Yarmouth is where Nova Scotia ends and the sea begins. It sits at the south-western tip of the province, closer to Maine than to Halifax, and for generations its harbour has been the door through which visitors from New England arrived, first on steamers and later on car ferries across the Gulf of Maine. The ferry still comes and goes on a seasonal schedule, so check before you plan around it, and you may see the big ship sitting at the wharf like a block of flats.
In the late nineteenth century this was one of the great shipowning towns of the British Empire. Wooden square-riggers built in local yards carried cargo around the world, and the captains' houses along Main Street and the streets behind it are some of the most handsome in the Maritimes, with columns, widow's walks and ornate wood. The Yarmouth County Museum keeps relics of that world, and a short ride south brings you to Cape Forchu, where the red-and-white lighthouse is shaped like an apple core and stands over a rugged shoreline that feels like the edge of the continent.
The riding is mostly easy and coastal. Highway 103 and the older Route 1 meet here, and the Evangeline Trail heads north along St Marys Bay, through Acadian villages where the French-speaking communities still fly the tricolour with a star. Church spires stand along the road, the bays are wide, and the spruce forests come right down to the shore. The ride is gentle and made for cruising, with long straights, soft bends and an occasional dip into a fishing village. Fog is a regular summer visitor and can be thick enough to shrink the world to a few car lengths, so slow down and keep your lights on. Autumn is clear and quiet, with a smell of woodsmoke in the evening.
With about seven thousand five hundred residents, Yarmouth is large enough for everything you need: fuel, supermarkets, motels and seafood at fair prices. Take advantage of the stop before heading up the coast, where villages are spaced out and smaller. Try the local lobster rolls or a bowl of chowder, and look out across the harbour as the tide pulls the boats around on their moorings.