By Isla Quinn
Two hundred and ninety-eight kilometres. One loop. Salt on one side, spruce on the other, and a road that was finished in 1932.
The loop
According to Wikipedia the Cabot Trail circles the northern end of Cape Breton Island. It includes all of Trunk 30 and parts of Highway 105, and runs through Victoria and Inverness counties. The western and eastern stretches follow rugged coast. The south-western section passes through the Margaree River valley and along the Bras d’Or Lake.
The name honours the explorer John Cabot, who landed somewhere in Atlantic Canada in 1497. The same article adds that historians think his actual landfall was in Newfoundland, not Cape Breton. A good road name does not need a good claim.
The park in the middle
Cape Breton Highlands National Park was established in 1936 and covers 949 square kilometres. Wikipedia says it was the first national park in the Atlantic provinces. The western entrance is at Chéticamp and the eastern side opens at Ingonish. One third of the Cabot Trail passes through the park, with ocean and mountain views along that stretch.
Chéticamp
On the western side, Chéticamp is an Acadian fishing village.
The hooked rugs
Chéticamp is known for traditional rug hookers, Wikipedia says, and the clearest way to see why is Les Trois Pignons at 15584 Cabot Trail. Tourism Nova Scotia describes it as an Acadian cultural, genealogical and visitor information centre that joins settlement history to the story of the hooked rug. It shows traditional and contemporary rugs by local craftspeople, plus works by the wool artist Elizabeth LeFort, and offers rug hooking demonstrations. We could not open a scholarly article on LeFort, so we are not giving her dates or commissions. Opening dates are seasonal and change, so confirm them.
Baddeck and Bell
Baddeck, on the Bras d’Or Lake, is the home of the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, a Parks Canada museum. Check Parks Canada for the current season.
Before you buy
We have not profiled makers on the Cabot Trail, and we will not name any we cannot source. If a rug appeals, ask who hooked it and where, what it is made from, whether it is traditional in design or contemporary, and how to clean it. Our sources do not answer the last two.
Roam first. Shop later.
Cape Breton makers can find out what’s involved at /sell-with-sephari/