left, north and west of the ramp on the flanks of the park in 6-10 m of water.

The divesite is in Africville Park on the peninsula of Halifax, NS. It is in the north end of the city near the base of the MacKay Bridge, just off Barrington Street. One must drive north on Barrington Street to turn off to the right onto the side street to Africville Park, as there is no left turn travelling south on Barrington Street.

Africville Park

The rocky granite shoreline extends out in a gradual slop cloaked in rich seaweeds until breaking up into small boulders with sand patches between them. The slope is gentle, but you canget quickly to 5m deep, then the bottom is flatter and slowly slopes downward. A long swim may get you 15m to 20m, but 10m is more common in the first 50-70m offshore. The boulders range from 30cm to a few meters in size and are completely covered in rockweeds in the shallows and several species of red and green seaweeds out deeper. The site is open to the east, but well protected from all westerly directions making it often calm, with good visibility. In the summer, Cunner, Lobsters, flatfish and crabs are very common.

This is a good site for new divers to become accustomed to rocky shore diving and enjoy.

The Fox Point Anglican Church Divesite is a nice rocky granite shore dive about an hour from Halifax, NS out the southshore on HWY #103 to Exit #6, swing onto the Hwy #3 and back track into the community of Hubbards. In Hubbards, take the first road to the right, Hwy #329, out towards Fox Point and Mill Cove. Follow the shore road along until you pass the Fox Point Wharf and breakwater. The old St. James Anglican Church is only a few hundred meters further on, with the shore divesite almost in front of it. Parking is available at the top of the wharf or sometimes near the church. The steep bank has a nice grassy edge and moderate cobble and boulder slope just 30m south, further along, from the church itself. Scramble on down the slope to the granite bedrock taking care. There is a small inlet 3m wide and 8m long to the left with nice shelving rock to sit on, put fins on and slip off into 1.5-3m deep water.

Fox Point Anglican Church

Nice little spot facing mostly west at the narrowing in the harbour so winds aren't a factor. The nice diving is along the flank of the shore to the right and up to the wharf.

Off Shore Road in Dartmouth, which is just south of the MacDonald Bridge. Take Windmill Road and turn down to the water on the first south of the bridge called Best Street to reach the spot. It is on the south side of a large open, gravel parking area across the railway tracks. The entry is off the gently sloping pebble beach.

Skull Cove - Dartmouth

Fox Point Beach is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Canada, Nova Scotia which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

Fox Point Beach

Mill Cove is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Canada, Nova Scotia which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

Mill Cove

The path down to the shoreline is around the right side of the FISH SHACK, and is a short scramble down small boulders to and easy walk to a small granite point jutting out into the water. This point offers easy water access and is 3-9' deep, depending on tide.

The diving is on a nice boulder slope running down to 40-50' to a gravel slope that gradually drops to ~100' deep. The rich seaweeds and marine life are in the top 40' of water. 

It is calm in westerly winds, as it faces due east and is good for all level of divers in light northwest to southwest winds.

The dive site is in Halifax County, through the community of Hubbards, and on to Route 329 on the coastal road on the west side of St. Margaret's Bay. The spot is just past Mill Cove, once you enter the strip community of Birchy Head. It is marked by an old, broken down, and partially burnt FISH SHACK on the left side of the road going out...One has to turn around and park on the shoulder of the road facing back along by the shack. There is tight parking for 5 vehicles.



Walton Gypsum Quarry

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Walton Gypsum Quarry