CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cabot Trail: Baddeck to Pleasant Bay
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 137 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 11
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Baddeck
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.
Read the complete Baddeck write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Baddeck is where the day begins. Next is Margaree Harbour.
2. Margaree Harbour
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.
Read the complete Margaree Harbour write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Margaree Harbour comes up about 64 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pleasant Bay.
3. Pleasant Bay
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.
Read the complete Pleasant Bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 137 km.
Leg by leg
Baddeck to Margaree Harbour
Baddeck → Margaree Harbour is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Margaree Harbour to Pleasant Bay
Margaree Harbour → Pleasant Bay is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Cabot Trail Highlands Loop · part 1 · 147 km
- Cabot Trail: Baddeck to Cape North · 168 km
- Cabot Trail (298 km) · 296 km