Cape Breton, Nova Scotia--Cabot Trail

[schafman46]

Hi All, we are currently in Newfoundland & taking "short ferry" back to Sydney, NS on Wed. 9/7.--we came north in Nova Scotia on TCH on east side & thinking of traveling around the entire Cabot trail on way thru the rest of Cape Breton--we would love to hear anyone's adventures ..(both good & bad) if they have done that.
The forum is such a great place to learn & experience other Airstreamer's adventures.--Thank you all in advance !!
We have a 24' FB Flying Cloud.

[OTRA15]

Welcome to the forum. So glad you are on this adventure! We went to PEI in the 90's but have not been back up that way since.

Check out Posts #96 (and following) of the Lucy Has Escaped thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ed-152034.html

Lots of great information, photos and commentary from moosetags about their recent trip.

Have fun!

Peter

[ktmkirby]

I did it on my motorcycle in early August. It's worth your while to do it. Traffic should be lighter now that we're into September. There are a few spots that have construction, but it won't tie you up too long. There are some nice side trips, like Meat Cove that are pretty cool, but you might want to think about unhitching the trailer if you go there.....it's pretty tight.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by schafman46

Hi All, we are currently in Newfoundland & taking "short ferry" back to Sydney, NS on Wed. 9/7.--we came north in Nova Scotia on TCH on east side & thinking of traveling around the entire Cabot trail on way thru the rest of Cape Breton--we would love to hear anyone's adventures ..(both good & bad) if they have done that.
The forum is such a great place to learn & experience other Airstreamer's adventures.--Thank you all in advance !!
We have a 24' FB Flying Cloud.

Hi Mike and Stacy. As you know, we were just in Nova Scotia in July. We went all the way out to the north end of Cape Breton Island on the west side of the Cabot Trail. We set Lucy up in Cheticamp Island Campground
which is just outside the southeast entrance of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We went out side the Park and up to the northern tip of the Island at Meat Cove. There is a super neat campground at Meat Cove with the most spectacular campground water view that we nave ever seen.

We toured only the west side of the Cabot Trail. We were told that this was the more scenic section. Have a great time in Nova Scotia. We enjoyed our visit there.

Here are a few pictures of the Cabot Trail and the campground at Meat Cove. This campground would be really tight for a 23' Airstream, and it has no hook-ups.

Brian

[Bill M.]

Been around it twice in the TV. Have not taken the Airstream. It is a easy one day drive to go around and eat some lunch. The AGB musem is worth a stop. As is the fort. Golden Horn campground at Sydney is a good one.

[Smartstream]

We spent several weeks going around New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI several years ago, you can read about it here. http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...d-79445-7.html

We entered Canada about post #91. We really had a great time and would love to do it again. The only thing I would caution is a lot of the tourist stuff including RV parks close for the winter right after Labor Day.

Have a great trip.

[FCloud9]

Bookmarking....as we hope to head this way next summer!

[MrUKToad]

In 2009 we drove the Cabot Trail, without an Airstream as we hadn't even thought about that particular vice back then. Apart from the stunning views, we stopped off at Pleasant Bay and had us a quick whale watching trip, which turned out to be the highlight of the vacation. We left the harbour with a Bald Eagle keeping up with the boat, giving everyone an unexpected treat. Then we motored along with a group of playful dolphins for about twenty minutes before coming across some Fin Whales enjoying the afternoon as much we were. We were so close to the shore, too, you'd have seen the animals had you been standing on the cliff.

My mistake that day was driving back to the south of Halifax that evening and being so tired that I took a wrong turning, ended up going the wrong way on the MacKay Bridge and was in Dartmouth when I should have been in Halifax! Next time I will be taking a break.

[JCWDCW]

Park your Trailer in Baddeck (several campgrounds) and drive the route counter clockwise. That way you follow the sun and end up in Cheticamp for dinner and some lobster. Downside is that your partner is on the edge when the road cuts through the seaside cliffs! We did it on '95 and wish we had the opportunity to repeat but it just didn't happen. Moosetag's pics are just a taste...but thanks for the photos...well framed!
JCW

[TheGlen]

I second the recommendation to park the trailer and do it counter clockwise. You will enjoy the views etc a lot more. I remember some of it as pretty steep and there aren't a lot of places to comfortably pull over or manoevre with a trailer. Enjoy - it is gorgeous!

[silvermine]

We did that trip in early June with a new 23' AS. You can check out my blog at www.silvermineandhis.weebly.com
You will need to scroll back to the June posts.

[darsea]

We did the Cabot Trail last summer in our 25 F C. National parks great facilities beautiful sights some much more accessible with T V. Check tourist information. Newfoundland the land of the moose and a half hour time zone was great too.
Check out Prince Edward Island it to is a wonder with great facilities. Ferry or bridge toll only one way when you go off island.

Dottie and John

[herkvet]

We were there 3 years ago September. No trouble finding campsites. Ditto staying in Baddeck. Much easier doing the trail without AS. I would highly recommend visiting the fort in Louisborgh if time allows. It can easily take a whole day and easy drive from Baddeck. Check out Cape Breton "fiddle" music at a (sp) "caylee". Don't forget to stomp your feet. Have fun and happy traveling.

[OTRA15]

Ceili is the English spelling.

[VT Wanderer]

We have traveled to Cape Breton Highlands twice over the past 9 years. First time we camped in Ingonish on the east side, the next time we camped at Cheticamp on the west side. Both times we stayed in the National Parks = beautiful. We did not consider hauling our AS over the Cabot Trail. It was better for us to leave the AS in camp and take day trips in our truck. As mentioned above, you can reach the far side of the Highlands easily in one day, including the round trip. Pulling the AS is doable, but it would serve no purpose to do all those major hills when you don't have to. We loved the many hikes and kayaking (we brought our own).

[WestieHouse]

I agree with those suggesting leaving the AS parked and driving the route in a day, which is easily done. Stop at Meat Cove. PEI has the best mussels and libsters we have eaten anywhere in N. America!

The Alexander Graham Bell myseum in Baddeck is fascinating. And don't miss Peggy's Cove on NS. The history in L'Anse au Meadows (first confirmed Viking landing), Gander, NS (WWII and 911), and Pugwash, NS (Einstein, Bertrand Russell, and many others won a Nobel Prize for their efforts st the Thinker's Lodge to head off all-out nuclear war in the 50's).

Lunenberg, NS is wonderful and played a role in the"Book of Negroes" (Revolutionary War history) which I only learned of on Canadia Public Trlevidion after our visit. Copues of The Book of Negroes exist in the US National Archives and in England (I forget where).

Rocky Harbor, NL - hear "Anchors Away" play - they are a wonderful group of musicians who capture the culture of Newfoundland. And the theater group in Cow's Head, NL is truly talented.

There is do much to see and do in Eastern Canada - we will return. The people are terrific!

[Loden]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Ceili is the English spelling.

You are close, but it is cèilidh and pronounced "Kay-lee">

[gandttimes]

Skyline trail is a must.

[InterBlog]

I was born and raised in Sydney NS, and my husband and I had our Airstream Interstate around the Cabot Trail as far as Cape North a few weeks ago. If your trip is in September, hopefully most establishments will still be open - the Cabot Trail really closes down in the off-season, but September should be fine. A few of the mountain roads are a bit challenging - people do take them with large RVs and trailers, but it's best to have specific destinations in mind if that approach is taken, I think. Otherwise as the other posters said, it might be best to leave the trailer in a base of operations.

If you do include Louisbourg as one poster suggested, check the hours carefully as they were reportedly very limited this summer. And the Louisbourg downtown RV park was reportedly closed because of some waterfront improvement initiative, which was a real bummer for my husband and I as we had originally planned to stay there for at least one night.

Note as well that propane can be extremely difficult to obtain in Nova Scotia. Here is an Air Forums post that I made on that topic if you need further info.

Good luck, and if you'd like to see some of our pics and additional commentary, I've got a series of blog posts on our recent trip here.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Loden

You are close, but it is cèilidh and pronounced "Kay-lee">

I'm curious as to what caused someone in Salado Texas to know that. I know that because I named my daughter a non-ethnic spelling of the same word, and my stepmother is a native speaker of Gaelic.