The Cabot Trail is a 298-kilometre loop road through the Cape Breton Highlands in northern Nova Scotia, and it is legitimately one of the most dramatic coastal drives in North America. The road climbs to over 450 metres above the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean, following cliff edges with no guardrail on the ocean side, descending into deep river valleys, passing through small Acadian and Mi'kmaw communities, and bisecting Cape Breton Highlands National Park in the island's northwest corner. The combination of highland plateau, coastal cliff, boreal forest, and seaside fishing villages covers more landscape variety per kilometre than almost anywhere in the country.
Which Direction to Drive
Drive the loop counter-clockwise — that is, go north along the west (Gulf of St. Lawrence) coast and return south along the east (Atlantic) coast. This puts your vehicle on the ocean side of the road on the dramatic western section, where the cliff drops away from the shoulder rather than being against the hillside, and gives you better access to pull-off points. The most dramatic section of road — the stretch between Pleasant Bay and Cheticamp — is best appreciated from the driving position this direction provides.
The National Park Section
Cape Breton Highlands National Park covers the central plateau and the western coast of the highlands. Entry requires a park pass, and there are pay stations at both the north (Cheticamp) and east (Ingonish) entrances. The park's interpretive centre in Cheticamp is worth a quick stop for the exhibits on the park's Mi'kmaw history and wildlife. The park has more moose per square kilometre than almost anywhere in Atlantic Canada — they're commonly seen from the road, particularly in the early morning and at dusk on the plateau section.
The road across the highlands plateau, at an elevation of around 450 metres, is one of the most otherworldly stretches of highway in eastern Canada. The boreal vegetation is low and wind-sculpted, the views extend to the ocean in multiple directions, and on overcast days the light is flat and Arctic. It feels more like the Labrador coast than Nova Scotia.
Essential Stops and Hikes
The Skyline Trail (9 kilometres return, moderate) leaves from a trailhead on the plateau section and follows the cliff edge above the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with views from a headland that drops several hundred metres straight to the water. Moose are frequently seen on the barrens here. The trail is the park's most popular hike and deservedly so — the view from the cliff headland at the far end is one of the best on the Cabot Trail. Go at sunset if the timing works.
Fishing Cove (16 kilometres return, strenuous) descends from the plateau into a remote cove on the Gulf shore accessible only on foot. The trail drops 300 metres into a narrow valley and emerges at a tiny cove with a campsite, a waterfall, and the sense of having arrived somewhere genuinely off the tourist circuit. It's a serious hike with a steep ascent on the return, but it's one of the most rewarding in the park.
The French community of Cheticamp, at the western gateway to the national park, deserves more than a pass-through stop. It's an Acadian community that has maintained its language and culture with particular tenacity — French is the first language of the town — and the cooperative rug-hooking studio in the town centre produces work that's been recognised internationally. The restaurants serving Acadian cuisine are excellent.
Baddeck
Baddeck, at the southern gateway to the Cape Breton loop, is where most visitors start and finish the Cabot Trail. It's a small town on the Bras d'Or Lake — an inland brackish sea connected to the Atlantic — and it was the home of Alexander Graham Bell, who spent his summers here for decades. The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site is one of the better small museums in Nova Scotia, covering Bell's work well beyond the telephone: aeronautics, hydrofoils, genetics, and education were all subjects he explored from his Baddeck estate.
"Driving the Cabot Trail in a single day is like reading only the first and last pages of a book. The story is in the middle."
The fall colours on the highlands in October — the boreal forest turning, the hardwood patches blazing against the dark evergreens — and the whale-watching season (fin whales, minkes, and pilot whales are regularly seen in the waters off Pleasant Bay from July through September) are two of the best reasons to plan your trip for the shoulder seasons rather than peak summer.
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