Week 658 · September 2026 · Nova Scotia, Canada
The Cabot Trail is a famous — Canada famous at least — road circling Cape Breton Island. Unlike in New Brunswick, the directions were clear and Google Maps worked fine, even though most of the trail goes through a national park with a fee. Between shifting a day to New Brunswick, planning around the weather and work calls, and a non-changeable ferry departure, we ended up on the best part of the Cabot Trail at peak weather.
The extra time in the Bay of Fundy not only cut out a day, it also changed where we stayed and the time of day we travelled — combined with the weather, it was a huge net plus as we ended up on the best part of the Cabot Trail at the peak weather. Nova Scotia means “New Scotland” in French and as we crossed from mainland to Cape Breton Island on the causeway, the road signs changed from English/French to English/Gaelic.
The Cabot Trail is a 298-kilometre (185-mile) scenic highway loop that encircles the northern tip of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Construction of the initial route began in 1926 — much of it carved by hand during the Great Depression using picks, shovels, wheelbarrows, horses, and dynamite — and the full loop was officially opened on October 15, 1932. It is named after explorer John Cabot, whose 1497 voyage for England reached the North American coast, though modern historians believe his landfall was more likely in Newfoundland than Cape Breton.
The trail traverses the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, a 950-square-kilometre protected area established in 1936, connecting Mi’kmaq, Acadian, and Scottish Highland communities along the way. The western and eastern sections follow the rugged coastline with open ocean views; the southwest section passes through the Margàree River valley. Most travellers spend two to three days on the trail — it can theoretically be driven in five hours, but few manage it.
The Cabot Trail runs in a circle around the island and we went to the west coast with our first stop at Inverness, just south of Chéticamp. Sandy beaches, links golf courses, and very windy — like Scotland. I was able to find a rail trail which provided for the only non-hilly bike option: the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail, which is 57 miles overall.
The Celtic Shores Coastal Trail is a 92-kilometre (57-mile) multi-use trail running along a former railway bed from Port Hastings to the town of Inverness on the western coast of Cape Breton Island. It is part of both the Trans Canada Trail and the International Appalachian Trail. Unlike the Cabot Trail proper, it is flat — following the old rail bed along the coast, making it the only genuinely non-hilly cycling option on this part of the island.
Highlights along the trail include the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Judique, the Glenora Distillery in Glenville (home of Glen Breton Rare, Canada’s only single malt whisky), Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs golf courses in Inverness, and the Red Shoe Pub in Mabou. The trail meanders through active fishing harbours, warm-water beaches at Port Hood, West Mabou, and Inverness, and communities where Gaelic culture — music, square dances, and ceilidhs — remains a living part of daily life.
We then headed further north and into the national park — spectacular scenery and very comparable to the Central Coast in California. Our objective for the day was to hike the Skyline Trail, but when we got to the parking lot, a cheery young lady came up to us and explained a new reservation system had been put into place last month — the earliest available was 3 days ahead. We could see people walking along the ridge and it looks like a great hike. We kept working our way up the coast and stayed in Pleasant Bay where we had a lobster and crab dinner for 2 for $50. Pleasant Bay seemed to be about 2 families running multiple businesses — we stayed within the MacTimmons ecosystem and took a whale watching tour the next morning with the dad and brother of the waitress from the night before, before heading to the north side of the island.
On our original trip, we planned to stay in Meat Cove, but when we changed our schedule, there was no availability. But we went anyway to do a hike and it was a different type of dramatic coastline than the west coast. As we moved to our next place, it became clear there were not many places to eat so we ate at a nice family restaurant that was closing at 7pm — and it was the latest place. Our next place was a “bunkie” — a two-story treehouse with no bathroom near Dingwall — and it worked fine.
We met a couple in NYC last winter from Nova Scotia and they suggested Dingwall as a place to stay and visit White Point. We had planned to bike from the bunkie, but the topo was a bit overwhelming — 8 miles with 2,000 feet of elevation — so we drove instead. We tested out the inflatable kayak, got it blown up, and made a loop of the cove with no incident. A bald eagle circled overhead; we briefly considered trying to capture it and bring it home to the USA — jk.
Our last night in Cape Breton Island National Park was supposed to be camping, but it poured, so we upgraded to a “pod” — basically a dry shed. We found the nicest resort in Cape Breton, The Keltic Lodge, did a hike and hung out in the bar for a bit. Sadly, much of the historic resort is in disrepair. We then tried the other place open past 8pm — “The Thirsty Hiker” — and the locals invited us to a beach bonfire right as we walked down, the skies opened up again with rain. Our last two days in Nova Scotia were rainy, so we were extra glad we had seen the west coast highlights while it was sunny. In fairness, we didn't catch the east coast of Cape Breton at its best — the ocean overlooks were completely blanketed in fog — so it's definitely worth a follow-up trip.
On our last day in Sydney, it was another washout and we met the couple who had recommended Dingwall for lunch — it was nice to reconnect. We had a couple more hours to kill in the rain before our 16-hour ferry to Newfoundland so I went on a quest to get another drone — ended up with a $40 option at Canadian Tire or an $800 option at Best Buy. I chose the former.
On the ferry, we had to get to the ferry loading 2 hours in advance. The rooms were sold out but I got another “pod” — private, bunk beds, no bathroom — and it worked fine. Many people just drank at the communal bar and then slept in the seats (which were much better than a plane). Pretty much buried in fog the whole ferry trip but well organized. We arrived the next day in Placentia, hit a Tim Hortons once to reconnect, drove 1.5 hours to St. John's.
