Cape Breton National Park

Cape Breton National Park, Nova Scotia

The town of Cheticamp borders the southwest side of Cape Breton National Park.  After learning about a lighthouse on the peninsula and possible whale sightings off the coast, we decided to take a drive out to it.  Misty rain and fog had surrounded us most of the day.

Cheticamp Lighthouse

We drove out to the lighthouse, passing a smaller peninsula that jutted toward the town.  The toe of the peninsula was crowded with a tightly bunched herd of cattle.  A Nova Scotia flag waved in front of them, looking like the cows had taken the beach and had declared it as their own.

If cows ruled the world... or at least a portion of the coast of Nova Scotia!

From Cheticamp, we entered the park.  Everyone has told us that the western portion of the park is the most striking.  After looking at several very primitive campgrounds that were more open spaces than separate sites, we decided to drive back to the campground nearest the park’s entrance.  We found a spot nestled in the trees and set up camp there.

Cape Breton is, indeed, a lovely park.  We spent the next day traveling around, taking in the scenery, looking for whales, and dodging rainstorms.  At one of the lookouts, we saw several whale watching vessels and were able to just make out the dorsal fin of a pilot whale in front of them.

Pilot whales off Cape Breton

We hiked out to Benjie’s Lake and let a happy Golden take a dip.  Other than Rox, we have seen no animals larger than a chipmunk except for a few eagles soaring overhead. 

That evening, we went to the park ranger’s talk on coyotes.  He told us that over 3,000 moose make their home in Cape Breton.  Only one person in the audience had seen a glimpse of one.  It is so unlike western Canada where wildlife abounds.  Perhaps the area is simply too populated and the animals stay well off the roads and trails to avoid encounters with people.

We spent two nights at Cheticamp Campground before breaking camp to travel the northern portion of the Cape.  Because of the continued rain showers, our last night felt extremely warm and sticky, and we had a restless sleep.  Temperatures were in the low seventies when we went to bed and stayed there all night long.  The showers were most welcomed the next morning.

Because our rig is just over seven feet tall and must go to the “high bay” area, we had to make a reservation on the ferry to Newfoundland for next Saturday, the earliest available date.  They also have a night ferry, but we wanted to be able to look out onto the ocean during the voyage rather than sleep.  The ferry ride is six hours long.  We are hoping that they will allow us to take Roxanne on board rather than leave her in the vehicle.

Although the road from the western tip of the park to the eastern tip is barely 80 miles long, we are taking our time traveling it because of the ferry schedule.  This morning we will travel on to the northern portion of the Cape, hoping that the weather reports of clearing skies hold true.

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