Planning Part 15 - Days Seventeen & Eighteen The Cabot Trail

On day seventeen, we'll leave from Antigonish to complete a two day tour of the Cabot Trail. The Cabot Trail comprises a 300km loop along the northern tip of Cape Breton Island. Despite its short distance, there is a lot to see along the way, including Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Days 17 & 18

We'll take the counter-clockwise route to maximize our views. It also means we'll start the trek by visiting Bras D'Or Lake and the village of Baddeck. Some of the sites here include the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site and Uisge Ban Falls.

From there we move up to St. Ann's Bay and Ingonish. This is also our gateway to the National Park, which contains numerous beaches, scenic viewpoints and hikes of varying sizes. There are a number of smaller hikes that contain interpretive information or take you to a significant viewpoint that we are interested in completing:

• Middle Head - headland cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Smokey and Ingonish Island
• Broad Cove Mountain - dense forest of softwood to the top of Broad Cove Mountain for exceptional views of the rocky Atlantic coast
• Green Cove - rocky granite headland jutting out into the sea
• Lone Sheiling - largest old growth hardwood forests in the Maritimes with a replica of a Scottish crofter's hut at the beginning of the trail
• Bog -boardwalk through a highland plateau bog
• Le vieux chemin du Cap-Rouge - the remains of an old school, foundations of the former residents' houses, and the old wharf at La Bloc

One trail in particular stood out - Skyline Trail. Aside from being the park's most iconic hike, it boasts spectacular westward views, making it ideal for a sunset hike. Fortunately, we'll be spending the night only a few minutes from the trail in Pleasant Bay, so our timing should line up.

The area is also known for Whale watching and there are a number of companies offering short excursions. There is plenty to see and do without a tour, but if we do have the chance to do one, I do think the boys will love it.

On day two, we'll head south through the park to Cheticamp, and then to Margaree. Maragree contains the Margaree Salmon Museum, which chronicles Nova Scotia's fishing history. After spending two days on the Cabot Trail, we'll drive to Halifax and continue our Nova Scotia adventure there.