Antigonish takes a well-rounded approach to recreation and leisure. And it’s only going to get better.

The Antigonish Town & County Recreation Association has a three-phase, $3.3-million project underway to improve the recreation and sports facilities in the area.

Our town’s sports infrastructure has lacked the ability to accommodate growth in youth sports and to host major events. For the project’s first phase, an artificial-turf soccer/football field and regulation-size baseball field were built at Dr. J.H. Gillis Regional High School.

An eight-lane, 400-metre track is planned to be built around the existing soccer field at St. Andrew Junior School and the final phase will feature a 1.6-kilometre nature trail along Brierly Brook for walkers, runners, mothers and their strollers, and even cross-country skiers and snowshoers.

The new facilities will be a wonderful complement to existing infrastructure, especially the Keating Centre, which opened in 2005. The state-of-the-art arena and conference centre is home to St. FX varsity hockey, figure skating, youth and adult hockey, and public skating.

Antigonish Arena

Antigonish Arena entertains the area with Junior B Bulldogs hockey, senior men’s and minor hockey, figure skating and adult and tots skating. It is also the main site for the Eastern Nova Scotia Exhibition, an annual celebration of agriculture and horse competitions.

For Golfers

Golfers can tee off at the challenging 18-hole Antigonish Golf Club or have a lighter day on the par-3 with a spectacular view off Williams Point at Fiddler’s Green Golf Course. They can practise their short game at the mini putt at Snow Queen Leisure World while the rest of the family takes in the go-kart track, space train, bumper boats and cars, or batting cage.

If you’d rather be out on the water, dock your boat at Antigonish Yacht Club, Cribbons Point Marina or Ballantynes Cove Marina.

It’s all within a short driving distance from Mt. Cameron Estates.