Hiking to Money Point

Nova Scotia's northern lighthouse graveyard

Cape North Lighthouse at Money Point, Cape Breton - out back of nowhere

Money Point is not in the middle of nowhere – its at the far end of nowhere, beyond nowhere, on the edge of nothing.

It is a lonely spot, at the northernmost tip of Nova Scotia. It is of course wildly gorgeous: steep 300m headands covered in spruce looming over a small grassy shore, rocks, waves and endless ocean.

It can be an eerie spot too – it’s a sort of lighthouse graveyard. Overgrown foundations, rusting machinery, crumbling walls and rotting modern structures litter a mile or so of the shore.

I hikded out there in the summer of 2009 following my nose and the coordinates of a couple geocaches.

I parked my car just up the Money Point Road, east of the harbour in Bay St. Lawrence (see map)(N47′00.777 W60′26.403).

But it is possible to drive much closer with four wheel drive vehicles (especially I believe using the access road to the south of the village leading to the communication tower.)

Trailhead just east of Bay St. Lawrence (click for better look)

The hike - easy to navigate, but tough to walk (click for closer look)

My hike was easy to navigate – I just followed the Money Point Road north east up into the hills, east across the top of the plateau to the other side, and then north straight down to the point.

There is one nice look off on the hike up, but generally the hike is a little sad – youre hiking on a gravel woods road lined with scrubby spruce and alders.

The trail down into (and, youd best not forget, “up out of”) Money Point is steep and mostly washed out. Youre either walking in deep gulleys carved by erosion or youre clambering on the scree piles of round gravel washed out of the trails.

A long green meadow littered with crumbling foundations, rusting machinery and surrounded by endless ocean

The destination however is another world altogether. I felt the whole time I was down there like an astronaut on a space walk, out at the end of his tether. Like I was exploring a world apart, like I was cut off entirely from the civilization just over the hill.

Certainly, If Id hurt myself down there, it might have been weeks before the next hiker or four wheelin picnickers came to the cove – there was no way to pick up cell service there under the cliffs at the northern edge of Nova Scotia. I was on my own. It was a strange feeling – and one that seemed to heighten my senses, made me hyper-vigilant about my surroundings, about how tired I was, about every step I took.

There is a strip of meadow out there 300m wide and about 1.5 km long. I didnt have time or the energy to explore much to the east of the access road, but I strolled down through the grass westwards.

Looking back east across the meadows from the lighthouse. 1.5k east at the far end of the meadows is the access road.

The meadow is full of the signs of old lighthouses – the first cache i found is hidden in an old rock foundation surrounding a pile of rusting metal. (N 47° 01.156 W 060° 23.274).

The cache had been there for three years at that point and I was only the fifth person to have signed the log – today, another year later and only one further person has visited the cache.

Of course many more people visit the point (kayakers, four wheelers and perhaps visitors in fishing boats) but on this particular day it was just me and the gulls and a steady cool wind (another reminder to keep my wits about me and to play safe.)

I walked west to the main lighthouse station – from afar it looked to be in perfect working condition but as i got closer i noticed the huge hole in the side of the building and the general run down state of the light. it was quite obviously not being maintained anymore.

Disappearing history at Nova Scotia's northern lighthouse graveyard.

the wooden helipad and the stairs leading from it looked in great shape but all around the site were the semi-demolished remains of outbuildings (?) and older lights (?) – the beach itself hid many chunks of rusty iron machinery

the “road” to the light is slowly eroding into the sea leaving a couple out-of-place aluminum guard rails stranded on the shore.

the end of the road is the lighthouse. beyond to the westward, on the other side of cliff-lined cove is Cape North – a high broad headland – the absolute most northern point of cape breton and believed by some to be the first bit of land that john cabot saw when he first explored this part of north america

up until i was standing there, i had thought i might actually get all the way out to nova scotia’s most northerly point – but not this day – i sat for a while and scouted

Looking over at Cape North - out of reach - for now

the mountains, day-dreaming of coming back for a few days with friends – camping at money point and then pushing on over the slopes and through the bush to Cape North – of course kayaking would be the easiest way over…

i do hope i get back some day, if only to spend a few more dream filled hours on that wild shore

more fotos from the hike to Money Point