East Coast 2022: Cabot Trail Loop - Cheticamp, Neil's Harbour, More Hikes

The next leg of our Cape Breton Island tour had us driving from Ingonish to Cheticamp with plans for stopping at a few viewing points and then going on a major hike at White Point along the way.  We had a second lengthy hike planned at the Skyline Trail which is located about 23km prior to reaching Cheticamp.  However, given our schedule, we would not get there early enough to complete the walk comfortably in daylight.  After some humming and hawing, we decided that we would backtrack the next morning in order to do that hike leisurely before heading south again towards Inverness.

Our first stop was at Lakies Head, which is about 4km north of Ingonish.  It is a viewing point with a short boardwalk towards the water.  Although the sign at the top of the boardwalk hinted at whales, fish, and other sea creatures, we did not spot any of these during our brief visit.  We did see some pretty vistas when we wandered onto the rocky shoreline at the end of the boardwalk.

Continuing north, we came across Black Brook Cove where there is a beach and a waterfall.  This was not initially on our radar, but we decided to check it out.  After a very short hike through a forested path, we came across a picnic table with a great view of the cove.  We stopped for an undeserved rest (since we had hiked for such a short time so far) but enjoyed the scenery nonetheless.  Ignoring the “Danger! Erosion” sign, we gingerly made our way down the slope to reach the rocky shoreline.

Walking along the shore, we arrived at the Black Cove Beach, which is known as one of the most popular beaches in the Cape Breton Highlands, with fine-grained sand by the water and pretty rocks further inland.  With the waves crashing, Rich took his socks off and waded into the water to test the temperatures and take photos of the waves.  The water was cold, so he did not stay in for long and I wisely did not go in at all.

We carried forward on our hike towards Still Brook Falls. We climbed up an incline that brought us just above the waterfalls, which we could hear from afar.  Looking back down, we could see the beach as well as a small cave or grotto. We also found another red Adirondack chair like the one we saw the previous day, and took turns sitting in it.  Leaving this area, we continued to Jiggy Cove which was a short, planned hike for us.  But we found this one to be a flat, uninteresting trail around a small lake which we had an obstructed view of.  The swarming mosquitos did not make it any more pleasant.  After a short distance, we turned around and bailed on the trail, deciding to spend more time on the major hike at White Point.

The next stop was Neil’s Harbour, a picturesque community of around 300 people who are mostly in the lobster, crab and fishing industries, as shown by the stacks of lobster traps spotted throughout the area.  The settlement was named after Neil MacLennan, a merchant who sailed into the cove bringing dry goods to trade with the fishermen and became an important figure in the community. The most prominent landmark in Neil’s Harbour is the lighthouse that stands on Neil’s Head, a natural rocky protrusion that protects and shelters the harbour.  The 34-foot-tall wooden tower was built in 1899 and declared a heritage lighthouse in 2015.  Still operational as a lighthouse, the location also acts as an ice cream shop in the summer.  Unfortunately, there was no ice cream for sale when we arrived, and the Chowder House was also closed so our quest for a quick snack was thwarted.  There was a larger sit-down restaurant open but this was longer than we wanted to stay so we continued on our way with plans to pick up some treats from Danena Bakery further along the Cabot Trail before embarking on our big hike.  Our luck continued to run out as that eatery was closed as well!  So we just soldiered on, snacking on our emergency granola bars until dinner.

Driving along White Point Road, we reached the small community of White Point where White Point Trail was supposed to start.  This was a pretty location with fishing boats docked against rocky reefs, views of Aspy’s Bay and Cape North and some interesting buildings including a very modern one in the distance and some barn-like structures.  We had read online that we were to park along the pier where the boats were docked and then White Point Trail could be reached by first traversing a steep hill.  We expected to see a sign pointing to the trail but there was none in sight.  We did find the steep path and followed it as per instructions, but had we not researched ahead of time, we would not have figured out where to go.

As we climbed up the steep, rocky path, we looked back down and had even better views of the area.  Half-way up, we came across an ATV that someone left behind in order to complete the rest of their climb on foot.  At this point, we were still not sure what we would find when we reached the top.  We trudged on, each wielding one half of a pair of walking poles for support and to propel us forward.

As we reached the top and surveyed the vista before us, we gasped at the sheer beauty of it all. With the wide expanse of green terrain leading to sheer rocky cliff faces that dropped down to the ocean, it was like we had magically landed in Ireland (which we visited in 2015) and were back at the Cliffs of Mohr.  Walking gingerly to the edge of the cliffs, we saw crashing waves, black seabirds perched on a rock and seagulls swooping overhead.

From our lofty perch, we walked downhill towards the flat headland that jutted out towards the ocean.  Along the way, we continued to admire the breathtaking views.  We stopped to watch a group with a dog who joyfully romped about and ran precariously along the edge of the rocky outcrops, seemingly oblivious to the steep drop below.

Reaching the bottom and towards the far tip of the trail, we found a small cemetery that could be spotted from afar due to the large wooden cross that loomed high above the land.  In addition to engraved tombstones of recently deceased local residents, there were many older, anonymous, unmarked crosses and small rock markers.  A wooden plaque emblazed with the words “The Unknown Sailor” seemed to mark this spot as a location that shipwrecked sailors might have washed up.  It was interesting that when we first parked our car at White Point and were looking for the start of the trail, another car drove up to us and asked if we knew where the Cemetery of the Unknown Sailor was.  At that point, we had never heard of this and a quick google maps search did not help.  It was too bad that it was too late to tell the people where this was, but we were grateful that we had discovered this quaint little cemetery.

Following our White Point Trail hike, we continued driving towards Cheticamp, admiring the gorgeous scenery that we passed by.  We stopped quickly to look at an interesting looking building that turned out to be a 100-year-old church that was converted into the Highlands Hostel, providing low-cost lodgings for hikers and explorers of the Highlands.  We also stopped at Arts North, an artisan consignment gallery featuring pottery, quilts, photographs, and other works.

We stopped at a viewing point for Aspy Fault, which runs through 40km of Cape Breton including Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  The fault was probably created when two continental plates collided and pushed the seafloor upwards, eroding away sedimentary rock to form a V-shaped valley.  The same effects also created the Appalachian Mountains.  At another stop to admire the view, we caught sight of the luxury “glamping” domes provided by True North Destinations.  Situated right by the water, these domes have a fully equipped kitchen, spacious lounge area, queen-sized bed with flatscreen TV, wrap-around outdoor deck, barbeque, and personal hot tub.  After driving for some time on hilly roads with twisty turns, it was fun to look back in the distance to see the roads that we just came from.

Just outside of Cheticamp, we were intrigued by the establishment called “Proud To Be Lola’s Hookers”.  Despite the amusing double entendre in the shop’s name, this turned out to be a shop selling products created through the art of rug hooking, which is a tradition in Cheticamp passed on over generations.  Rug hooking involves pulling different coloured fine wool yarn through pieces of burlap in order to create pictorial designs featuring local village and maritime scenes, landscapes and images of nature and animals.  The brightly coloured pattern brought to mind the paintings of Canadian folk artis Maude Lewis who also hailed from Nova Scotia.  We watched as the proprietor gave us a quick demo of the rug hooking process.  As souvenirs, we bought a couple of coasters—one was of a sailboat and lighthouse while the other was of a puffin.

Cheticamp is a traditional Acadian fishing village on the west coast of the Cabot Trail.  Its main drag runs right along the coast and is lined with restaurants, inns and motels, and a pretty harbour.  While we didn’t have time to hike the famous Skyline Trail until the next morning, we did get a chance to walk along the strip to see the marina and check out some of the stores before dinner.

One of those shops was Les Trois Pignons (The three gables) which is a small art gallery as well as a cultural centre and museum highlighting Acadian culture and the history of Cheticamp.  We admired the works of the featured artist on display, who created cute and kitschy “cow-themed” spoofs including Mona Lisa and cow, a cow floating away tied to balloons and one being beamed onto a spaceship.  Our cow-obsessed friend Murray actually bought this last one on a previous trip to Cape Breton.  There were also more rug hooking art pieces available for sale.  Unfortunately, we did not realize that there was a large museum in the back of the gallery and so we only saw the few pieces that were displayed there, including what looked like a Family Tree of prominent families and a wall with a brief description of the village’s history.

We ended the night with dinner at the Harbour Restaurant, which as its name indicates, has a gorgeous view of the harbour and the Cheticamp Harbour Range Front Lighthouse painted in the blue, white and red Acadian colours.  This is one of two front range lighthouses that were originally built in the 1890s.  As has been the tradition throughout this East coast trip, we continued with our seafood-themed meals, each ordering clam chowder and a fish course as our main.  The meal was fine, but we would have a much more memorable one the next day.  What made this experience special was the pleasant experience watching the sunset from our prime window seats.