Summer (June through September) is prime time for Nova Scotia. July and August bring the warmest weather, with daily highs around 22-25C along the coast. The sea remains cold year-round, but interior lakes warm up enough for swimming by mid-July.
Nova Scotia's festival calendar peaks in summer. Chester Race Week in mid-August is the largest fixed-keel regatta in Canada, drawing sailors and spectators to the small seaside village. The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo in Halifax is a week-long spectacle of military bands, choirs, and gymnasts. Celtic music runs through the province's veins, with ceilidhs and concerts in community halls across Cape Breton and the Eastern Shore all summer long.
Fall foliage is spectacular, especially along the Cabot Trail in October. Winters are milder than mainland Canada thanks to the ocean, but grey and damp. Spring comes late and can be foggy. Halifax averages about a hundred days of mist or fog per year.