River John is an unincorporated community in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located near the mouth of the River John on the Northumberland Strait, halfway between Pictou and Tatamagouche near the boundary with Colchester County. It is on Nova Scotia Trunk 6 and the designated tourist route, the Sunrise Trail. River John was colonized by Europeans during the 18th century and its port and the proximity of plentiful timber led to the development of a small shipbuilding industry. The Nova Scotia folklorist W. Roy MacKenzie (1883–1957) lived in River John, as does novelist Linda Little.