Cabot Trail

[Jones714]

We will be driving from Baddeck to Cheticamp and staying there for a bit. We are then considering driving clockwise around the entire Cabot Trail. We travel in a 40ft coach towing. Ive dons some difficult roads especially in northern California. Any thoughts about this stretch, Ive seen mixed reviews.

[NCWriter]

I agree with the toad (although I saw class As up at the top where we spent the night at Dingwall.) Buses routinely drive it but the question is really whether you think you will enjoy it. We would certainly do it again but we have a much smaller RV.

Going up clockwise, we were almost pushed off the road by a very large delivery truck barreling toward us at high speed and crossing into our lane. There's no shortcut, so commercial vehicles are on the same road as sightseers.

Coming back down, steep descents and hairpin turns offered beautiful scenery, but required concentration.

[CloudDriver]

X3 on take the toad.

It has been 7 years, but I recall some pretty good climbs and descents, some with curves, in the National park portion of the Cabot Trail. The most memorable was going down Mt. Smokey south of Ingonish. IIRC, the sign said 300 meter descent in next 1.6km (1,000 ft in one mile, or about 20% grade). First gear with moderate braking was required and there was a sharp left turn at the bottom with a truck overrun.

[dcason]

Take the toad...much more enjoyable that way.

[Roadpilot]

It's been several years since we've been there but I don't recall anything alarming about the road around the park. But if it were me I would take the toad alone around it. There are lots of places to stop and things to do on the way around which you won't be able to do in the MH towing. You can easily do the loop in a day. Enjoy it, it's a beautiful trip.