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Grey_Mountain's avatar
Grey_Mountain
Explorer
Jul 15, 2013

Driving the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia

We w8ill be visiting the Canadian Maritimes later this year, including Nova Scotia. What are the driving conditions in a toad for the Cabot Trail? I am considering parking the MH somewhere and taking the toad for this trip. Information about the trail state:

"...the Cabot Trail skirts the edges of the (Camp Breton National) park, at times clinging to steep oceanside cliffs."

My wife has a deathly fear of heights, and "steep oceanside cliffs" may make a the Cabot Trail an impossibility." Would it be less formidable to travel the Trail clock-wise, putting my wife on the inside? I would love to see this area, but I am also very concerned and must consider my wife's very real fears.

Thank you - looking forward to seeing this part of Canada again.

GM
  • Little_Kopit's avatar
    Little_Kopit
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2013
    A) Cape Breton Highlands National Park is in the northern section of the Appalachian Mountains.

    &

    it's not as steep as
    - Mt. Washington (which I have hiked, thank you)
    - Driving mountain cove territory in North Carolina or
    Tennessee

    B) None of it is the rocky mountains either country.

    Granted it has it's own beauty.

    But I say Gros Morne National Park is a much more beautiful and enriching experience.

    :C
  • Dayle1's avatar
    Dayle1
    Explorer II
    Jul 15, 2013
    I feel clockwise is better anyway, even w/o other concerns. West side and North end are more scenic, so take your time there. East is more populated and not so scenic, and you can then decide how much additional time to spend site seeing along that part of the drive.
  • vermilye's avatar
    vermilye
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2013
    I didn't find any of it "nervous" making, while driving it a couple of weeks ago, although many of both NB and NS roads are the"lumpiest" I've driven. I think the talk about scary roads comes from earlier times. I drove the trail in 1999 and there were far fewer guard rails as well as narrower sections.
  • CloudDriver's avatar
    CloudDriver
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2013
    X3 on driving in a clockwise direction, which puts you in the lane away from the oceanside cliffs. The only portions of the Cabot Trail with steep grades are in Cape Breton Highlands National Park and on Cape Smokey south of Ingonish.

    You will be fine in the toad.
  • phemens's avatar
    phemens
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2013
    Did the same with a Suburban pulling a 27' trailer. We did it in extreme fog conditions, low & slow, never a problem. We re-drove the circuit later that same trip in just the 'Burb, and maybe it was just as well that we did the climbs in Fog, my wife was freaking out a bit in full visibility. It was a little more stressful on the brakes coming back down, but never a big worry.
  • DougE's avatar
    DougE
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2013
    I circumnavigated Nova Scotia with a Suburban pulling a 20' trailer. Nothing impressed me as being difficult to drive. Obviously going clockwise is best for the wife. I did that going up Hwy 1 in California too.
  • NCWriter's avatar
    NCWriter
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2013
    We drove the trail clockwise last year in our van, and the only place I felt even slightly uneasy was Cape Smokey on the Ingonish side going down a couple of steep grades with curves. But it didn't last long, and I'm not a fan of descending steep hills either.

    At lot of people base themselves at the nice town of Baddeck, explore by toad, and visit the AG Bell museum in Baddeck.

    I actually enjoyed the west side and top of the trail's scenery the most. We stayed overnight up near the top of the trail at the Hideaway CG and had a terrific $25 whale watching expedition from Oshan.

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