Cruising the Cabot Trail

September 3, 2023 - September 4, 2023

What is the Cabot Trail? Where is it? And why should someone do this drive? Join us as we travel this amazing trail and you can decide for yourself. A picture’s worth a 1000 words so we will share a few more photos so you can see what it’s all about. 

The Cabot Trail is a scenic route on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia. Its 298 km (185 mi) drive takes you through some of Canada’s most scenic and beautiful landscapes providing access to hiking trails, beaches, lighthouses, and small towns. The trail is named after John Cabot who landed in Atlantic Canada in 1497 and because the area reminded people of the Scottish Highlands the two parks along the trail are Cape Breton Highlands Park and Cape Breton Highlands National Park. You can drive in either direction on the loop; the most common starting spot is the town of Baddeck. It is recommended that you take 5-7 days or even longer if you want to have the time to truly enjoy all the hikes and the hospitality of the townspeople in the area. We decided to start on the island's Eastern side and work our way clockwise. Here's a sample of the view from the road!

Leaving Port Hood, where we had spent the first night, behind us we headed to Inverness, a small beachside community on the eastern shore. Not part of the Cabot Trail but we decided to stop and see the beach and take Zorro for a quick walk. So glad we did! This beach is beside two world-class golf courses and a boardwalk allowing you to walk by the Cabot Links ranked 35 of the top 100 link courses in the world. What a nice-looking course and the beach with its huge sand dunes was spectacular. Zorro was happy to dig a little and jump in the surf, he was not very interested in the golf course. 

The next stop was Cheticamp, we are now on the Cabot Trail Drive, a small French town with a beautiful old church and our first lighthouse. Here we had a reservation for the night. Once all checked in we decided to try and make it to the lighthouse to watch the sunset. The lighthouse is located on La Pointe, which is practically an island as there is only a thin two-lane road connecting it to Cheticamp. You drive through a farmer's field, so we had to watch out for cows. We almost missed it but in the end, the views were worth it. 

The next morning we did a quick hike up to a natural gypsum lake where Nikki found a nice perch to sit on. We even went for a little swim!

As we left town we made a quick stop to see the inside of the magnificent Saint-Pierre Catholic Church. Wow! So beautiful. It was built in 1893 and designed by Quebec architect David Oullet and resembles many of the churches that are in Quebec along the Saint Lawrence River. 

The other place you have to visit when you are in Cheticamp is a shop called "Proud to be Lola's Hookers" this store specializes in hooked rugs and the women that make them call themselves hookers! We stopped in and saw the beautiful work and Bob bought a kit to work on during the winter (I wonder where the finished product is?)

As we leave Cheticamp behind we climb into the hilltops and get to see the road we just traveled as we stop at MacIntosh Brook Trail Head for another quick hike along a brook leading to a small waterfall.

We finished the day at the Blue Bayou Resort in Dingwall. A super cool resort with Dome Huts and tiny houses that the owner built himself. Next blog we will have more hike and the beach community of Ingonish. 

Thanks for following along.