2023 Summer Road Trip – Day 21 – The World-Famous Cabot Trail

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

After resupplying a few items because we didn’t know what would be available, we left Sydney, NS and headed for the world-famous Cabot Trail. The Cabot Trail is what draws many of the visitors to Nova Scotia. We had heard about it and read about it but still didn’t really know what to expect. It was about an hour’s drive from Sidney when we joined the trail and began our loop. Thankfully it was another beautiful day. We had thought the Cabot would be similar to the Natchez Trace or maybe the Blue Ridge Parkway. To our surprise the first part was pretty much just a normal road. There was a lot of beauty in the woods, and glimpses of rivers and ocean but there were also businesses and commercial vehicles. Our first stop was at the Clucking Hen, a local bakery and café. We purchased a cinnamon roll (of course) and blueberry scone and sat outside at a picnic table enjoying the beautiful and peaceful view of the ocean. With some reluctance we pulled ourselves back to the Trail and headed on toward the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There were many curves in the road (like the Blue Ridge) and around each one was another spectacular view. It just seemed to get better and better. We stopped at many of the pull offs and took a lot of pictures. We entered the national park and did one short hike – with many steps up and back down. It was a very hot day – BB was reading 90 degrees when we began the hike. Average temperatures for today on Cape Breton – high of 71 degrees and low of 56 degrees. That’s what we were expecting. Forecast says it will be back to normal levels by Sunday. We sure hope they are correct. Inside the National Park, the Cabot did seem more like we expected. However, the road weaves in and out of the park multiple times. At one of the pull outs in the park, we walked out on some gorgeous rocks and while we were enjoying the ocean views we began to see seals. So much fun. Tonight, we are in a campground just off the Cabot. We have already met some other van owners and made new friends. It was another wonderful day with many beautiful sights. Feeling very blessed to be here.