Posts by: Andrea MacEachern

Port Hood is a small village located on the western coast of Cape Breton Island on the Ceilidh Trail.  The most popular attraction in the area is the long, sandy beach and scenic boardwalk.  The beach is perfect for swimming because the waters are calm and warm. Other popular activities that can be enjoyed in Port Hood include hiking, kayaking and boat tours that allow visitors to view whales and other marine life.  Port Hood Island is only accessible by boat and there is a boat that ferries visitors back and forth to the island where there is an uncrowded […]

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Industrial Cape Breton is made up of a number of communities but visitors often only visit the city of Sydney before heading to the Northern portion of the island.  Lingan is one of the communities located about twenty minutes from downtown Sydney and although it is very small, is a great little village to visit. The first thing that people will see when approaching Lingan is the massive coal generating station that supplies power to hundreds of thousands of people.  The plant’s days are numbered and gradually, this type of power will be replaced by more environmentally-friendly power sources.  This […]

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When people think of Cape Breton Island, they think of The Cabot Trail, sandy beaches and rocky shoreline but there is an area of the island that is often overlooked by visitors; that is central part around the Bras d’Or Lakes, in particular Iona and Grand Narrows. The scenery in this part of the island is characterized by rolling green hills, forest and lakes.  The Bras d’Or Lake is the biggest lake on the entire island and is nicknamed the Inland Sea.  Sailing, swimming and relaxing on the shores of the lake are popular summer activities.  In winter, many people […]

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St. Ann’s is located in the center of the island but it is not remote like other areas of the interior because it can be accessed right off the main highway passing through the island – the 105 Trans Canada Highway. If you are heading to St. Ann’s from the city of Sydney, there is a look-off on Kelly’s Mountain that allows you to see scenic St. Ann’s Bay in it’s entirety.  Another five-minute drive down the road and you will come across exit 11. The main attraction in St. Ann’s is the Gaelic College.  Although it is technically a […]

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The city of Sydney is often referred to as the unofficial capital of Cape Breton Island.  Much of the island’s population lives in and around the Cape Breton Regional Municipality which includes Sydney and much of the smaller towns and villages in Industrial Cape Breton.  It is also the place that most incoming visitors will experience first and it is worth the extra time to spend a day visiting the many attractions that are located in the city. There is a couple of museums in the downtown area of Sydney including St. Patrick’s Church and Cossit House in the North […]

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Wreck Cove is only a small village but it is a main stop along the route to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  It is also one of the gateways to the road system that lies atop the Highlands and takes visitors across this section of the island via gravel roads that literally are on top of the mountains.  This area of Cape Breton is among the best places for hunting, fishing and wilderness camping. Wreck Cove General Store is a popular resting area along this route.  One can fill up on fuel, grab some food and drinks for the […]

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Margaree is located in the center of Cape Breton Island and is part of the Cabot Trail.  The area consists of scenery that is vastly different from the coastal areas of the island. Visitors can access Margaree via several exits on the Trans Canada Highway.  Margaree is an area comprising of several small communities including Margaree Forks, Margaree Harbour and Southwest Margaree and you will often hear the area referred to simply as The Margarees. The interior Margarees are characterized by valleys and farmlands.  A main road runs through the area with side roads going off into smaller communities.  Along […]

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Very few Cape Bretoners are aware that the island is home to a monastery so it’s a given that many of the tourists are not aware of it either.  I just happened to be driving through Pleasant Bay along the Cabot Trail when I decided to take a drive down a road I’d never been down before.  That road, Red River Road, took me on a scenic drive along the coast.  When the pavement changed to gravel, my curiosity got the better of me and I kept going until I came upon a peculiar sight; a Buddhist shrine.  I parked […]

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About five minutes past the Englishtown Ferry along the Northern Shore highway is the very small community of Indian Brook.  Anyone heading around the Cabot Trail has to pass through Indian Brook but very few are aware of the fact that there are a couple of attractions that make a stop in the area worthwhile. Indian Brook Falls, although a little difficult to get to, are well-worth the trek through the woods.  One can park on the left-hand side of the road (if you are coming from Englishtown) near the bridge and start the hike to the falls on the […]

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One of the highlights of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park is the town of Ingonish.  Ingonish may be small but there are many things to do in every season. The most popular attraction in the village is the long, sandy beach of Ingonish Beach.  In the summer months, hundreds of people gather on the beach to swim and spend the day relaxing in the sun.  A freshwater lake suitable for swimming in located nearby and a walking trail surrounds that entire lake. Ingonish is home to a number of other beaches including Black Brook and North Bay Beach.  There […]

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