At the mouth of St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia’s most famous lighthouse awaits its frequent summer visitors. The red-capped Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse is cemented to a granite bluff on the edge of the Chebucto Peninsula. The ocean weather rolls in around the iconic lighthouse, be it salty waves, dense fog, or humid summer air.
Peggy's Cove is on the Lighthouse Route, a scenic drive that wends southwest along the coast. Following Peggy's Cove, the route continues on to Chester, Mahone Bay, Lunenburg, and Liverpool.
Peggy’s Cove Attractions
The Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse is the village’s top attraction. According to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, a light at Peggy’s Point was first established in 1868. The current concrete lighthouse was built in 1915. A lighthouse keeper tended it until 1958.
A destination for photographers, weather watchers, and wildlife enthusiasts, Peggy’s Cove offers an authentic fishing-village feel. Wander the narrow road, follow the shoreline, and see the working fish houses.
The William deGarthe Gallery and Provincial Park both exhibit work by the sculptor and painter. Carved into a granite bluff, deGarthe's most famous scene depicts fishermen and their families under the wingspan of St. Elmo.
More Peggy’s Cove Attractions
But the lighthouse is also a hint of danger along the coast. Close to Peggy’s Cove village, two memorials add a somber note to a drive along the Lighthouse Route.
To the east, a turn down Terence Bay Road takes visitors to the SS Atlantic Memorial. The burial site and stone marker recall the tragedy of the SS Atlantic, which grounded on Mars Head in 1873. There were 952 people aboard the luxury White Star liner. Despite the efforts of locals to save the shipwrecked, 562 people died. There's an interpretive center at the site, as well as the remains of an old church.
The Swissair Flight 111 Memorial at Whalesback commemorates a more recent tragedy. On Sept. 2, 1998, a Swissair plane crash off this coast, killing the 229 people aboard. This memorial location forms a triangle with the crash site and a second memorial at Bayswater Beach on the opposite peninsula.
Peggy's Cove Restaurants and Gift Shops
Perhaps best known, the Sou'Wester Restaurant at Peggy's Cove is the most dominant building in the village. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Look for local seafood favorites, such as lobster rolls and bowls of seafood chowder. There is also a gift shop on site.
During a walk through the village, coffee shops and gift stores provide more snacking and shopping opportunities.
Visiting Peggy’s Cove
Southwest of Halifax, Route 333 loops out around the Chebucto Peninsula. Peggys Point Road leads out to the village, while Route 333 continues along the shore of St. Margarets Bay to Tantallon. During summer, tour buses frequent Peggy's Cove. Try to arrive early in the day for a few quiet moments admiring one of Nova Scotia's most stunning vistas.
Chloë Ernst - Chloë Ernst is a travel guidebook author who writes for Frommer's and Globe Pequot Press.
