Did you ever leave a treehouse unfinished in your childhood? Reconnect with that playful spirit by spending a night in a suspended tree cocoon at Ingonish Beach in Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Highlands National Park. These cozy “cocoons” hang about 20 feet above the forest floor and are safely anchored with steel cables. A zippered hatch opens onto an interior mattress where you can lie back and watch shooting stars above the canopy or simply listen to the wind in the trees. If you prefer gentler sounds, the nearby ocean provides a soothing soundtrack as the scent of pine and salt air lulls you to sleep.
If you’d rather keep your feet closer to the ground, NovaShores Adventures offers a beach-camping option that blends coastal hiking, kayaking and backcountry camping. The two-day Seal Cove Adventure starts at Spicer’s Cove in Cape Chignecto Provincial Park on the Bay of Fundy. Participants follow the dramatic coastline, paddle past the Three Sisters rock formation and stop for lunch in the historic harbour at Eatonville. Camp is then made on the shore at Seal Cove, where you’ll enjoy a carefully prepared dinner and local wine beside the water. Wake to the calls of grey seals greeting the morning, have a hearty breakfast, then head out to observe them up close on the nearby coastal rocks.