Cabot Trail...Take a Picture, Leave Your Heart

On July 18, Maureen and Kemis headed back to Calgary, and we were on our way to the Cabot Trail for 9 days. One would think 9 days would be plenty of time, but not really! Unfortunately, there was a lot of rain and flash flooding in those 9 days throughout Nova Scotia.

We stayed at Kluskap Ridge RV Park in Englishtown, very close to the Englishtown ferry.

This cable ferry carries around 12-15 cars and the journey across the mouth of St. Ann’s Bay is about 410 feet and takes about 4 minutes before arriving at the Jersey Cove section of the Cabot Trail.

It doesn't take much to entertain me...I loved the ferry!!

The Cabot Trail undoubtedly is one of the most beautiful coastal drives and the most famous drive in Canada. It is close to a 300 km loop, starting from Baddeck passing through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park and continuing on to Chèticamp.

Cape Breton Island has different areas and we wanted to explore all of them: the famous Cabot trail, Highland National Park, Sydney area – Marconi Trail, Louisbourg, Bras D’Or Lake, the South Coast and Canada’s Music Coast. We didn’t hit all of them, but we did pretty good considering the weather.

It was recommended to us to drive counter-clockwise so that you’re driving on the ocean side of the highway which makes it easier to pull into the viewpoints along the ocean. We did both directions, and honestly, we were there mid July which is high season and traffic was not bad at all so crossing the highway to stop at a viewpoint was not an issue. Quite frankly, we thought driving clockwise was better because driving clockwise you’re looking at the most beautiful view of the cliffs and highlands instead of looking at them through the rear-view mirror.

Our first drive was to Baddeck where we visited the Alexander Graham Bell Historic site. We had no idea how many things in our day-to-day lives started with Bell’s curious and brilliant mind and imagination. We all know about the telephone, but after that he continued experiments in communication, which culminated with the photophone transmission of sound on a beam of light, which was a precursor of today’s fiber optic systems. He also worked in medical research and invented techniques for teaching speech to the deaf. Actually, his life’s main interest was to educate the hearing impaired. Not only was Bell’s mother hearing impaired but his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, was one of his hearing impaired students. Mabel became hearing impaired at 5 years old, Bell started working with her when she was 15, and they ended up marrying. It didn’t stop there! He was also involved in the aerial vehicles and hydro-planes. He also founded the National Geographic Society! He also invented the metal detector, which he invented to try to locate a bullet that hit US President James Garfield during an assassination attempt in 1881. Interestingly, when Bell visited Baddeck, Nova Scotia in 1885, he fell in love with it, and bought land the following year and began building his family’s summer home. Bell and his wife, Mabel, are actually buried in Baddeck, N.S. and their home still belongs to the family and is a private residence.

Ryan and Melissa, the newlyweds, surprised us with an overnight visit! Ryan’s birthday was the day before they arrived, so we celebrated around the campfire, reminiscing about their wedding day! Some of our best times together are around campfires just chatting and being grateful for our lives. They left the next morning heading back to Truro, but also heading into the tropical storm. Thank God they made it home safely, and had no damage to their property. It was a very scary drive.

We didn’t get in as much hiking as we would have liked but did hike the Skyline Trail, which has become the most iconic trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Skyline Trail takes you to a headland cliff that overlooks rugged coastline and scenic views of St. Lawrence seaway. We were at 1,300 feet elevation so we had a bird’s eye view of not only the coast but of the Cabot Trail below. The cars looked like toys! It’s a pretty easy 7 km loop mostly on a boardwalk, and it was breathtaking!

Another hike we enjoyed was the Middle Head Trail located on the same property as the Keltic Lodge. I hiked it several years ago by myself and was excited to hike it again with Barry and Merlot (Okay, Merlot is kind of a shithead hiking). This is a shorter 3.8 km trail that follows a long, narrow peninsula separating two ocean bays, ending on headland cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Smokey and Ingonish Island. The views were spectacular!! A bit crowded, but to be expected.

We couldn’t help but stop by Ingonish Beach, and then a roadside picnic lunch on the way back to the RV park.

So one of our favorite things to do when driving these types of beautiful drives like the Cabot Trail is to pack a lunch and find a cool place to stop for picnics. This day we found the perfect place; however, we weren’t the only folks who found our perfect place. See the tour bus approaching!!!

As much fun as it was, we quickly packed up and moved on to a more secluded area. Fortunately there were many to pick from.

We went to the Fortress of Louisbourg, the largest historical reconstruction in North America! It brings you back to French colonial life between 1713 and 1758. We have been to Barkerville Historic Town and Park in B.C. as well as Fort William Historical Park in Ontario, and we love visiting these historical sites. Louisbourg was no exception! We very much enjoyed talking with the costumed animators, exploring the historical buildings and exhibits, not to mention watching the firing of the cannons! It was amazing!!

The last exploring day, we took Merlot to Meat Cove, which is an incredibly beautiful, picturesque drive, and also the most northern tip of Cape Breton Island, surrounded by jagged cliffs and connected valleys. It’s pretty remote and feels somewhat untouched. It’s truly a hidden gem. We didn’t do the hike up the mountain, but we really enjoyed our walk on the rocky beach.

We couldn’t help but stop a few more times on the way back to the RV Park. Even Merlot had to sit and admire the peacefulness of this place!

When they say, “take a picture, leave your heart”, that’s very true! We can’t wait to get back to Cape Breton; however, it was time to leave, and like most of our travel days, it’s raining!!

We spent our last 3 days in Nova Scotia back with Ryan and Melissa enjoying each other’s company, laughing, joking around and playing bean bag toss in the backyard. Such a beautiful place to be!

July 30, not only my handsome husband’s birthday, but the day we head to PEI for a month! Life is good!

If you want to see more pictures of the Cabot Trail click here.