The Cabot Trail is a scenic roadway on Cape Breton Island that completes a loop around the northern tip of the island, passing along and through the Cape Breton Highlands. I’m including the following Wikipedia view because it clearly shows, in the distance, the road we were driving, from a vantage point we didn’t have available.
As you can see in the photo above, the road is ruggedly cut into the side slope but at the same time the “mountains” are not very tall and have flat tops, something we were totally not expecting. Our views were more immediate.
There were not very many places to pull over; and we soon figured out that it would have been easier to be driving counter clockwise. Fortunately there wasn’t much traffic.
There were some valleys cut through the tops of the hills, mixed in with scrub plains, bogs and small lakes.
And occasionally we got a view back to the water we had left behind.
The route measures 185 miles in length and completes a loop around the northern tip of the island, passing along and through the Cape Breton Highlands. It is named after the explorer John Cabot who landed in Atlantic Canada in 1497, although most historians agree his landfall likely took place in Newfoundland and not Cape Breton Island. (Premier Angus L. MacDonald attempted to re-brand Nova Scotia for tourism purposes as primarily Scottish and, as part of this effort, created both the names Cape Breton Highlands and Cabot Trail.) Construction of the initial route was completed in 1932.
At one point we came across a sign with a photo of what we had hoped to see in September on Cape Breton Island but which Mother Nature wasn’t providing this year.
We did learn a bit about the geology of the area.
The real exposure to the underlying rock would come on the east coast where the waves and weather have exposed the formations that underlie the peninsula. At the eastern edge of the park the road winds down as dramatically as it climbed up on the west.
As you get closer, the drama increases;
and in a few places the access has been enhanced enough to be able to get safely out onto the rocks. Otherwise, the footing could be treacherous.
For some, it was all about being one with the boulders.
For others, it was an opportunity to look at the amazing variety of igneous and metamorphic formations.
Eventually we headed south towards our next stopping point, the Middle Head.
It functioned as a type of fishing pier and meeting place for the Mi’Kmaq natives who called it “Geganisg” or a “remarkable place”. Today it’s a public park open to hiking and sightseeing. We decided to take a look. The view below, from a nearby beach,
shows that there is some development on the inner part of the head. As it turns out, there’s quite a nice conference center there.
In addition to the main building above, there are guest cottages in a variety of layouts.
Beyond these, however, a pair of old gateposts denote the beginning of the park and trail.
The trail varies in character and quality, from rough and eroded,
to boardwalk in sensitive areas.
As you can observe, the Middle Head is mostly wooded; but there are outlooks.
and a view out to the ocean at the end.
The halfway point holds a flatter, lower, more open meadow that was apparently used by the Mi’Kmaq as a meeting ground. This area had easier access to the water as well.
Nice outing, but now it’s time to head to Sydney. We drove some more coast road and then crossed a bay on a bridge leading towards the city.
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