If you aspire to drive along a scenic highway that offers beautiful coastlines, majestic mountains, sandy beaches, delightful seafood and cultural communities, then you must visit Cabot Trail.
Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
Cabot Trail is considered one of the most scenic highway drive in Canada offering stunning views of ocean and mountains through twisting roadways. It is located in Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, an island that has been rated as the #1 Island to visit in North America by Travel & Leisure Magazine. Apart from scenic overlooks, one can also enjoy outdoor adventures including hiking, camping, horseback riding, boating, fishing and whale watching. The area is also home to bears, moose and bald eagles.
The Cabot Trail is 300 km (185 miles) long and makes a loop around Cape Breton Island, covering top and bottom of the island including east and west coastlines. The Trail includes all of Trunk 30 and parts of Highway 105. Allow at least one day (about 9 hours) to drive around the Trail to fully appreciate it’s beauty.
We started driving early morning from town of Sydney, and joined the Trail near English Town and decided to drive counter-clockwise along Trunk 30 to enjoy the best scenic ocean views.
Our first stop was Ingonish Beach, a very atypical beach having cobblestones on one side and fine sand on other, alongside crystal clear ocean water. One can walk to a nearby Freshwater lake to enjoy swimming in non-salty water. The scenery around the beach is amazing. We had a relaxing lunch at a nearby picnic area. Ingonish Beach area is also famous for Highlands Links golf course, one of the finest in Canada.
After lunch at Ingonish beach we kept driving north along the trail. There were plenty of photo-snapping opportunities filled with scenic vistas. Make sure you stop at pull offs, enjoy the scenery and take selfies!
One of the best view of the Trail is from the look-off at the Veterans Monument that lies along the north side of the trail. We stopped there to snap multiple photos. From here, one can truly appreciate carving of the trail on majestic mountains alongside deep blue ocean.
Continuing our drive towards the west coast our next stop was Pleasant Bay, a community famous for whale-watching. One can aboard a guided tour to view many species of whales that visit the area every year. We stopped at a spectacular lookout point to enjoy MacKenzie Mountain along Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Driving southbound along the western coast, our next stop was at the roadside to enjoy stunning Fishing Cove deep below the highway and filled with green mountains with contrasting blue ocean and clear sky. What a sight!!
Completing the loop on southern side our last stop was town of Baddeck, a beautiful community that is considered the gateway to the Cabot Trail. Here you can enjoy Celtics music as well as sailing, birding, fishing and horseback riding. We came across a beautiful Kidston Island lighthouse while driving through Baddeck.
Alexander Graham Bell, famous inventor of telephone, chose Baddeck as his summer residence. We stopped by at Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site to take a peek at Bell’s work through the exhibitions and interactive demonstrations.
This completed our day-trip around the Cabot Trail. What a wonderful place!!
With fond memories, we headed back to our hotel in Sydney, with plans to visit Fort of Louisbourg next, followed by trip to Hopewell Rocks Park in New Brunswick province.
Some of the other significant attractions along the Cabot Trail includes:
- Meat Cove Famous for camp grounds and small fishing community
- Hikes There are multiple hiking trails leading to magnificent views of waterfalls, highlands, and coastlines
- Glenora Distillery, Home of Canada’s First Single Malt Whisky, Glen Breton Rare
- Seafood There are plenty of places to enjoy delicious seafood including lobster rolls at local restaurants
Our Rating: 4* out of 5
Helpful Links: