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 The Cape Breton Highlands (french: Plateau du Cap-Breton, gd, Àrd-thalamh Cheap Bhreatainn), commonly called the Highlands, refer to a highland or mountainous plateau across the northern part of Cape Breton Island in the Canadian province of N ...

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 syste ...

. 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 Nor ...

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 The Margaree River (''Abhainn Mhargaraidh'') is a river on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. The northeast branch of the river derives from the watershed of the Cape Breton Highlands, while the Southwest Margaree flows northeast from Lake Ainslie. ...

valley before passing along

Bras d'Or Lake Bras d'Or Lake ( 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, making the bracki ...

. The route is within the county municipalities of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

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. Histor ...

. 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, repre ...

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 municipali ...

, the location of the

Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site is a property in Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, overlooking the Bras d'Or Lakes. The site is a unit of Parks Canada, the national park system, and includes the Alexander Graham Bell Nat ...

. * 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 desc ...

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 Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cas ...

, 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 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
{{coord, 46, 29, 13, N, 60, 44, 46, W, name=Cabot Trail, region:CA-NS_source:dewiki, display=title Nova Scotia provincial highways Roads in Inverness County, Nova Scotia Roads in Victoria County, Nova Scotia Scenic travelways in Nova Scotia Tourist attractions in Inverness County, Nova Scotia Tourist attractions in Victoria County, Nova Scotia __NOTOC__

See also

Gallery

References

External links