The two sides of Melmerby Beach.

There are many extraordinary beaches in Nova Scotia. The province is blessed with some of the best white sand beaches in North America and few who experience them can deny their pristine beauty and raw attraction.

Melmerby Beach, known as ‘The Merb’ is just 16 kms north of Stonehame on the Northumberland Strait (and the warmest waters North of the Carolinas).  This spectacular mile-long, horseshoe beach has two sides – an expansive outer side and a narrow inner beach. The beach is owned, maintained and managed by the Government of Nova Scotia and is one of dozens of Nova Scotia Parks in the province. There are change houses, salt rinse showers, pit and flush toilets and canteen and lifeguard services during the peak summer season.

The fragile dunes, wispy sea grass and weathered boardwalks of Melmerby Beach are a photographer’s delight, so a camera is almost a necessity here. Whatever the season there seems to be unlimited photo opportunities full of stunning skies and endless sand.

To walk along ‘The Merb’ in late fall or early spring is to experience  ‘real’ solitude and the joy of East Coast living.  It is this raw beauty that attracts so many visitors to this ’slice of heaven’ every year and one of many reasons why Melmerby Beach is among Yahoo Travel’s Top Beaches in Canada.