The Cabot Trail is a scenic highway on

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. It is a loop around the northern tip of the island, passing along and through the Cape Breton Highlands and the

Cape Breton Highlands National Park Cape Breton Highlands National Park is a Canadian national park on northern Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. The park was the first national park in the Atlantic provinces of Canada and covers an area of . It is one of 42 in Canada's system ...

. It is named after the explorer

John Cabot John Cabot ( it, Giovanni Caboto ; 1450 – 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest-known European exploration of coastal North ...

who landed in Atlantic Canada in 1497, although modern historians agree his landfall likely took place in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and not Cape Breton Island. Premier

Angus L. MacDonald Angus Lewis Macdonald (August 10, 1890 – April 13, 1954), popularly known as 'Angus L.', was a Canadian lawyer, law professor and politician from Nova Scotia. He served as the Liberal premier of Nova Scotia from 1933 to 1940, when he became ...

wanted to re-brand Nova Scotia for tourism purposes as primarily Scottish and, as part of this effort, created both the names Cape Breton Highlands and Cabot Trail.Ian MacKay and Robin Bates. ''In the Province of History''. Montreal: McGill-Queen's Press. 2010. Construction of the initial route was completed in 1932. The western and eastern sections follow the rugged coastline, with views of the ocean. The southwestern section passes through the Margaree River valley before passing along

Bras d'Or Lake Bras d'Or Lake (Mi'kmaq language, Mi'kmawi'simk: Pitupaq) is an irregular estuary in the centre of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a connection to the open sea, and is tidal. It also has inflows of fresh water from rivers, ma ...

. The route is within the county municipalities of Victoria and

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

. The Cabot Trail includes all of Trunk 30, as well as the portion of

Nova Scotia Highway 105 Highway 105 in Nova Scotia represents the Cape Breton Island leg of the Trans-Canada Highway. It runs from the Port Hastings Rotary just east of the Canso Causeway in Port Hastings to the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal in North Sydney, representi ...

between exits 7 and 11. Following are some stops along the route, travelling clockwise from the south: *

Baddeck Baddeck () is a village in northeastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated in the centre of Cape Breton, approximately 6 km east of where the Baddeck River empties into Bras d'Or Lake. Local governance is provided by the rural municipality ...

, the location of the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. * Chéticamp, an

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

fishing village. * Pleasant Bay, site of a bay with whale watching possibilities. * Cape North, a headland at the northernmost point of the Cabot Trail. * Dingwall, a small fishing village. *

Ingonish Ingonish is a popular tourist destination in Victoria County, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. The regional economy is tied to fishing and tourism. Tourist facilities include Cape Breton Highlands National Park, the Keltic Lodge, a dow ...

, site of the

Keltic Lodge Keltic Lodge is a premier resort hotel in the village of Ingonish, Nova Scotia in Canada, on the northeastern coast of Cape Breton Island. Facilities The Keltic Lodge is owned by Parks Canada and operated by GolfNorth, and has guest rooms and s ...

resort and Cape Smokey Provincial Park. * St. Anns, home of the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts.

Gallery

File:CabotTrail in 2010.JPG, Sunrise Valley, Cape North File:cabot trail 2009k.JPG, The Cabot Trail viewed from the Skyline Trail Image:Cabot trail coast.jpg, Pleasant Bay

References

External links

Cabot Trail official website

Hike the Highlands Festival

Cape Breton Highlands National Park
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See also

Gallery

References

External links