The Cabot Trail Road in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia is an infamous loop road with beautiful scenery on Canada’s beautiful east coast. I highly recommend this road trip for anyone looking to explore Canada and admire the Atlantic ocean. Don’t be scared – driving the Cabot Trail is a very relaxing and easy drive!
TIPS
My best friend and I chose to drive the Cabot Trail COUNTER-CLOCKWISE so that we could be closer to the ocean and pull off to the lookouts easily. However, we also ended up having to backtrack and drive the Cabot Trail clockwise due to various reasons, so we were able to experience parts of the road in both directions. Although it was slightly inconvenient, I’m glad that we had the time to do so because we were able to see both perspectives. If you would like to drive the Cabot Trail clockwise, you can follow my guide in reverse.
I recommend 3-4 days for driving the Cabot Trail, depending on how much you want to see and if you want to take your time. If you like hiking, you could spend even longer driving the Cabot Trail as there are many beautiful hiking trails.
We drove the Cabot Trail in mid-September, which was a perfect time to visit as the weather was still lovely and it was hardly busy. However, Cape Breton Island is made up of mountains covered in trees, so the drive would have been incredible later in the fall when the leaves change colour.
I hope you enjoy my guide to driving the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia!
DAY 1: Baddeck
WHAT TO DO
On our first day driving the Cabot Trail, we drove from Pictou, Nova Scotia, so we arrived at our first stop on the trail at midday. Depending on where you are coming from to start your journey on the Cabot Trail, you might be able to do more on this day but this is what we had time for.
If you are hopping on the Cabot Trail road at the south end, I highly recommend stopping at Big Spruce Brewing. This charming brewery is on the Trans Canada Highway 105, just before it connects to the Cabot Trail Road. Enjoy the views, a beer, and a stretch of your legs at Big Spruce. They also have a food truck and beer for purchase!
Continue on to Baddeck, my favourite town that we stayed in on the Cabot Trail. Take a stroll through the adorable downtown area and at the end you’ll reach the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, a museum dedicated to the inventor. This is a very popular attraction, however we chose not to visit.
Directly across the street from the site is an adorable little flower-lined boardwalk overlooking Baddeck Bay. From here, walk along Water Street for great views of the harbour and all of the boats.
If you have time, we really enjoyed the short hike to Uisge Ban Falls, which is just a 15-minute drive inland from downtown.
WHERE TO EAT
We had a delicious lunch at High Wheeler Cafe. For dinner, The Freight Shed is a must – the Haddock Parisienne Vin Blanc was delicious. I also heard great things about Tom’s Pizza, Baddeck Lobster Suppers, and Captain Caper’s Fish and Chips.
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed at Auberge Gisele’s Inn, which I actually thought was a bed and breakfast, but it turned out to be a small hotel. The patio overlooked the water, which was nice. The room was average, and the hotel definitely needs updating. Breakfast was included and it was pretty good! It’s a great budget option but I would have rather stayed in one of the cute bed and breakfasts in the downtown area for slightly more money.
DAY 2: Baddeck to Ingonish and Neil’s Harbour
Today is the first day that you’ll really start to experience the gorgeous scenery and landscape of Cape Breton’s coastline. Hit the Cabot Trail Road and make your way toward Ingonish. You will now be entering the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There is a Parks Canada booth on the Cabot Trail Road at both ends of the park (the other end is in Petit Etang) where you can purchase a Parks Canada pass for the duration of your stay within the park boundaries.
Your first stop should be the historic Keltic Lodge at the Cape Breton Highlands Links golf course and the Middle Head Trail. Both sit on a strip of land on a high bluff that juts out into the ocean. Drive to the end of the Keltic Road and you will reach the Middle Head Trail parking lot. I HIGHLY recommend this two hour hike. It has amazing views of both sides of the ocean. Due to overcast weather, my pictures don’t do it justice! Another popular hike near here is the Franey Trail, which has incredible views from the top of a mountain.
Continue along through Ingonish – you will probably want to stop for photos of this lovely coastal beach town!
Because we had a busy day the next day, we decided to cover as much of the road as we could. I highly recommend driving up to Neil’s Harbour, you’ll stop by some amazing lookouts on your way. Head toward the Neil Harbour Lighthouse for some ice cream (served in the lighthouse!). We also got some seafood chowder at the infamous Chowder House, which was so delicious but very overpriced for the size.
On our way back to Ingonish, we stopped at Black Brook Cove Beach where you can see a waterfall on the cliff. We discovered that the Coastal Trail starts/ends here, so we did a quick hike just before sunset, which took us to the top of the waterfall and along the cliffs. It is another beautiful trail!
We saw some incredible sunset views on the way to our accommodations in Ingonish Harbour.
WHERE TO EAT
We had a pretty good lunch at Seagull Restaurant and we also grabbed a yummy wrap from Brookside Takeout. Some other places I heard good things about are Coastal Restaurant, and Salty Rose’s & the Periwinkle Cafe, which looked super cute.
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed at Knotty Pine Cottages in Ingonish Harbour and I highly recommend staying here. Our cabin was so cute, very clean, and it had everything we needed. The best part – the view from our deck was incredible.
DAY 3: Ingonish to Cheticamp
WHAT TO DO
Today you’ll drive part of the Cabot Trail Road that you drove yesterday. This time you can just cruise and not stop for photos!
We were supposed to go whale watching on this day in Bay St Lawrence, which is off the Cabot Trail Road at the northern tip of Cape Breton Island. Although whale watching was cancelled due to high winds, we decided to drive up to that area anyway and I’m so glad that we did – we saw some of our favourite scenery!
Make your first stop in Dingwall at The Markland Coastal Beach Cottages for a great view. Then head toward Meat Cove Campground for views that you’ll never forget.
Next up is a must-do on the Cabot Trail: the Skyline Trail hike. This hike was one of my favourite moments on our trip. Most people like to hike the Skyline Trail at sunset but we went in the afternoon and it was still incredible! The beginning of the hike is nothing special but once you reach the wooden steps, the views are unforgettable. We also saw a female moose near the parking lot!
Reward yourself with a delicious treat from Aucoin Bakery in Petit Etang and continue on to Cheticamp for the night.
WHERE TO EAT
On this day we had delicious avocado toast for breakfast in Ingonish at Main Street Restaurant. We picked up very yummy sandwiches from Rusty Anchor in Pleasant Bay for a picnic lunch on the Skyline Trail. For dinner in Cheticamp we went to the Doryman Pub, which was okay. Some other restaurants in Cheticamp that were recommended to us are L’abri Restaurant (reserve in advance), Le Gabriel Restaurant, and Harbour Restaurant.
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed in a private room at an Airbnb in Cheticamp that was right on the ocean. The Airbnb is a log home owned by a very friendly older woman who has adorable rescued cats. We loved the backyard and private beach, especially at sunset. I highly recommend staying here or at any Airbnb on the ocean!
For more info on the Airbnb in Cheticamp: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/20150959
DAY 4: Cheticamp to Margaree Harbour
WHAT TO DO
We ended up rescheduling whale watching to today so we woke up and drove back to Pleasant Bay.
We went with Guaranteed Whales and although we had an amazing boat ride and saw some seals, we ironically did not any whales. Guaranteed Whales is nice enough to give back 25% of the price charged if no whales are seen. I still highly recommend getting out on the water if you have time! There are plenty of whale watching companies in Ingonish, Bay St Lawrence, Pleasant Bay and Cheticamp.
After we had lunch we headed to Margaree Harbour, another beautiful coastal beach town. The sand is so soft here, we HAD to take off our shoes!
From Margaree Harbour you have a few options for what to do. We decided to end our time on the Cabot Trail Road here and went to beautiful Inverness, which I highly recommend. You could also drive the last stretch of the Cabot Trail Road and end up back where you started.
WHERE TO EAT
After whale watching we went back to Rusty Anchor for a delicious lunch overlooking the ocean. Highly recommend it!
WHERE TO STAY
As mentioned, we left the Cabot Trail Road and went to Inverness. From there we stayed in Port Hood, which was lovely.
I hope you enjoyed my guide to driving the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia!
For more information on what we did before and after the Cabot Trail, check out my blog post, “The Ultimate 7 Day East Nova Scotia Road Trip.”
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