Smileys Provincial Park

Great place to stop when traveling and have a BBQ and kids can play in the park or the river.

The dogs and I walk here regularly... It's a great place for campling, picnics and day trips... :)

It's like a fairy tale from my childhood, rivers, waterfalls, swing sets, playgrounds, barbecues, and dooogs everywhere! I loved Smileys ever since I was 5 and I'm almost 25 now!

This place has an awesome spot for swimming. Not large, but great for families and for a quick dip.
The camping area is varied and has a good selection.

I have been wanting to camp in this provincial park for awhile now, and finally got to spend this weekend there. We were tenting and it was a last-minute booking so I wasn't sure about what the site would be like, but the tenting sites around 6-11 are very large, with trees and in a quieter area of the park. Really enjoyed the park, and would like to try some other spots next time. We stayed at site #9, and I have included photos of the site. A couple of drawbacks: The staff hours have been cut so drastically, there is only staff to sell wood or ice between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm every day. It is self-serve. You do it yourself, including getting the wood, creating your own bundle, and paying for it by filling out an envelope and putting cash in it and dropping it off in a box. The staff doesn't have change, so you must bring cash and have the exact amount you need. No debit machines or credit machines. $5.00 for one bundle of wood, and $2.50 for ice. The bundle loading cradle they have for you to measure is very large in comparison to other campgrounds though, so you get a lot of wood for your $5.00. A Natural Resources truck drives around the entire site on what seemed like an hourly basis at night to keep an eye on the place. It seems they can afford to pay them more than the park staff. The staff everywhere seemed very friendly when they were there. Washrooms could have used a little more love. The hand dryer machine was broken in the women's washroom, but they hadn't put out any paper towel, so you were just on your own to drip dry. There are lots of beautiful trails around the park for hiking or cycling. All in all, the park could use more staffing, but we enjoyed our brief time here. It is a bit out of the way, in a remote area, so I’m not sure if we will be back any time soon. Lots of other great campgrounds in Nova Scotia to explore yet.