Cabot Trail Nova Scotia Coastline Itinerary

The Cabot Trail loops around Cape Breton Island in a way that keeps throwing the ocean at you from every direction, and the problem is deciding which direction to drive it and where to stop. It is a drive that rewards planning, because the light, the crowds, and the weather all change the experience more than the road itself does.Drive the loop counterclockwise, starting from Baddeck, so the ocean stays on your right and the pullouts come more naturally on your side of the road. The climb up to Cape Smokey gives the first real view of the coastline, and then the road drops into Ingonish, where the beaches are worth a stop before the trail climbs again toward the highlands.The heart of the drive is the stretch through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, where the road crests the plateau and the Skyline Trail offers the view everyone photographs, the