No cell phone service, plenty of artists

Land lines are still a necessity in Bear River. A quirk of geology puts the centre of the village at the bottom of a steep and deep valley.

On this map, the elevation rise between lines is 10 meters. The closer the lines are together, the steeper the land is.

In the late 1800's, a visiting travel writer called it The Switzerland of Nova Scotia, a flattering if wildly inaccurate comparison. Since the late 1960s, a diverse artists' colony has grown up here and called it home. Some were attracted to its hillside setting, others to the dynamism of the tidal river which separates Annapolis County from Digby County.

Artists come and go from Bear River, just as the tides do, but both are unfailing constants of life there. Get acquainted with this singular community here