Cape Breton Island

In thinking of Cape Breton some think of The Cabot Trail and the dramatic mountainous coastline where the Cabot Trail highway does a huge circle. Back in 1982 Marsha and Wells spent a week bicycling around the trail. It took us a full week to complete the circle with fully loaded touring bikes. It’s possible to drive the entire loop in a day, but you miss so many interesting things.

Cape Breton can be thought of as an island divided. The northwestern component that borders on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the southeastern component that borders on the Atlantic Ocean. Separating these two land masses is Bras d’Or Lake. This inland sea is a saltwater lake more the 600 square miles in area, more than 900’ deep, sixty miles long and up to almost 40 miles wide. Add to all that this convoluted shoreline is hundreds of miles. This huge inland sea splits Cape Breton into regions. The northwestern part includes Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the Cabot Trail and the northern part is mountainous.

We have ten days to explore Cape Breton before we catch the ferry to Newfoundland. After crossing the causeway to the Island we start by following the coast in a clockwise direction. We arrive on the Island on a Sunday on Monday evening we’ll visit with our friends, Donna and Bob.