Canada’s answer to Australia’s Great Ocean Road or California’s Pacific Coast Highway, Cape Breton Island’s Cabot Trail is one of those seaside drives that every road trip lover should do at least once in their life. (And if our seven trips to Great Ocean Road have anything to say about it, we’ll surely be doing this one again.)
With scenery akin to Scotland or Ireland, stunning hiking trails that will get your blood pumping and colourful downs dotting the coast, the Acadian island has a unique culture to the rest of the province, let alone the country.
The 10,500 km² island is basically split in half by Bras d’Or Lake. To the west of it, you’ll find the iconic Cabot Trail and Cape Breton Highlands National Park, while to the east is Sydney.
Since we only had a few days and lots we tried to cram in on the western portion of the island, we just stuck to that side of the lake. There’s plenty to do on the eastern side of the island too, but we’ll need to go back another time to see all that!
Our Cape Breton Island itinerary
We spent two nights on the island, arriving in the early afternoon and leaving in the late morning on our third day.
Day 1 in Cape Breton
We started our day in Moncton, where we were visiting a friend for a few days, and had lunch before reaching the island at Logan’s Daily Catch in New Glasgow, about an hour from the island.
- Cross the Canso Causeway onto Cape Breton Island
- Check out the view at Christy’s Lookout
- Dip our toes into the Gulf of St Lawrence at Port Hood Provincial Park beach
- Sampled whisky at Glenora Distillery
- Strolled along the boardwalk at Inverness Beach
- Drove to Cheticamp to check into our accommodation
- Ate dinner at the simple-yet-delicious Restaurant Evangeline
- Watched the sunset from Petit Étang Beach
Day 2 in Cape Breton
- Grabbed an early breakfast at Marguerite Boutique et Provisions
- Did plenty of hikes and stopped at lookout points in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (see more below)
- Had a picnic lunch at White Point
- Checked into our accommodation at Skyline Cabins
- Swam and relaxed at Ingonish Beach
- Ate a lobster-packed dinner at Main Street Restaurant
Day 3 in Cape Breton
- Drive along the coast through Cape Smokey Provincial Park
- Had brunch at Clucking Hen Cafe
What to do on Cape Breton Island
A nature lover’s paradise, Cape Breton Island’s activities are mostly outdoors. From pristine beaches to heart-pumping hiking trails, placid lakes to crashing waterfalls, the best things to do here aren’t man made. That said, you’ll want to try and visit during the warmer months when it’s less likely to rain.
Walks
There are dozens of hiking trails across Cape Breton Island, with the bulk of them sitting within Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We managed to pack in about half a dozen during our short stay, but would have happily done more if we had the time (or feet without blisters).
We’ve listed these in the order we did them, along the route of our drive.
Inverness Harbour Loop
Length: 1.8km
Would we do it again? Not unless we had more time. While the boardwalk was lovely, much of it didn’t actually have views of Inverness beach.
✅ We’ve done this!
Le Chemin du Buttereau Trailhead
Length: 6.8km
Would we do it again? No. Compared to the other walks, it’s not the most scenic or exciting.
✅ We’ve done this!
MacIntosh Brook Trail
Length: 1.7km
Would we do it again? Yes. It was short, but sweet and led to a lovely little waterfall.
✅ We’ve done this!
The Lone Sheiling
Length: 600m
Would we do it again? Yes, this track had some really lovely maple trees along it and is a great leg stretch along the way.
✅ We’ve done this!
Bog Trail
Length: 500m
Would we do it again? Yes, especially if we get to actually see a moose next time!
✅ We’ve done this!
White Point Trail
Length: 2.3km
Would we do it again? Yes, this walk felt like we were hiking to the end of the world and had incredible views of the bay.
✅ We’ve done this!
Warren Lake
Length: 4.7km
Would we do it again? Yes, this was a beautiful walk around a lake where you can swim, too.
There were plenty of other walks we could have loved to do, including the iconic Skyline Trail, Franey Trail and Benjie’s Lake.
✅ We’ve done this!
Ones we didn’t get to include…
- Skyline Trail: 6.5km
- Benjie’s Lake: 3km
- Franey Trail: 4.5-13km
Note: Skyline Trail now requires a parking pass to be reserved in advance if you’re visiting between 26 June and 25 October, 2026. It’s CA$13.50 to book, which is a separate fee to any park admissions. We weren’t aware of this until the day before and they were already at maximum capacity. We missed Benjie’s Lake trail due to works on the track and unfortunately ran out of time in the day and weren’t able to do Franey.
Beaches
Port Hood
Inside Port Hood Station Provincial Park, this sandy beach is facing Hood Island with relatively calm waters. It has a supervised swimming area and flags.
Amenities: Free parking, toilets, showers and a kiosk.
✅ We’ve done this!
Inverness
A 1.5-km stretch of coast in the town of the same name, here you’ll find a flat boardwalk that’s perfect for a coastal stroll. It’s accessible too, with Mobi-Mats and Mobi-Chairs available when needed and bookable at the nearby visitors centre.
Amenities: Free parking, toilets and showers.
✅ We’ve been here!
Petit Étang Beach
Just outside Cheticamp, this rocky beach offers beautiful sunset views on the south part of the national park. There are waves and rocks here, so it may not be ideal for swimming.
Amenities: None
✅ We’ve been here!
Ingonish Beach
In Ingonish town on the island’s eastern coast, this beautiful beach could be somewhere in the Mediterranean upon first glance. Clear, glassy water with hills and cliffs in the distance make the perfect place to cool off after a day packed with hiking.
While we visited all the beaches listed above, this is the only one where we dipped more than just our toes into the water. Word of warning: the water was freezing, but well worth it after a long day on the trails.
Amenities: Free parking, toilets and a kiosk.
✅ We’ve been here!
Towns
Cheticamp
Just before driving into Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Cheticamp was our first night’s stop on the island. It’s not huge, but it does have a decent selection of restaurants and places to stay. We opted for the Ocean View Villas, which was right on the water and near some of the places we wanted to check out in town. It’s also a short drive from Petit Étang Beach where we watched the sun set.
While we didn’t make it to them, if you’re looking for higher-end restaurants on the island there’s a few of them around town including Bistro Fiset and Table Doucet.
✅ We’ve been here!
Ingonish
Our second night’s home on the island, Ingonish is on the east side, not far outside the opposite end of the park. Here, there’s a few sweeping bays with sandy beaches and even a ski resort to chekc out during the winter months. There’s a few hiking trails that are close to town, too.
✅ We’ve been here!
Baddeck
On Bras d’Or Lake rather than the ocean, Baddeck is toward the south end of the island and from here you can either go north toward the national park or north-east toward Sydney.
Where to stay on Cape Breton Island
So we didn’t have to back track, we spend our first night on the island on the west coast and our second night on the east coast.
Cheticamp
We stayed at the Ocean View Motel and Villas, a cute, yellow clapboard series of cabins and motel rooms in Cheticamp. Out corner motel room had incredible views of the ocean and the room was very comfortable. There were plenty of similar accommodation options around, but we chose here as it was peak season and available at the right price.
Would we recommend staying here? Yes!
Book with the hotel directly
Ingonish
For our night in Ingonish, we booked into the Skyline Cabins. With a similar vibe to our night in Cheticamp, these small cabins were cosy with individual entrances. Unfortunately there was no view of the sea from them, but we were fine with that as it was close by. Again, the rooms were comfortable and the bathrooms here were huge.
Would we recommend staying here? Yes!
Book with the hotel directly | Booking.com
Where to eat on Cape Breton Island
We wanted a proper taste of Acadian food while on the island, and we’re pretty happy with what we managed to get. Surrounded by the sea, there’s plenty of fish and seafood on the menus at Cape Breton restaurants. And it’s affordable too. (Not into seafood? There’s plenty of land-based foods as well.)
Restaurant Evangeline
Serving up homely Acadian classics like fish cakes, this Cheticamp eatery is perfect for a simple-yet-hearty dinner at the end of a long day of exploring the island. This was one of those meals that didn’t look good when it arrived, but tasted great.
Address: 15150 Cabot Trail, Chéticamp, Nova Scotia
Hours: Daily from 8am-7pm.
Website and menu
Marguerite Boutique et Provisions
A cafe and shop in one, this sunny spot is perfect for a quick bite and coffee in the morning. We got some breakfast sandwiches and scones for later in the day and they were all great.
Address: 15347 Cabot Trail Road, Cheticamp, Nova Scotia
Hours: Wednesday to Friday, 11am-9pm, Saturday to Tuesday, 9am-9pm.
Website and menu
Main Street Restaurant
Our favourite of the two dinners we had on the island, Main Street Restaurant had a lovely patio area and plenty of lobster on the menu (including the lobster mac and cheese pictured above). On a warm summer evening, it’s the perfect place to sit back, eat some local fare and drink some Nova Scotia wine.
Address: 37764 Cabot Trail, Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia
Hours: Daily from 8am-7pm.
Information and menu
Clucking Hen Cafe & Bakery
Overlooking the Atlantic, this cafe and bakery served up some of the best pancakes we’d had in a long time. All of the baked goods looked delicious, but we were stuffed from breakfast and were flying a few hours later so didn’t indulge… but certainly regret it now.
Address: 45073 Cabot Trail, North Shore, Nova Scotia
Hours: Daily from 8am-6pm
Getting to Cape Breton Island
We started our trip along the Canadian coast in Moncton and ended it in Halifax as it was part of a larger road trip. But there is also an airport in Sydney, Nova Scotia, which is on Cape Breton Island and will be a shorter drive to most of the places on this list.
If you’re travelling from outside of Canada, it will be easiest to fly into Halifax for this trip.
Exploring Cape Breton is all about the Cabot Trail drive, so it’s not somewhere to go by public transport if you really want to experience it. Bus routes are limited to the Sydney area and a few other areas in the southern section of the island. It’s best to spend a few days doing a loop of the island, including the national park. If you don’t have your own car, it’s highly recommended to rent one.
Not comfortable driving? You can also join day tours from Sydney, Nova Scotia for a taste of the island:
Looking to spend more time in Eastern Canada? Consider adding on a few days in Halifax and heading to the scenic coastal towns west of the provincial capital:
