The Cabot Trail has a handful of moments where it stops being a pleasant road and becomes the reason people come, and Cape Smokey is the first of them for anyone riding in from the south. The road climbs about three hundred and sixty metres up the headland, and once it gets above the trees the whole coastline of Cape Breton opens up beneath you, with the Atlantic running out to the horizon and the long arm of Ingonish Beach and Middle Head spread out ahead. On a clear day it reads like a map. On a foggy one it earns its name, as the headland wears a hat of cloud that can swallow the view completely.
Ride it with respect. The climb and the descent have long, sweeping grades, some tight bends, and drop-offs where the guardrail is minimal, and the surface can be patchy after winter frost. Traffic is mostly cars and campervans going slowly, which on a motorcycle means patience, because overtaking points are few and the oncoming views are distracting. Wind from the sea can be fierce at the top, and mornings are often the calmest. Fall is the real prize here, from late September into October, when the hardwood hills turn red and orange, though that is also when traffic peaks for the Celtic Colours festival and fuel and accommodation can get stretched.
The Trail was named for John Cabot, who is traditionally thought to have landed somewhere in this region in 1497, though historians still argue about exactly where. What is certain is that the road itself is much younger, built in the 1920s and 1930s, and that the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, which it winds through, was protected in 1936. Spruce and fir cover the plateau, moose are more common than you might imagine, bald eagles patrol the cliffs, and from the shore you can sometimes see whales offshore in summer.
There is a pull-off for photographs near the summit, and a small provincial park at the foot of the mountain where a short trail leads out along the coast. Ingonish, a few minutes beyond, has fuel, a general store and places to eat; the nearest large town with a wider selection is Baddeck or Sydney, so top up if the tank is low before the long run around the northern cape.