Cape Breton Island Things to Do

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The most well known, and most popular, trail in Nova Scotia is the Skyline Trail. Why? Well one reason has to be that it is so accessible. In 2001 the redid the trail to protect some of the fragile ecosystem, building boardwalks. For the first part of the loop a wheelchair would probably be able to handle this trail. Its generally nice and flat and easy to negotiate.

The views are breathtaking! For us it was even better because we started early in the morning and while some of the group was grumbling that it was so early and they were a bit cold, we ran across the moose (see my wildlife tip). The first part of the trail has wide paths, often gravel, and goes through some neat forest, no problem. You will see the deep crevasse of the mountains and the highway carved into the sides of the mountains and you get to see this amazing coming together of mountains and the water! It is said you can sometimes see whales swimming from some of the lookouts. (we didn't unfortunately).

In all the 9.2 km Skyline Trail took about 2-3 hours to finish. The return part is a little rougher, and more challenging, but you are more likely going to be so amazed at the scenery that you won't care much one way or the other. Definitely do this one!

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This was a nice hike! we got bored with the Jack Pine Trail, it just wasn't scenic (or challenging) so a few of us took the well marked Coastal Trail. We had plenty of time and it was well worth the effort.

If you hike this trail you will get a wonderful taste of Cape Breton's shoreline, the magnificent vistas over the water. the boulders, You will be going through a lot of forest since a lot of the rocks are too rough.

Be careful to wear proper hiking boots, some of the rock can be slippery

Length- 11.3 km loop
Elevation- minimal
Difficulty-moderate
Terrain- pine forest, boulders, granites
Trailheads- Black Brook Cove (same as Jack Pine), Halfway Brook

If you want to go for a nice walk rather than a serious hike, Jack Pine would be a good trail for that. It is fairly easy with small elevation gains. You basically go through a Jack Pine forest, which is common in Canada but not so common on Cape Breton. There are some interpretive panels through the walk. What we did was finish this walk, which is only 1.5 km and connected to another more challenging trail.

loop- 1.6 km
difficulty- easy
landscape- pine forest, come hills,
trailhead-The trail starts from the Black Brook parking lot in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Black Brook is about 20km north of Ingonish. Park at the upper end of the parking lot after crossing Black Brook on a bridge.

Located in the fishing village of Pleasant Bay, this is a small museum that has good exhibits about the 16 types of whales found off Nova Scotia. (Sixteen types!!) There is a nice exhibit about local marine life and you can sometimes see the whales from the patio of the museum (using binoculars) More an educational thing than anything else, they offer bus tours, educational tours

Open June 1- October 15

This was an option on our tour. From the website, Salty Bear stops for the night at Pleasant Bay.

From May until Mid-October you can see whales( fin whales(huge:75 ft),humpback whales(entertainers),pilot whales,minke whales,and dolphins/porpoises.)

There are several different outfits along the north/west coast of Cape Breton Island

There are two companies that run hop-on/hop-off bus tours that go through Nova Scotia. I can tell you both companies are good. You usually will have a bus with about 10-15 others. Most of the people on these tours are young(ish) backpackers. On the tours I took I was the only American and the oldest in any of the groups. Neither was a factor really.

With both companies you will see a lot of things, especially in the wilderness/outdoors. For example, if you want to take some time to see Halifax or Baddeck (for example) you can jump off the bus at a certain stop. You arrange with the company where/when you would like to rejoin. In my experience, the best use of hopping off and staying in a town/city is to engage in the usual tourist activities. On the tours you tend to have relatively few of these (visiting museums, sights etc)

The people on the tours are mostly pretty nice. This sort of tour is really not for people that prefer to stay in hotels and luxury. The hostels are all clean and comfortable. You can ask for a private room at the hostels, many of them have at least one or two.

1. Moose Network- Moose operates throughout Canada. However, the only tour they offer that goes through Cape Breton is quite expensive (Schooner) A good company with a solid reputation.
website-- http://www.moosenetwork.com/content.php?id=60

2. Salty Bear- http://www.saltybear.ca/
This is a local Nova Scotia operation. Coincidentally, it is run by a guy that used to work for Moose elsewhere. I found their service to be excellent. We had a lot of fun, got to do a lot and everyone on the tour seemed to really have had a great time. Since its only Nova Scotia/PEI it will come out much cheaper than Moose. Guides are all locals that know Nova Scotia very well.

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This is easily considered one of the most amazingly scenic drives anywhere. The Cabot Trail winds around the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, passing through Cape Breton Highlands Park. It is 298 km (185 miles) long. There are phenomenal views everywhere- of the rugged coastline, of the mountains, of Bras d'Or lake, and the valleys. Don't miss this, it is extraordinary!

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When we rode into the Cape Breton highlands park we were told to look out for moose, they would be there and in good numbers cause it was breeding season. Everyone started oohing and aaahing when we first caught sight of a moose walking in the forest, we were probably only 5 minutes inside the park at that point. So yeah, maybe we would get to see the moose! Neat.

We drove up some more and parked and headed off for the Skyline Trail. After walking a little bit (not more than 15 minutes) I turned into a clearing and whammo! the moose was right there! Just relaxing, getting something to eat, apparently not too concerned about our presence! He let me get pretty close without flinching. Exhilarating!

It seems seeing a moose is really not that uncommon at all in the Highlands Park, but getting this close to one can't be that common.