Cape Breton Highlands 2020: Not Iceland, but Still Amazing

 Earlier in the year, before Covid really got bad, I had spotted a really nice price for a flight to Iceland. So doing the most sensible action; I grabbed that price while I could and started planning for an Iceland trip in early September 2020. My mom had around the same time also booked a trip to Ireland the same week in September. As many will imagine with all that has been happening in 2020, our plans obviously did not come to pass. So we decided to do a mother/daughter trip to the next best place available to us: the Cape Breton Highlands…

Day 1: Sept 09

With a close to six hour drive ahead of us, we left with an early morning start. Meat Cove (one of the most Northern communities in Nova Scotia) being our destination. The drive was not too bad, of course that may be partly because I was not the one doing the driving. It was nice to drive down past my old school: St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. I had not been down that way since I graduated and went to the infamous StFX X-ring ceremony (I swear it is not a cult). 

Driving over the Canso Causeway (the land bridge connecting the main body of NS to Cape Breton Island) we spotted two or three fins in the water! Maybe they were small whales? I am not sure, but regardless it was exciting to see some wildlife along the drive. 

Our first stop along the way was at The Farmer’s Daughter in Whycocomagh. We got there around 1130 and decided to have some lunch. We both ordered sandwiches; mine was chicken on multigrain bread. As a result of covid, they took our name and model of vehicle. They then delivered our sandwiches outside to us. A nice way of doing things to not congest the space inside. We also took this time to stock up on a few baked goods such as; cinnamon buns and tea biscuits. 

By 1315 we made it to the Gypsum Mines in Cheticamp. This a very short trail that leads up to a very beautiful view of an old abandoned mine. We had discovered this little spot during our last venture to Cape Breton in 2018, but had already passed it by on the cabot trail and thus missed our chance. This time around we made sure to not miss it! At only 2.6 kilometres it was a very easy walk and well groomed due to use of ATV’s. Once you reached the small lake, to get to the top with the best view point you had to use a rope to climb to the top. Quite a steep incline but it was fun to do. Made me feel like Indiana Jones. Of course with Covid going around the last thing anyone wants to do is touch a rope that a lot of other people are touching. We just made sure to sanitize well once returning to the car and wiped down our phones.  All in all, it was well worth the visit for the view and only took us around 40 minutes.

Our last stop in Cheticamp was to a bakery we had discovered back during our very first Cabot trail adventure back in 2016: Aucoin Bakery or La Boulangerie Aucoin (as Cheticamp is an Acadien community). We got ourselves some cookies and then wished we had bought more. I had forgotten how delicious their cookies were. Out of all the bakeries I have been to, I think I can safely say they make some of the best chocolate chip cookies!

Then next stop was the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. This National Park is kind of an odd one to explain. The park covers a good portion of the northern part of Cape Breton and in order to get to certain towns or villages you are required to drive through it. It is not like other parks where it is its own separate entity. The Cabot Trail begins outside the park and continues through it while at times exiting the park and reentering. A map would be the best way to show what I mean. The fee for us was $7.90 each. They were almost going to offer me a youth price (which I believe is free) but my mom is too honest and said we were two adults. Nice to know at 25 years old I still look young enough to be considered a youth! 

At 1520 we noticed a small souvenir shop called T-R souvenirs. Everytime I go away I buy one of my cousins a magnet, since I had been planning on buying him an Iceland one, thought it would be funny to buy a Cabot Trail one. 

The drive along the Cabot Trail is always breathtaking. You feel like you are in another country. The Mountains and hills around us make you feel so small. The drive this day was a typical Nova Scotian drive; parts of the drive were extremely foggy and the next turn would be a bright and clear sunny day! Lucky for us our destination was a clear and sunny section. 

Shortly afterwards we finally arrived at the Meat Cove Campground. It had some very beautiful views of the coast and of Meatcove Mountain itself. A worker there was kind enough to point out the two nearby trails. As we still had some hours of daylight left we decided (after parking by our cabin) to do the shorter hike just up the road: Meat Cove Overlook Trail. This one is just a short 1.1 kilometer hike up to a very nice view of the campground and over Meat Cove in general. A little incline in places to reach the top but overall not overly challenging. We made it up and back in 40 minutes. 

After our hike we walked down to the very close by Meat Cove Beach (we overlooked it from the campground) to relax for a little bit. The beach contained some unique geology and rock faces. Sitting along the rocks we even found a few small pieces of sea glass! I had never seen sea glass in NS before but apparently some beaches have a lot. 

Back at the cabin we made some supper and enjoyed some reading, and roasted some marshmallows over the fire before heading to bed. The campfire was so relaxing. The night was a bit chilly but not uncomfortable and the sound of the waves against the beach was so soothing. The cabin was quite nice. It had a Double bed and a single bed and a table with two chairs. 

Day 2: Sept 10

Today was our hiking day. We ate an early breakfast and headed up the road to the Meat Cove Mountain trailhead. Without the worker explaining where it was it could potentially be easy to miss. The sign Just says: “Mountain Trail”. The trail is directly to the left and easily missable, especially if you park in the parking lot. So this trail according to “Alltrails” is labeled as “moderate”. It may be moderate for the small length of 3.5 kilometers but it certainly was not easy. It was pretty much all uphill the entire time and fairly steep at that (I mean, it is a mountain, what did I expect). Despite having to catch our breath a few times, the trail was quite nice. The Acadien forest was visually pleasing to look at on the way up with the white bark and lush green tops. There were a few spots with rope railings if you needed help going on the steeper inclines. On the way up we spotted a few droppings that may have been moose and others that looked maybe like bear. We were not sure. Being slightly scared of encountering a bear with just the two of us on the trail we decided to play some music. I do not usually like to ruin the peaceful nature sounds, but that is better than being attacked! Black bears are not usually aggressive, we just had no intentions of testing that firsthand. So I played my Big Bang playlist on Spotify up the mountain.

The view at the top was beautiful. Very remnant of another Highland trail: Franey with the overlooking views of the highlands. All you could see was the green tops of the mountains and on the other side you looked out onto the ocean. The way back down was slightly easier (cardiovascular wise) but put a bit more strain on the quads. A very good workout! Made up for the fact I missed a couple of my T-25 workouts. The rope was more useful going down. In total it took us just over an hour. 

The next stop on our list was the Kauzmann hiking trail. I had seen some amazing photos online and was very excited to do this one. After driving for close to 20 minutes we came to a turnoff onto a dirt road. A few minutes up the dirt road we came across a washed out section that looked absolutely terrible. Even driving a SUV we were not sure attempting it would be a good idea, plus we had no idea what the road would look like further up. At this point we still had 5.5 kilometers until the trailhead. We left very disappointed in search of another trail.

I knew Surgarloaf was nearby and would be nice, but I did not think it would be as great as Kauzmann. After google maps took us to someone's driveway while looking for Sugarloaf, Alltrails had some reviews that explained where to find the trailhead (it is literally only marked by a few blue ribbons on the side of the road). We parked a little down the street and sat for a moment debating what to do. My mom did not seem keen on walking an extra 11 kilometers at Kauzmann for a 3.7 kilometer trail. I said that Sugarloaf would be nice, albeit not as nice as Kauzmann. After much consideration we decided to take on the extra 11 kilometer walk and drove back to Kauzmann. It was a lot of uphill, but the road was indeed not very good even further up. I honestly do not think the road is that great even on a good day. I think we made the right decision in not driving my mom’s fairly new SUV over the rough terrain. It was not all bad. At some points we did have some nice views of the coast and of a little town. We were mostly in the shade so that helped. We passed a dead snake on the road which was a bit sad. I played some more Big Bang to help pass the time and we munched on some carrots on the walk to the trailhead. After about an hour we noticed two cars and figured we had made it. How those cars traversed the washed out areas, I have no idea. If I had brought my 2008 Honda Civic, I certainly would not be taking it up that road! Just as the reviews said, the trail itself was quite easy and mostly flat (we did all the incline up the road). The paths were narrow and rooty while we passed through the forest trees. When we finally reached the end I was so relieved. The view was a hundred percent worth the extra walk. On the left there were thousands upon thousands of trees along other large hills, and on the right was the ocean. The further from the forest you got, the more narrow it became. A slip on either side would send you tumbling to almost certain death. My mom stopped halfway (fear of heights). I walked back to join my mom for our bagels with nutella as we sat down to enjoy the moment and eat. Luckily it was a beautiful clear day, so the extra walk was not for nothing. Then we had to gather our strength for the return journey. Other than the fact that the road was now in the sun, the walk back was easier as it had more downhill sections. We made it back to our vehicle in about three hours and seven minutes and approximately 14 kilometers. 

We stopped at the Co-Op on the way back to our campground, grabbed some Pepsi’s to prepare for a relaxing evening. 

Our timing for the trails turned out to be perfect as it had started to cloud over and later began to rain. Sitting at our cabin we read our books, ate some more noodles and cookies and enjoyed listening to the ocean waves again. Off in the distance on the side of one of the nearby hills, I spotted a bird with a white head. After looking closer I realized it was an eagle! I unfortunately did not have a camera capable of zooming in enough to take a photo but seeing it was still really cool to see.

Day 3: Sept 11

It looked like it had rained overnight and was still sprinkling on and off in the morning. Looking out from our cabin window we could see that the waves at the beach were a lot louder and larger than the previous day. The hike we had wanted to do today: Tenerife Mountain, mentions that after rain is not a good time to do the climb.  We decided to pass it by this time around and will plan to return another year. 

After packing up and eating a quick breakfast we were on the road by 0900 and on our way to Cabot Shores. Since we were not doing a hike today we decided to make a few stops along the way.

First up was Tartan’s and Treasure’s, which was a store we knew we wanted to go to. We have a lot of Scottish ancestry in our family so it is always neat to see the different tartan patterns. As I already had my family scarf, so I elected to purchase a Nova Scotia tartan scarf. The scarves are all really nice material, made in Scotland out of 100% lambswool. We also bought a family scarf for my brother and a Nova Scotia tie for my dad (we bought our family tie on our last visit to Cape Breton). The store also had coasters, throw blankets, mounted crests, key chains, mugs, and many other items.

We then decided to turn off the Cabot Trail and visit Neil’s Harbour. We had never ventured into this little town before and thought it would be interesting to explore. Neil’s Harbour is a cute little fishing village. The houses are colourful and remind me of pictures of Newfoundland towns. It was too early for lunch so we went up to the lighthouse and looked at the coastal views. I found a feather on the ground that had droplets of water on it that I thought looked really cool. The weather was still a bit misty and we could see some birds resting on the rocks, not too many flying today. 

Jigging Cove trail was our next stop that turned out to be very short. My mom spotted all of the signs warning of bears, coyotes, and moose, and started to get quite frightened. I tried to explain that these warnings are applicable to all trails in Nova Scotia and even the few trails we did the last few days, it is just that now that we are in a National park, the signage is much more clear and present. I told her we could at least walk up to the lake (which looked close by) and walk back. We made it about 15 meters and had to turn back.

Black Brook Beach was just up the road a little bit. We turned off and watched the stormy waves at the beach for a few minutes. After a quick rest stop, we were back on the road.

Bringing back memories from our first Cabot Trail trip which included my dad and brother, we stopped at Green Cove. I remember from that first year that the short trail was packed with a lot of people. This trip however only included my mom and myself. It was kind of neat to have the little cove to ourselves. Makes it much easier for photos and a lot more peaceful. The geology at this cove was quite unique. The rocks were a more reddish colour with lines running through them of a white colour, almost like veins in a human.

Shortly after, we entered the area of Ingonish. At this time we were hungry and looking for a place to stop at for lunch. Before that however we stopped at a little shop called the Groovy Goat that sold a lot of soaps and other goat milk products. My mom bought a really nice smelling cinnamon bar. 

We decided to eat at the Main Street Restaurant and Bakery. The inside had a lot of really nice photos from all around the Cabot Trail. We spotted one of the lighthouses in Neil’s Harbour that we had just visited. The photo looked almost like the same angle that I had taken (the wall photo obviously looked much better than my phone photo). I decided to have the crispy chicken sandwich with a whiskey maple glaze. I was going to opt out of the glaze but am glad I did not. It was quite tasty. It was not an overpowering taste which I liked. 

So, because we left the Highland Park to go to the restaurant, in order to go to Ingonish beach, we had to pay the entrance fee again. This was annoying, but nothing we could do about it, unless we opted to not see the beach. So we paid the fee and in we went. I have to admit it was a beautiful beach. I am not sure if I would say it is nicer than the ones in the South Shore of Nova Scotia but it comes close. Though there is not much in terms of sand bar. It certainly is not a big beach and looks like it could become easily crowded on a busy summer day. Again, as today had been a bit rainy, the beach was relatively empty. Which was nice for photos. The waves were bigger than I expect they normally were and with the turquoise colour of the water and the white sand of the beach it made for a very picturesque beach walk. Even the rainy sky added to the moment. Since it was not a large beach, it did not take long to walk the entire length.

Before heading to our vehicle however we noticed a sign for a short trial around the freshwater lake adjacent to the beach. We were not in any rush so thought, why not. It was just an easy little trail but was nice to do, seeing that we could not do our planned hike. The lake views in the later half of the walk were pleasant. We saw some ducks and a loon. Very similar feeling to the lake trails around Sackville. 

On the way again to Cabot Shores we noticed a sign that mentioned “chocolate” so of course we had to stop. The store turned out to be in what used to be a church. It was also an art gallery (Colouratura Gallery) along with the chocolates. We were greeted by a very welcoming shopkeeper who explained that they had been there for 10 years, it used to be only an art gallery but her and her sister had started a chocolate business. The photos inside were absolutely beautiful. There was one of a fox I really loved. My mom really liked one with four cardinals sitting on a branch. She was sad that she did not want to pay the amount for it. I bought it as an Chirtmas present. The chocolate store itself was called Cabotto chocolates. It was explained that they used premium Belgian chocolate and that the truffles were hand painted. We left the store with the milk chocolate ocean treasure, milk chocolate bar, and a box of the truffles as a present for my grandmother's upcoming birthday. 

At just after 1500 we had arrived at our final destination: Cabot Shores. This stop for the night was a later addition. We wanted to try out a dome, albeit not the fancy “glamping” domes that so many people have been staying in. The dome turned out to be a lot smaller than anticipated. Just a very small yellow coloured dome just barely tall enough for myself to stand up in and had a “troll passage” for us to duck to get inside. It was fine enough for what we needed it for. I just wish they would have kept the windows clean. At night we could not look out the windows. It was our first clear night so it would have been nice to fall asleep looking at the stars. The other thing that was a bit annoying was that it shared a staircase with another dome so we therefore were very close to another person. Other than that it was fine. While we had sat down in our chairs to read a bit, a few squirrels were running around. They took some of our tea biscuits and ran over some of our things. It was quite cute watching them nibble on the biscuit. 

The following day we woke up and drove home. Along the drive home we spotted a fox and two eagles. One of the eagles was on the side of the road! If it had not been a highway we may have stopped to try and take a photo. I had never seen an eagle on the ground before.

Overall we had a great time. We did a few great hikes with amazing views, made a lot of stops at places we had never been, and saw quite a bit of wildlife (thankfully no predatory wildlife). While Iceland would have been incredible I am glad I was able to spend these few days with my mom. Iceland can happen another year!