My parents – our girls’ grandparents – live in New Brunswick, so I have done a lot of driving between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia since moving to Halifax seven years ago. And because I am now on maternity leave, I have been travelling “home” even more often.

Road tripping with a dog is one thing. Road tripping with a dog and a baby (who no longer sleeps most of the day) is quite another. It requires a bit of planning ahead and strategizing, especially during the summer months when it’s too hot to leave your dog in the car for any amount of the time.

Trying to work around baby’s nap schedule has forced me to take things a little more slowly, and to discover some new stops along the way. That can be a very good thing. I have since taken the time to finally visit Victoria Park in Truro. It has become a fast favourite.

While Truro is too close to Halifax when we are on the way to New Brunswick, it’s often the perfect place to stop when we are on our way back to Nova Scotia.

Here is why we love Victoria Park. Public washrooms with change table – check. Shaded parking area – check. Picnic tables – check. And a stunning hike with waterfalls, elevated boardwalks, and beautiful scenery – check, check, check! Because of all of these features, we can nail the perfect pit stop with baby and dog. We can have a bathroom break, go for a lovely hike (and swim!), and have some lunch, before finishing the drive back to Nova Scotia.

But Victoria Park is more than the perfect pit stop for humans and dogs. It’s a beautiful destination in its own right. The waterfalls are easily accessible by a short hike, but there are a lot of trails–and stairs!–for dogventuring.

So even if you’re not planning on driving to or past Truro anytime soon, you may want to add this one to the list.

For more information, including directions from Halifax, click here.