Repairs near completion at Rissers Beach Provincial Park after storm damage

Eight months after post-tropical storm Lee tore through Rissers Beach Provincial Park on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, repairs are moving into the final stages.  

Rissers felt the full force of the heavy rain and strong winds last September. Sandra Fraser, a parks promotion officer with Nova Scotia Parks, said there was “extensive damage” from the storm surge and flooding, as well as many trees knocked down.

Since then, crews have fixed stairs down to the beach at the end of a trail. Cleanup and repairs have taken place at the day-use area.

Camping opened on Friday in the north part of the campground known as North Rissers. 

Work is still underway to get the campsites in the Little Rissers area, next to the beach, ready. Most of the sites were not damaged but they have been closed since last September due to damage to the access road, which is now being replaced.

The new road is being built further away from the water to make it less susceptible to any future storms. It should be complete in the coming weeks. 

“We want this road to provide access to those campsites for us as long as they can. So we’re just looking to put it in a less vulnerable spot,” Fraser said.

The 28 sites in the Little Rissers area represent about 40 per cent of the campsites at the park and should be open again later this season, Fraser said.

She said work has also been happening at other provincial sites damaged by the storm, including Crystal Crescent Beach Provincial Park, where boardwalks by the beach have also been repaired. 

Repairs have also been needed at Queensland, MacCormacks and Martinique beaches.