Driving Canada's Highlands: Part 2

Another one of my look-backwards posts, reliving

 past travel adventures in various places.
This time it's my 2005 tour of Nova Scotia's famed
scenic highway, the Cabot Trail, over 2 days --
one sunny and one cloudy/misty with scattered showers.

This is Part 2 of 2 parts.

 

In Part 1 we got as far as Pleasant Bay (Map # 7), which is the point at which the Cabot Trail turns east across the peninsula to the far side of the Cape Breton Highlands.

Here there are two river valleys which between them nearly cut the plateau in two from west to east, with only a single steep ridge between them.  So the road now turns east, following the valley of the Grande Anse River upstream.  Eventually you come to the steeper climb up what is known as North Mountain.  You snake your way up, across, and down the other side into the valley of the Aspy River.  Although there are a couple of pullout parking areas on North Mountain, the view is not as dramatic as some, since it basically consists of more tree-mantled hills, all about the same height.  (Map # 8)

Back down off the mountain again, you cross the Aspy River and then a sign on your right indicates the turnoff for Beulach Ban Falls.  This lacy cascade is certainly worth the 3-kilometre detour to have a look, especially if there’s been rainy weather.  (The falls were almost dry in 2005, so I've had to borrow a pic from the Internet).

 

At the eastern end of the Aspy River valley you come to the village of Cape North (Map # 9).  It’s not actually anywhere near the northern tip of the Island, but you can turn off here to go in that direction on a side road.  That’s a beautiful drive if you have time.  Indeed, the road north to Bay St. Lawrence and Capstick runs through one of the most Scottish-looking areas of Cape Breton, due to the relative lack of trees.  (Map # 10) The bare grassy upland looks to me very like the machair (grassland) of the Hebrides. 

In Cape North village itself, there's a local area museum which is well worth a visit.  There's also a good eatery and this is probably about the right time for lunch.  I’m especially fond of Morrison’s, which is housed in a former general store and serves very good food at “fair” prices.  Your first thought may be that the prices are wildly unfair, but I’m thinking of the fact that almost all of the restaurant’s supplies have to be trucked into this tiny and remote community over the same long and winding road that we are enjoying as tourists. 

After North Cape, the road becomes a faster drive across easier country to the east coast at Neil’s Harbour.  There’s also an alternate, slower, and much more twisted coastal road to Neil’s Harbour.  If you have the time for that detour, you certainly should take it as you are not missing anything much on the main road.  But be warned that the coastal road in this stretch has no safe places to stop and take pictures. 

From Neil’s Harbour, you then turn south along the shoreline towards Ingonish.  After a few kilometres, be sure to stop on the way for the spectacular scenery of the beach at Black Brook Cove.  Swimming is also popular here.  (Map # 11)

 

If you want to extend your tour to two nights, then Ingonish is the place for you.  It’s a sprawling settlement or chain of settlements that straggles along the road for many kilometres, but in that space there are a number of restaurants, motels, cottages for rent, and the like -- and two spectacular beaches. 

On the rocky headland between the two Ingonish beaches called Middle Head stands a classic resort, the Keltic Lodge, which is open only for the summer season.  Cheap it is not, but the location helps to make it worthwhile if you can afford it.  If you’re a golfer, there’s a fine public course adjacent to the Lodge; it is run by the National Park.  (Map # 12)

There's also a walking trail which gives striking views.

The south Ingonish beach (which can be seen across the bay from the Lodge) has lifeguards in summer, and sits right next to an inland lake which has a lovely beach as well.  As you listen to the pronounced sound-effects of the surf on Ingonish South Beach (a loud sucking sound followed by a roaring thump as the wave crashes down), it’s sobering to realize that the next solid land in the direction you’re facing is somewhere in France.  On a warm, sunny summer afternoon, there are not many nicer places to spend your time in Cape Breton.

Wherever you are on the shores of Ingonish, the view is dominated by the huge headland towering up to the south of you.  This is Cape Smokey (or just plain "Smokey"; it gets named both ways, and sometimes gets misspelled as "Smoky"), and you are heading that way.  It probably gets its name because of the frequency with which the summit is shrouded in fog or cloud.  (Map # 13)

 

South of Ingonish, you drive in a big arc all around the scenic bay to Ingonish Ferry, but don’t expect to find places to stop and take pictures.  You are now out of the National Park and such niceties don’t exist here.  You have one last big climb, up and over Cape Smokey.  There’s a small picnic park on top of this headland, and then comes the slow, snaky climb down the south side, which is actually the most twisted part of the entire Cabot Trail.  And there you are, enjoying the drive on the inland side, away from the edge!

At this point, the fun is nearly over.  The road makes its way south through farm and pastureland with a few tiny settlements and no notable climbs or curves.  But you have one last decision to make.  Time will be a factor.

Some 60 kilometres south of Cape Smokey, you will come to a road junction where a sign points straight ahead for route 312 to Englishtown or to the right for the Cabot Trail.  You can take this right-turn route and drive all around the deep bay at St. Ann’s to rejoin Trans-Canada Highway Route 105.  It’s a pretty drive, but not as powerful as the scenic drama you’ve passed through already.  But if you are short of time, you should continue straight ahead at the junction, following the signs on the road to the Englishtown Ferry.

If you take the ferry route, you will find after a few kilometres that you are driving along the lengthy barachois that you saw from Kelly’s Mountain at the start of the trip.  At the end of the barachois, the narrow channel is crossed by a cable ferry which operates frequently during daylight hours.  The crossing takes only a minute or so.  (Map # 14)

Follow Route 312 on the other side through the village of Englishtown and back out to its end at the Trans-Canada.  Whichever route you take, turn left (uphill) on Route 105 towards the summit of Kelly’s Mountain again – and so back to Sydney.  Or, if it suits your plans better, a right turn will take you west and so eventually to the Canso Causeway which links Cape Breton Island to the Nova Scotia mainland.

 

Obviously, your time or lack of it will determine how long you can spend on the Cabot Trail – but my advice is to not sell yourself short, for every viewpoint and turn and side road has its charms, and exploring these by-ways is a major part of the total experience.

If you consult the National Parks website at Cape Breton Highlands National Park you can find a detailed map of the park which shows the wealth of hiking trails available in all parts of the park.  After all, the Cabot Trail -- spectacular as it is -- only scratches the surface as it winds its way around the outermost edges of the huge wilderness area contained within the National Park.