Atlantic Canada · Guided Hikes
Northbound runs small-group guided hikes along the coastlines of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador — granite headlands, fog-bound trails, and the North Atlantic close enough to touch.
Who we are
Northbound started in Halifax with one van and a handful of trails we couldn't stop talking about. A decade on, we still cap every group at eight, still hire guides who grew up on the coast they're walking, and still pick routes for the weather-beaten, low-tide, fog-at-the-headland version of Atlantic Canada — not the postcard one.
Every hike is paced for the group that shows up, not the fastest hiker in it. Gear is provided. Forecasts are checked twice. Nobody gets left at the trailhead.
Featured trails
Every trip is guided, small-group, and includes transport from the regional meeting point. Full-day and half-day options run year-round, weather permitting.
A slow walk over wind-polished granite past working lobster boats and the lighthouse, timed for low tide and last light.
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Cape Breton Highlands, boardwalk to bald headland, with a fair chance of moose and a near-certain view of the Gulf.
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Our longest day out — highland forest to open ridge, with the whole Gulf of St. Lawrence laid out below by noon.
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Ancient ocean-floor rock pushed above the treeline — a barren, boulder-strewn plateau that feels like nowhere else on the trip.
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A narrow finger of granite barrens with ocean on both sides — short enough for a half-day, wild enough not to feel like one.
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The mellow one — a shaded loop through fern understory and old-growth trunks, good for a rest day between the harder climbs.
View trailBooking a hike
Same process whether you're booking a single day or a whole-week route.
Filter by province, distance, and grade. Every listing shows exactly what the day involves.
Groups cap at eight. Reserve online or call the Halifax office — no deposit required inside 30 days.
We meet at a fixed regional point, run through the day's route, and fit any gear you still need.
Paced to the group, guided the whole way, back at the meeting point by the time we said we'd be.
Why hike with us
Every guide has hiked their route for years before ever leading it — they know it in fog and in flood tide.
Small enough that your guide knows your name by the trailhead, and everyone's back at the van together.
Forecasts checked the night before and the morning of. We reroute or reschedule before we ever cancel outright.
Waterproofs, poles, and traction devices are packed in the van — bring boots and a bag, we cover the rest.
From the trail log
Our guide rerouted us around a squall without us really noticing we'd been rerouted. Still saw everything we came for.
Eight people, one van, and somehow it never felt crowded — on the trail or off it. Booking the Chasm again next spring.
They handed me a jacket at the trailhead because mine wasn't going to cut it. Small thing. Made the whole day.
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