Driving the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia

[Grey_Mountain]

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

[trigley]

OK, we live in Alberta and travel through the mountains fairly often so we are somewhat imune to heights. When I read your post and spoke to my wife (who can get nervous in a parking lot) neither of us could recall anything threatening about this drive. I looked at my pictures and there is one of a long stretch on a hillside but not what I would call cliffside.
We were in a rental car so hills would not have been an issue. We thoroughly enjoyed Cape Breton including the Cabot Trail. We even took a side trip from the trail to Meat Cove on the Northern tip of the Island. The only apprehension I recall was stepping around a moose on a hiking trail.
Does your wife drive? Sometimes it is easier being a driver than a passenger. The most extreme example I ever saw of this was on a commercial flight (737 type plane). We were landing in Hay River NWT which involves circling over Great Slave Lake and touchdown right on the shoreline.
The fellow beside me was in obvious discomfort holding on and extremely nervous. Talking to him later I found out he was a bush pilot. He said I have no problem when I am at the controls. I do as a passenger.

[CloudDriver]

We have stayed at two campgrounds in Baddeck. Baddeck Cabot Trail had lots of trees if you want shade. Bras d'Or Lakes had no shade but was closer to the town of Baddeck.

The Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck was much more than we had expected.

As far as driving the Cabot Trail, I don't recall anything at all steep until we got to Cape Breton Highlands National Park a few miles north of Cheticamp. On the other side, the climb and descent over Mt. Smokey between Wreck Cove and Ingonish Beach was the first steep section.

Please remember that the highest point on Cape Breton Island is only about 1,750 feet. Not the Rockies at all. The grades are short, not miles after miles. No comparison with Pikes Peak.

Don't miss Fortress Louisborg while in the area!

[Little_Kopit]

& all this white knuckle commentary from one who has made many summer trips to British Columbia.

If you didn't step over into the rocky mountains during those trips, something is wrong with my memory, or there has been some change of user name.

:C

[NCWriter]

I completely sympathize with your wife's feelings and don't make light of them. Bear in mind she won't be trapped. There are lots of pull offs where you can turn around if the goin gets rough.

You could drive the toad in either direction from Baddeck and just turn around well before you reach Cape Smokey.

It would be a long day to enjoy the west and north areas and retracing your steps back, but the road is very pretty north of Cheticamp, more like gentle rises by the coast than scary cliffs, and there are nice fishing villages up near Cape North.

On the east side, I'd recommend staying on Hwy 105 from Baddeck to the Englishtown ferry (rather than the inland road which is very bumpy and rough.) Then continue north on the Trail if it seems comfortable. There are more hotels, artisans and craft shops around this area.

Another option is to book a full day bus tour from Baddeck and you take the window seat. Sometimes it's more relaxing to the nervous passenger realizing that the professional driver makes this run every single day.

[AndreC]

Last July, we took two 39 ft Motorhomes, with toads, counter clockwise on the Cabot Trail. In my opinion, there were NO white knuckel sections.
Stayed a couple nights in Baddeck, drove half way around to Dingwall and spent a couple night at the Hideaway Campground, then drove down the other side.
PM me and I will forward a few pictures, one that my wife took of the Cabot Trail out the front window of the motorhome.

[Grey_Mountain]

We have a 39' Class A motorhome, so I won't be attempting any part of the Cabot Trail in it. I am considering finding an RV site in or near Baddeck and making day trips from there. From Baddeck how far could I go in either direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, before I hit the white-knuckle portion? I could drive in that direction until I reached that part, then turn around. Please keep in mind that what is a piece of cake to some is absolutely terrifying to others.

I would sure like for my wife to see as much of this area as possible, but I also fully understand her apprehension. Several years ago while visiting Colorado Springs, we decided to see just how far up Pikes Peak we could get before she decided it was time to turn around. It's nineteen miles from the entrance to the top of Pikes Peak. We made it all the way to mile marker one before she said "Turn around. Now!"
These fears are irrational; however, they are very real to those experiencing them.

Thanks much for all the input.

GM

[BigDaddyHfx]

You're going to camp somewhere so park the NH and use the toad. You can easily make a loop around the trail in much less than a day. Clockwise puts your spouse on the inside but nothing about the trail is scary. Fog can be a problem (ruined our 2005 trip around).

[vermilye]

While I wouldn't be happy with a big RV, if you have something small or a toad, check out Meat Cove on the north coast. There is a neat tent campground near the end where we watched whales from shore.

[Pipeman]

Just a little story of our trip counter clockwise in 1989. We took the wrong road when we got to the north end and got lost(in our minds). We entered a little village and of which I can't remember the name, and pulled up next to a man who was walking along. I said excuse me, I think we're lost. He said to me in that distinct accent of a Cape Bretoner, "you're never lost in Cape Breton". He then said to us, if you don't mind a wee bit of a drive, I'll give you directions and you'll see some beautiful sights and you'll join up with the highway later on. He was right, we weren't lost and the scenery was magnificent. Enjoy your trip, tell your better half to close her eyes when close to the edge and she won't get scared :).

[mainetom]

We stayed at Whycocomagh Provincial Park (which was very nice) and did the Cabot Trail in two day-trips: half way around going clockwise one day, and half way counterclockwise the next. Not a very fuel-efficient way to do it, but we saw a lot more sights that way.

[Little_Kopit]

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]

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]

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]

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.