Cabot Trail – West Side

Margaree Harbour, NS – September 14 and 15, 2012 Our Current Location

The Days End guide indicated there were two possible boondocking spots at Margaree Harbour. This location is a little further from the Trail than we’d like, but our camping options are pretty limited. The Cape Breton Highlands National Park campground has already closed for the season.  There is an overpriced campground in Cheticamp which we’ll use as a last resort.  But we’ve been wanting to camp next to the beach and enjoy the waterfront. So we will try there first.

We pull into the grocery store at Margaree Harbour and ask about camping on the beach right next door.  The nice lady in the store said she didn’t think there would be a problem, so we went for it. This was to be our basecamp for the next two nights. And it was gorgeous.  We walked on the beach, cooked out and took lots of sunset pictures.

The next morning we left the cats in charge while we went to explore the west side of the Trail.

Once again there were gorgeous views and plenty of hiking opportunities. On one of the hikes we even met a nice couple from the Florida Keys who gave us a few ideas to think about for our future travels.

The two sides of the Island are very different in their beauty. Each one unique and awesome.

On one trek through the woods we found a herders hut built out of stone.

We drove a narrow gravel road to find a waterfall thinking that surely we would be the only people crazy enough to drive way off the beaten path. Once again we underestimated our fellow travelers persistence but the falls were nice.

Our destination for the day was a “restaurant” Frank had seen advertised in a little community named Meat Cove.  Frank was eager to try their seafood chowder but it was not to be.  They didn’t have any even though the name of the place is the Chowder Hut and that is what they are famous for.  Plan B, the fish and chips and beer hit the spot.

Afterward, we got to drive the Element on the beach.

Even though it was getting late in the day we still made a few more stops on our way back .

We had hiked a trail through a bog on the way up and decided to go back and sit for awhile to watch for moose.  Another moose strikeout!

As a last adventure of the day, we hiked in the woods to a look off to see the sun set over the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  Not too shabby.

 

This meant we hiked back through the woods after sunset.  Still no moose!

 

Cape Breton Island and the Cabot Trail were well worth the trip. Now it’s time to begin working our way back towards the USA and say goodbye to the Island.

This is a map of Ella’s journey on the west side of the Cabot Trail. It begins at Margaree Harbour , up to Meat Cove and back.