East Coast Canada Roadtrip: Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Cape Breton Highlands National Park was the final stop on my East Coast Canada Roadtrip. I had 2 full days/nights here. I wish I would have had 3 to 5 full days/nights. But this part of the trip was also when my thumb started to swell, and I couldn’t really do much because of it. Honestly, I’m hoping to visit this national park again because I feel like I really botched my visit the first time.

Cape Breton Highlands National Park is located in the northernmost part of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It was actually Atlantic Canada’s first national park and is often referred to as ‘where the mountains meet the sea.’ That’s a wonderful description and its perfect for this beautiful place.

This national park really does have a special blend of ocean views, beautiful mountains, and gorgeous forests. It’s great for hiking, whale watching, camping, and just generally enjoying being out in nature.

The wildlife spotting at Cape Breton Highlands National Park is some of the best in maritime Canada. Keep an eye out for moose, grouse, lynx, owls, fox, bald eagles, and mink whales. In the summer you can even see puffins on some of the whale watching tours!

The park is famous for the Cabot Trail (read more on that here, this is one of Canada’s most famous drives. This drive is a must for anyone visiting this part of Nova Scotia. Not only do you get beautiful ocean and mountain views, but you also get a fun little roadtrip out of it!

There was so much hiking that I was looking forward to doing on this part of my trip but the sad truth is that I didn’t get to do a single hike while in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. My thumb would start throbbing anytime I would try.

If you’ve been following me long, you know that I am a lover of sunrises and sunsets. Some of my absolute favorite sunrises and sunsets of 2019 were in Cape Breton Highlands National Park!

So, here are some of the things that I had researched doing and wish that I would have been able to do! Ah, next time!

Hiking –

Skyline Trail – rated moderate, 5.9 mile loop trail.

Acadian Trail – rated moderate, 5.6 mile loop trail.

Franey Loop – rated moderate, 4.5 mile loop trail.

Middle Head Trail – rated easy, 2.5 miles loop trail.

Lone Shieling Loop – rated easy, .5 mile loop trail.

Things To Do –

Check out the Keltic Lodge – 383 Keltic In Road, Middle Head Peninsula, Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada B0C 1L0.

Fortress of Louisburg National Historic Site – 259 Park Service Rd, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia B1C 2L2 Canada. Daily 9:30 am – 5 pm.

Louisbourg Lighthouse – Havenside Road, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia Canada.

Inverness Beach Boardwalk – 158 Beach Rd #1, Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada

Highland Village – (experience the lifestyle of Scots in Nova Scotia) 4119 Highway 223, Iona, Nova Scotia B2C 1A3 Canada. Daily 10 am – 5 pm.

Cape Smokey Provincial Park – 40301 Cabot Trail, Ingonish Ferry, Ingonish, Nova Scotia B0C 1L0 Canada. Fri – Sun – 9 am – 4:30 pm (We won’t be able to do this).

Lantern Walk Through Time – June 25 to September 28 on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 9 pm in July, 8:30 pm in August and 7:30 pm in September. 1.5 – 2 hours. $14.70 a person. It begins at Igonish Beach near the trailhead sign. This is a tour for anyone who likes legends and myths! I am so bummed that I missed this one!! Learn more here.

Puffin Watching Tour – with Donelda’s Puffin Boat Tours – 1099 Highway 312, Englishtown, Nova Scotia B0C 1H0 Canada.

Morning sail at 10:30 am

Afternoon sail at 1:30 pm

$52 a person on a card or $48 in cash

Sips & Eats –

Main Street Restaurant and Bakery – 37764 Cabot Trail, Ingonish, NS, B0C 1L0 Canada. Daily 8 am – 8 pm.

The Lobster Pound and Moore – 161 Queen St, North Sydney, NS B2A 1A9 Canada. Mon-Tues Closed. Wed, Thurs, Fri – 12 pm – 3 pm, 5 pm – 8 pm. Sat-Sun – 4 pm – 8 pm.

Capt’n Kenny’s Fresh Fish & Chips – 329 Reeves St, Port Hawkesbury, NS, B9A 2R6 Canada. (Basically a food truck but is supposed to have THE best fish & chips)

The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse – 424 Charlotte St, Sydney, NS B1P 1E2 Canada. Daily 11 am – 11:59 pm

Governors Pub & Eatery – 233 Esplanade St, Sydney, NS B1P 1A6 Canada. Sun-Wed – 11 am – 12 am Thurs – Sat – 11 am – 2 am.

The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill – 4115 Highway 233, Iona, NS B2C 1A3 Canada. Daily 11 am – 9 pm.

Lighthouse Ice Cream Parlour – Lighthouse Road, Neil’s Harbor, Nova Scotia B0C 1P0 Canada.

Breton Brewery – 364 Keltic Drive, Sydney, Cape Breton. Mon-Wed – 10 am – 8 pm. Thurs – Sat – 10 am – 11 pm. Sun – 12 pm – 5 pm. I. really wanted to try the Strawberry Rhubarb.

Camping –

Ingonish Beach Campground

Broad Cove Campground

Chéticamp Campground

Corney Brook Campground

I did, however, have my first glamping experience while in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. I loved it!! I’m usually a good ole’ sleeping bag in a tent camper but my mom is not. So, we compromised with a dome for 2 nights. I’ve got to admit there was something very luxurious about sleeping in a dome! I would absolutely do it again. I’ll be writing a full post about that next week!

I hope to get back to Cape Breton Highlands National Park this summer so that I can enjoy some more of the many experiences the area has to offer!

One of my favorite sunsets of 2019 was here in Cape Breton. I also saw the only moose of my entire trip! A big bull! I was actually driving out to find a good sunset spot and racing the sun (like always) when I saw a guy with the biggest zoom lens ever running across the road. I looked over and saw this big beautiful moose with the sunset as his background! I didn’t get any great photos but I bet that guy did!

There is a moose in there! Look at the right side of the photo..

And one of my favorite sunrises from 2019…and another one where I was racing the sun. I was actually leaving Cape Breton Highlands National Park really early to get a jump on my long drive back to the states. I noticed the sky turning the most gorgeous shade of orange and raced to the next pull off. I got these stunning views and the lobster boats were just a bonus. I know it’s hard to believe but these are edited very little. The sky really was that color!

Tip: If you don’t want to roadtrip quite as far the best option is to cut out New Brunswick. There is a ferry that runs from Acadia (Bar Harbor to be specific) to Nova Scotia directly (it also runs from Portland, Maine). From Bar Harbor, the CAT ferry only takes 3 hours and arrives in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. If I go back to Cape Breton in 2020 I will definitely be taking the CAT. You can find more info here.