Travel dates: July 8-11, 2018
Before our trip, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Nova Scotia provincial parks, because I couldn’t find out much about them online. Take Mira River, for example. There is one lone review of it on CampgroundReviews.com, from way back in 2014. But there aren’t a lot of choices close to the Fortress of Louisbourg (Mira River is just under half an hour away, and half an hour another direction from Glace Bay, which we also visited while we were staying here), so we took a chance that that one (glowing) review had things right.
And….wow! This was such a great campground! Awesome, HUGE site, clean facilities, well-run….if we make it to Nova Scotia again, I suspect we’ll try to hit a lot more provincial parks than we did this time around.
Booking and Arrival
I wasn’t sure how fast provincial parks book up, so we got online as soon as reservations opened on April 2 to reserve a site. Things might well be different on the weekends in season, but we were there during the week in early July, and the campground wasn’t more than half full.
Water/electric sites are $35.60CDN/night plus a $9 reservation fee. Unserviced sites are $26.70.
We were coming from Baddeck, just over an hour away, that day, and timed our arrival for right at the 1 PM check in time. Incidentally, if anyone is making the same drive, we noticed a scary-looking hairpin turn on the road between the two campgrounds the night before and fretted about it a bit. It turned out to be not a big deal at all. DON’T PANIC! You check in at a kiosk when you arrive and then head off to your site.
Campsites
We had site #32 and loved it. It was HUGE and super easy to back into (it was right across from where the campground loop road turned a corner, so we could pull around the corner and then back straight into the site), and it was right next to the path that led to the small beach area.
I’m looking back at these pictures, marveling anew at how huge this site was. All the sites in the campground are very spacious, and most are out in the open on long, flat driveways (at least in our loop–Loop A. Loop D appeared more wooded, and the tent sites are very wooded). Biggest downside of our site was probably that it was quite a hike from the bathhouse (and the dishwashing station there) (there was a path behind our site that led to some pit toilets).
Sites are gravel with picnic tables and fire rings.
And all the sites are plenty big for French horn playing:
Amenities and Activities
There’s a public beach here on the Mira River (because of the way the land is here the river is more like a lake; it seemed very safe for swimming, and, in fact, Dave took Abe swimming our first afternoon). It was bustling when we got here on a Sunday in July, but quieter during the week.
They sell firewood and ice here, but you’ll need to go off site for anything else. There’s a convenience store right down the street and lots of shopping in Sydney, about 20 minutes away.
There’s a boat launch in the park and a nature trail. We walked the nature trail one day hoping for views of the river, but turns out it’s more of just a nice walk in the woods.
There’s a playground in the park, very close to our site, as well:
There’s no wifi except for near the office, and our Verizon cell signal came and went here.
Local Area
Nice central location for visiting both the Fortress of Louisbourg and the miners’ museum in Glace Bay. Both of which I’ll talk about soon!
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