Gold Panning

Rent a pan and try your hand at gold panning on Cunard's Beach. Gold fever has always been an epidemic at the Ovens Natural Park!

If you are interested in how the gold used to be mined at the park, visit our little museum, full of pictures, tools and memorabilia from the 1861 Gold Rush.

There is something about the lure of undiscovered gold that brings out the adventurer in all of us. While you are panning, you may find yourself side-by-side with other skilled gold panners, who may enjoy sharing their knowledge. The gold panning takes place on our historic beach. A rental gets you a gold pan for the day. Daily Rental - $6.90 + $25.00 deposit (cash deposit only). Book a gold panning demo for just $4.00/person (6 person minimum).

Kayaking

• $65.00 plus taxes

• Children 8 to 12 are half price

• We can accommodate groups up to 6 people

Please call the Ovens Park office to reserve your spot:
902.766.4621

2024 dates based on availability mornings or afternoons

 All tours must be Pre-Booked prior to arrival through our office.

Sea Caves

Walk our spectacular cliff-side nature trail to the famous sea caves or "Ovens" for which the park was named.

Cave Trail Walking Tour

Experience the Park's fascinating gold rush history, unique geology and diverse coastal environment as you enjoy our self-guided tour along the beautiful sea cliff trail that leads to the famous Ovens Sea caves. High points of the tour are the visits to Tucker's Tunnel, the overlook at Indian Cave and finally, spectacular Cannon Cave, where you will be able to hear the resounding boom created as the waves enter the cavern. This is an easy 1 hour tour. Peak visiting hours are from 11 am to 5 pm on weekends so plan accordingly to avoid delays. Book one of our guides for an historical guided tour for just $4.00 /person (6 person minimum).

Museum - open!!

This beautiful piece of land first gained an international reputation during the 1861 gold rush at the Ovens. At the height of the gold rush, the Ovens supported a town of over a thousand miners, complete with hotels, stores and a bank.

The majority of the land was once owned by the Meisner family, who were granted the land by George III. The Cunard's, the famous shipping magnates bought up plots of land on one of the beaches and in the true entrepreneurial spirit of the day used their resources to have the entire beach dredged and loaded onto ships. The sand was then brought to England, where it was processed in a plant designed for extracting the gold.

Luckily, the beach Cunard left us is still beautiful (but with a much lower gold content!)

While the buildings of that era are gone, remnants of the gold rush can be found in many areas of the park. To maintain the spirit of those days, there is a small Gold Rush Museum filled with artifacts of the era. Visitors can also rent a gold pan and try their luck panning for gold on Cunard's Beach.

The Ovens Park is also the home of Nova Scotia's oldest legend. The story has it that a M'kmaq brave paddled his canoe into the mouth of Indian Cave and emerged at Cape Blomidon, some 90 miles to the northwest.

The more recent history of the Park is just as interesting. In the 1980's the land was purchased by the Chapin family. Family to the late folk singer Harry Chapin (of Cat's in the Cradle and Taxi fame), the Chapin's play an active role in the running of the Park, and there is definitely a lot more music in the air here at the Ovens Park.

The Ovens Natural Park     Phone 902.766.4621    Email: info@ovenspark.com