Cabot Trail Highlands Loop · part 1

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Baddeck

   Baddeck is a small town on the shore of the Bras d'Or Lake, in the middle of Cape Breton Island, and it has a surprising place in the history of flight. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, fell in love with the area on a visit in the 1880s and built a summer estate on the headland across the water, which he called Beinn Bhreagh, Gaelic for beautiful mountain. He spent many summers there, and it is where his experiments in kites, hydrofoils and aircraft took place. In February 1909 the Silver Dart, designed by his young engineers, took off from the frozen surface of the lake near Baddeck and flew in the first powered flight in the British Empire.

   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 Chéticamp.

2. 2. Chéticamp

   Chéticamp is the heart of Acadian Cape Breton, a long, spread-out fishing village on the west coast where French is still the language of the kitchen and the church. The village sits at the foot of the Highlands, with the Gulf of St Lawrence in front and the steep, wooded mountains behind, and its tall steepled church of Saint-Pierre dominates the skyline. Acadian flags, the French tricolour with a gold star, fly from porches and lamp posts, and the houses are painted in bold colours, as if to defy the grey weather.

   Read the complete Chéticamp write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Chéticamp is the fuel stop for this leg. Next is French Mountain, climbing 445 m.

3. 3. French Mountain

   French Mountain is the first great climb on the Cabot Trail as you come up from Chéticamp on the west coast of Cape Breton Island, and it rises to about 455 metres on the plateau of the Cape Breton Highlands. The road climbs steeply in a series of long, powerful bends, with the Gulf of St Lawrence dropping away behind you, and then flattens onto an open, windswept barren of stunted spruce, bogs and low scrub. On a clear day, the view back toward the sea is superb, and on a foggy one you can barely see the verge.

   Read the complete French Mountain write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   455 m, and the road stops climbing. The road climbs 445 m on the way up to it, steadily. Reckon on about 3 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Pleasant Bay, mostly downhill.

4. 4. 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

   Pleasant Bay closes the day. You lose 435 m on the way down to it, steadily.