Cabot Trail: Baddeck to Cape North
Baddeck to Cape North on the Cabot Trail · one way, about 268 km back to the start
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Why this ride
It goes by way of Margaree Harbour and Pleasant Bay. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Roadbook
- Baddeck
start
The Cabot Trail has a reputation to live up to, and its start in Baddeck is the polite part. The loop of about three hundred kilometres around the Cape Breton Highlands was finished in the early 1930s, after years of work, and named after the explorer John Cabot, who sailed along these coasts in 1497, although nobody knows exactly where he landed. The park it circles was created in 1936, and the road is still the main reason most people come. Baddeck is where many riders start, with a tank of fuel and a big breakfast.
The heart of the island is Gaelic. Scottish Highlanders, cleared from their land in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, settled here in large numbers, and Cape Breton still keeps the music, the language and the stubbornness they brought. A few kilometres away at St. Anns, the Gaelic College teaches fiddle, piping, Gaelic song and step dancing, and across the island there are kitchen parties, ceilidhs and dances in church halls, where fiddlers play till late. It is worth timing a visit to catch one. In the villages along the trail you will hear Gaelic place names and Acadian French in the west, around Cheticamp, where the Acadian culture is equally strong.
What follows the start is some of the best riding in eastern Canada. The road climbs and drops over headlands with broad, well-sighted curves, plunges into forest and then bursts out on cliffs above the Atlantic, and the views over the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the ridges north of Pleasant Bay are the highlight. Traffic is heavy in July and August, with motorhomes crawling up the steep sections, and the best time is September, when the maples blaze red against the dark spruce and the roads are quieter. Moose wander across the highway at dawn and dusk, and a collision with one is a serious matter, so slow down in the forested sections.
Baddeck has fuel and supermarkets, but stations are far apart on the northern part of the loop, so fill up before you leave and again at Cheticamp. Try the lobster rolls, a chowder or a plate of oatcakes with butter, and book accommodation in summer, since the trail fills up. Weather changes fast on the headlands, with fog and wind coming off the sea, so pack a warm layer and waterproofs.
- Margaree Harbour
scenic
The Margaree is a river that salmon fishermen talk about in low voices. It rises in the highlands of Cape Breton and flows through a green valley before reaching the sea at Margaree Harbour, a small fishing community on the west coast of the island, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The valley was settled by Scottish and Acadian families, and the mix of Gaelic and French names shows in the villages along the way.
The Cabot Trail is the reason riders come here, and the stretch from Baddeck through the Margaree valley to the coast is the gentle opening of the loop. The road follows the river through farms and woodland, with long curves, a smooth surface and quiet traffic, and then meets the sea at the harbour, where the wind comes off the water with salt on it. Beyond it the road climbs north toward Cheticamp and the high plateau of the national park, where the real drama starts.
There is not much to the harbour itself: a few houses, a wharf, boats, a beach. Fiddle music runs deep in this part of Cape Breton, and you may find a ceilidh in a hall or a pub in the evening if you are there at the right time. Lobster boats work the waters in season, and you can often find a lobster supper or a bowl of chowder, ideal after a day of riding.
There are no big towns nearby, so plan for fuel in Baddeck, Cheticamp or Inverness, and carry what you need. The weather can change fast, with sea fog and cold wind even in summer. The best time is late June to early October, and the autumn colours in the highlands, in the first half of October, draw crowds from all over. Wear layers, and take your time.
- Pleasant Bay
scenic
Pleasant Bay sits at the foot of a steep, forested slope on the western edge of Cape Breton Island, where the Cabot Trail climbs and dips along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A small fishing village, it has a harbour, a few houses scattered along the shore and a view of the open water that is often full of whales. Pilot whales come close to the coast in summer, and boat trips from the harbour take visitors out to see them, with minke and sometimes fin whales as well.
The roots of the community are Acadian and Scottish. Gaelic was spoken here until recently, and the music of the island, fiddle tunes and step dancing, is a living tradition, with ceilidhs and kitchen parties held in summer. To the south, you reach the Acadian villages around Cheticamp, where French is the first language, and the hooked rug tradition is a local craft. The mix of cultures on such a small piece of coast is one of the pleasures of the place, and you hear it in the names on the mailboxes.
The riding is the star. The Cabot Trail is one of the best-known motorcycle roads in Canada, a loop of about three hundred kilometres around the Cape Breton Highlands, with the Atlantic on one side and the mountains on the other. North of Pleasant Bay the road climbs over MacKenzie Mountain, with long, open bends, steep grades and sudden views of the sea, and then drops back down to the coast. South, French Mountain climbs to a plateau of stunted forest and bog. The surface is generally good, though frost heaves are common, and fog can roll in without warning. In October, the autumn colours are among the best in eastern Canada, but traffic is heavy, and many businesses close by mid-month.
Fuel is limited here, so fill up in Cheticamp or Ingonish before the mountains, and carry a spare if you plan to go off the main road. A few small restaurants and cafes serve fresh seafood, and chowder is a good bet. The national park charges a fee, which is collected at the entrances, and a pass is required.
- Cape North
finish
Cape North is the place where the Cabot Trail turns and heads for the sea. The village is little more than a crossroads and a scatter of houses, in a valley at the northern end of Cape Breton Island, in Nova Scotia, but it is the gateway to the island's remote northern tip. A road runs north from here to Bay St. Lawrence, a fishing village, and on to Meat Cove, the northernmost settlement in the province, where the road ends at a cliff above the gulf. It is generally believed that John Cabot, the Italian navigator sailing for England, made a landfall somewhere near here in 1497, though historians still argue about exactly where, and the trail is named in his honour.
The trail is a loop of about three hundred kilometres around the Cape Breton Highlands, and its reputation among riders is well earned. Here on the northern side the road runs between the wooded plateau and the sea, with the highlands rising to the west and the ocean opening to the east. From Cape North it climbs to the top of North Mountain, one of the steepest and highest sections, then drops in a series of tight hairpins to the coast at Pleasant Bay. The gradients are steep, up to thirteen per cent, and the descent is a test of brakes and nerve. The surface is variable, with patches and frost heaves, and the weather can switch in minutes from sun to fog.
Much of the area is protected in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, and a park pass is required. Moose are numerous and wander onto the road, particularly at dawn and dusk, and bears and bald eagles live in the woods. Whales can be seen offshore in summer, with pilot whales often visible from the headlands. The island has a strong Scottish heritage, brought by Gaelic-speaking settlers in the nineteenth century, and fiddle music is played in halls and pubs across the island, a living tradition, with a Gaelic college at St. Ann's.
Fuel is the main practical point. Services on the northern part of the trail are thin, so fill up at Ingonish or Pleasant Bay or before leaving the main road, and do not count on being able to buy petrol late in the day. The best months are July to early October, with the autumn colours at their peak in early October. Early mornings are often foggy and cool. Seafood is the thing to eat, and a plate of fresh haddock, crab or lobster in a village cafe is the best way to end the ride.