Nothing in Atlantic Canada compares to the five-star Trout Point Lodge, our main base of operations for this excursion. Nestled in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and only 45 minutes from the Yarmouth ferry terminal, the rustic luxe property on 100 acres with private frontage on both the Tusket and Napier rivers is a fly-fisherman’s paradise and appeals to all lovers of rugged elegance.

“We offer luxury, locally-inspired fine dining and wilderness experiences that immerse our guests in the soothing calm of our pristine natural surroundings,” says Trout Point Lodge co-owner and innkeeper Patrick Wallace, who purchased the property in 2018. “And we have a great wine list too. Imagine the soothing effect of being alone with your loved one amidst unspoiled nature, with no noise but the sounds of the river and the rustling of the wind through the trees.”

He notes, “Add a gourmet picnic basket and a bottle of champagne and you start to feel what Trout Point Lodge is about—luxury meets culinary and wilderness in a unique offering.” Guided activities are a big part of the Trout Point Lodge experience and focus on mindfulness and wellness. “We love to explore the intricacy of our wilderness environment with activities such as mushroom walks, flora and fauna focused guided hikes, and of course stargazing, which many guests tell us is a highlight of a stay. On clear nights the expanse of stars is an unforgettable experience,” Wallace adds.

With wood-burning fireplaces and wood stoves throughout the property, a wood-fired sauna and hot rub perched on the river banks, a grand main lodge with twin stone fireplaces and a well-equipped bar, there are no televisions, room telephones, or even keys at this Hemingway-esque retreat—you don’t need them and wouldn’t want them anyway in this idyllic setting.

The restaurant, also located in the main lodge, serves up Michelin-quality meals and is a draw in and of itself. “Each dish is made from scratch and every ingredient is hand-picked—you will never see a foodservice company truck parked outside Trout Point Lodge,” the property proudly notes. The kitchen, they add, “deftly creates food brimming with flavor and subtlety,”

Its high-end interpretation of Atlantic Acadian cuisine is “distinguished by the finest regional products, intertwining local seafood, organic ingredients, wild woodland delicacies, and produce from the gardens to create an unforgettable dining experience founded on principles of sustainability,” Trout Point Lodge notes. That’s in addition to the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine it has held for nearly 15 years.

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The secluded wilderness of Trout Point Lodge, Kemptville, Nova Scotia 

Anyone looking for a truly secluded luxury escape should head to the Tobeatic Wilderness Area in southwestern Nova Scotia. Here, you'll find Trout Point Lodge, a nature retreat so remote there's no cellphone service. But you can connect with the cosmos since it's a certified Starlight Hotel — a recognition given by the Starlight Foundation, whose Starlight Initiative is backed by UNESCO. Guests can go on guided stargazing excursions through riverside meadows to witness the beauty of one of the darkest skies in North America. If you're lucky, you might just see a meteor shower. 
Trout Point Lodge has an on-staff astronomer and offers plenty of activities designed to help visitors take in the surrounding UNESCO biosphere reserve. 
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​Romance can be many things to different people. So when tasked to come up with some of the most romantic destinations in this beautiful country we threw the net wide. We settled on 10 unique locations – some perfect for cold wintry days, others ideal for summer sunsets and lots in between to appeal to anyone looking to spark a new romantic fire, pop the question or reignite a long-term relationship.

Take your pick from a mountain in B.C. that’s ideal for the thrill-seeking couple, a cozy log cabin in Quebec for nature lovers, a lodge in the Northwest Territories made for viewing the Northern Lights or a picnic spot in Newfoundland where ocean meets sky as far as the eye can see.

Luckily for us, Canada is replete with locations that simultaneously steal your heart and take your breath away, places that were made for romance. And by staying in your own backyard, you can save on your carbon footprint, too.

Trout Point Lodge 
Trout Point Lodge is tucked away in the heart of the Tobeatic Wilderness, the largest protected area in the Maritimes. Highly coveted by couples who love its serenity and seclusion, its remote locale, on 120-acres of wooded estate, means it is also perfect for stargazing, which you can do from the privacy of your room in front of a crackling fire, from the wood-fired hot tub or a special platform built specifically for nature’s light show. (Trout Point Lodge was the first certified starlight hotel in the world).

Patrick Wallace, who has owned the hotel for the past six years with his wife, Pam, says most people come to the 13-room lodge for at least two nights, which gives ample time to sample the gourmet food and wine (the lodge has been a recipient of the Wine Spectator award the past 12 years), canoe, kayak, swim in the Tusket River, do yoga, forest bathe, try a cooking class, or wrap up in a blanket in their room, with a good book, and just be.

Open from May to December, the lodge’s most popular package is Romance in the Wilderness, which starts at $2,500 per couple for two nights and includes daily breakfasts, lunch, a romantic picnic lunch (the second day) with chilled French Champagne, tea-time cake and pastries, and candlelit four-course dinners. 

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You’ll love… Rustic luxury in ancient woods

At first it seems all’s quiet in this mossy green woodland but then your ears adjust: a hummingbird buzzes as it dips at a flower, a deer rustles behind a maple and a beaver clunks a log onto a dam. You’ll soon feel part of the ecosystem at Trout Point Lodge, a log cabin gone five-star on the edge of a UNESCO biosphere reserve, around a four-hour drive from Halifax. Pull on your boots and puffer jacket to go fly fishing, forest bathing or canoeing. Then stargaze around a firepit or retreat to the fireplace in your plush suite. The kitchen turns foraged, wild Atlantic ingredients into a fine dining experience, with dishes such as just-caught lobster with beurre blanc and wild berries dressed in Valrhona chocolate and garden herbs.
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Local tip: The resort is open between May and October. Summer’s the pick if you want to see lively wildlife; book in autumn if saunas and crackling log fires are your scene.

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Looking for a luxury wilderness escape that combines delicious food and wine with some of the most incredible star-gazing in all of North America? The Starlight Culinary Escape at Trout Point Lodge includes an artfully prepared four-course gourmet dinner featuring fresh, local ingredients.

After the meal, wind your way along the Tusket River and through the forest with your guide to enjoy local chocolates and sparkling wine under an inky sky filled with stars. Trout Point Lodge owner/operator Patrick Wallace calls it “the perfect indulgent getaway.”

“Fall is an incredible season where the colours come alive and the beauty of our wilderness home is on full display,” says Wallace. “What’s better than a hot cup of coffee on a cool fall morning or a carefree soak in a wood-fired hot tub under the stars?”

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"This luxurious small hotel empowers guests with its nature-based activities and programs"

The moon tonight is in the waxing gibbous stage,” says Rémi Torrenta, Trout Point Lodge’s staff astronomer and naturalist. “It’ll be full in a couple of days.” He pulls out a laser pointer as we stand together on the stargazing platform. We’re surrounded by fall’s colourful foliage, albeit muted by nightfall, but that’s okay because we’re here to talk about the stars and patterns above. “The Summer Triangle is made up of the three brightest stars from three different constellations,” he says. “And Vega,” he adds, now aiming his laser at a big white star, “is the brightest star tonight.” Torrenta is so full of information that I have trouble concentrating, so instead, I breathe in the almost-full moon and the silence of nature.
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Trout Point Lodge, tucked into East Kemptville, beside the UNESCO Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve, may look like a cabin in the woods, but this small luxury lodge is a hotbed of experiences, from nature to culinary. It’s also a certified Starlight Reserve. In other words, it’s the perfect place to live (albeit temporarily) and learn.
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Earlier in the day, I eased myself into a wood-burning hot tub beside the babbling Tusket River; nearby, 11 giddy painters from Australia committed the fall colours around us to their watercolour pads. I went forest-bathing with Torrenta, a sort of nature therapy where you slow things down and take it all in. We sat on a footbridge and slowed our breathing. I watched as a red maple leaf fluttered from a tree into the river, wound its way around rocks and floated away under the bridge. I canoed and also took an edible nature walk with Torrenta, where we dug up and nibbled on treats from the forest detritus, including starflower, white sarsaparilla and winter green. I learned that practically everything edible in the woods is a diuretic or blood congealer – and also delicious.

Back up on the stargazing platform, Torrenta says there is no light pollution in the area so we can currently see up to 3,000 stars and deep sky objects. The lodge has mega-telescopes on hand – we rolled ours down the boardwalk in a wheelbarrow – but even with the naked eye on a clear night in the Biosphere Reserve, one can spot faraway galaxies.
Tonight, the sky is unusually bright because of the moon, making it a touch difficult to pinpoint many of the celestial wonders. “The moon is the enemy of astronomers,” Torrenta says. Be it the magic of the moon or my room’s wood-burning fireplace; the fact that there were four types of homemade butter with my lunch; or the local gentleman strumming songs by request at the wee bar at night, every little thing about Trout Point Lodge adds up to something big. I fix my gaze skyward, smiling.

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If you went back to China after five years it would be completely different, but if you returned to Trout Point Lodge it would be exactly the same. Set on the edge of the world - or so it might seem to some - this luxury eco-lodge in Nova Scotia, Canada sits alongside 100 acres of swaying beeches, birches and maples. The pale blue Tusket and Napier Rivers flow behind the main lodge, offering a melodic soundtrack of gentle waves and babbling water. In fact, nothing assaults the eye for miles, as the lodge and grounds border a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, which in turn neighbors Kejimkujik National Park.

For decades, the jagged South Shore coastline has been a favorite among tourists and locals alike. Beloved for its pastel-hued fishing villages, expect to find front yards lined with clean washing and locals who radiate warmth and sincerity. Here the air smells of earth and viridity, while velvety moss and gibbous tree roots rule the pathways. Each year, as the summer comes to an end, the autumn delivers a crescendo of colors as the tree leaves transform from green to red, orange and yellow.
As you approach Trout Point Lodge, your GPS having lost signal miles earlier, it then hits how much of this area remains untouched by development. It’s not uncommon to see a deer wandering alongside the road or to drive uninterrupted by passing vehicles for what feels like eternity.

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Food-focused travellers, listen closely: we're serving up 25 Canadian hotels with the best food perks. From coast to coast, these spots are cooking something special and the recipe for success lies in inspired diversity, from First Nations’ first courses to delectable breakfast trays to sky-high chocolate cakes. If you think hotel food is an afterthought, you need to check out these game-changers.

#1 of 25
Trout Point Lodge (East Kempt, NS)
While this small luxury hotel is set in the rugged wilderness of Nova Scotia, you certainly won’t be roughing it. Sustainable seafood, produce from local partners, edible flowers and organic ingredients are the norm here. Bonus: breads and desserts are made in-house and there’s an award-winning wine list. Menus change daily based on what’s fresh and in season – think New Brunswick Swordfish Tataki with Wild Acadian Caviar.

Still have a few vacation days to use up? We'd spend them at any of these charming cabins, resorts and lodges.

Trout Point Lodge in Kemptville, Nova Scotia
There are few better places for a luxurious, rustic retreat than Nova Scotia's Trout Point Lodge. From forest bathing to stargazing with a staff astronomer, the property encourages guests to ditch their smartphones and reconnect with nature. Handcrafted log and twig furniture pairs with Frette linens in each of the lodge's plush accommodations, while a wood-fired hot tub and outdoor barrel sauna on the Tusket River offer ample opportunities to unwind. 

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