Trip to Cape Breton Island

In early October we took a long weekend and went to Cape Breton Island. This island is about 4000 sq miles and is located between the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean. It is noted for its stunning scenery and breath-taking vistas of shoreline, highlands and forests. It is circled by the Cabot Trail which is about a 200 mile loop around the northern end of the island.

Autumn is supposed to be the best time to visit the Island and although we did see some beautiful leaves they were not at their peak. Cape Breton, however, is very scenic and worth seeing at any time of the year.

Along the way we drove to Louisberg where we spent a fun night at a pleasant inn on the bay. Louisberg is well known for the Fortress of Louisberg, an 18th century French fort that was prominent during the French and Indian Wars. The Canadian government has reconstructed part of the original fortress which everyone says is a must-see. However, because of our tight schedule we could not fit in a tour of the fort. We are hoping to see it before we leave Canada.

On our drive to Cape Breton

The inn at Louisberg

One of many lovely rivers

The next morning we began our drive around the Cabot Trail. It was such a lovely day but started out badly. When we stopped at a convenience store we locked the keys in the car. Actually that turned out nice because the people there were very helpful. The owner and some customers lent us a helping hand. After about an hour we finally got the door open. Nice, nice, nice.

One of our favorite spots on the drive was a place called Green Cove. It was a beautiful clear day and the blue water and the green grass and the rock formations were amazing.

Green Cove




Interesting rock formations at the cove

Elder and Sister Foley @ Green Cove

We finished the drive around the trail and arrived in Port Hawkesbury about 5 pm.

Breathtaking views from the trail


An idyllic village


Port Hawkesbury

Elder and Sister Baures, temple missionaries from the Halifax Temple, were also staying in Port Hawkesbury that night, so we met up with them for dinner. We ate together in a local pub and it was really fun to have a chance to visit and compare notes.

Elder and Sister Bauer

The next morning was Sunday and we attended the Port Hawkesbury Branch. It is a small branch and they meet in a lovely little building. We have 3 elders there and they are loved by the members. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures.

After church we began our trek home. We decided to go the scenic way along the Atlantic coast. Beautiful but very long drive!

Funny little lighthouse on an island


Waiting an hour for a ferry to make a five minute crossing


Departure point for the ferry

An added reward for our long drive home was seeing a beautiful sunset as we neared home. A wonderful way to end a special weekend.

We covered about a 1000 miles on this trip and were happy that we saw such beauties of nature.