Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Part 1: The Western Coast
My first and second days in Cape Breton Highlands National Park I stopped often at lookoffs, beaches, and short trails as I made my way up the western coast of the park from Cheticamp to Pleasant Cove. I started with views of the lower mountains and Pillar Rock before the Cabot Trail climbed into the higher mountains and the lookoffs became vistas of dramatic drop offs to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and expanses of the highlands.
Grande Falaise, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Overlook from Cabot Trail onto Gulf of St. Lawrence, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Pillar Rock, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Rocky beach near Pillar Rock, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Lake near Pillar Rock, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Another view of the lake near Pillar Rock, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Looking down on the Gulf of St. Lawrence from an overlook on the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Dinner views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Mountains along the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Fishing Cove lookoff, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Fishing Cove lookoff, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
On my second day I stopped halfway up and did the short French Mountain Bog Trail, a fen which features tufted rushes and cotton grass along with dwarf black spruce and eastern larch that are over a hundred years old. I can’t really pinpoint what I enjoy so much about bogs and fens; I think the carpeting of moss and the bunches of grass are really neat and I love the dwarf trees as well as the pitcher plants (when they’re out), but perhaps its the delicate balance of the ecosystem I find most intriguing. I also keep hoping to see moose though that hasn’t happened yet. In any case, I enjoyed this little bog trail.
French Mountain Bog Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
French Mountain Bog Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
No. 1 – The Larch… The Larch (a dwarf version), French Mountain Bog Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Right before the Cabot Trail descends from the plateau and exits the park there are fantastic lookoffs into the expansive MacKenzie River Valley. Even though I was here about a week before peak leaf color the valleys were truly a sight to see. Unfortunately for you all, I wasn’t able to capture their majesty partially due to the fact that I always seemed to be taking photos into the sun which washed out what colors were present. So keep in mind that the reality of the MacKenzie Mountains were way more impressive than my photos.
The Highland Plateau and the MacKenzie River Valley, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
The Highland Plateau and the MacKenzie River Valley, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Overlooking Pleasant Cove, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
MacKenzie River, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
MacKenzie River, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Beeyouteefull. If I pay for the shipping, would you dig up a little of Nova Scotia and mail it to me here on the west coast? Thanks for sharing.
Anytime 😉 It’s a gorgeous place and one I hope to return to.
What beautiful land and the colored leaves just add even more. It’s always difficult capturing the true beauty of a place. Perhaps next time you’ll stumble upon a moose 🙂
Cape Breton Island is a beautiful place, Ingrid. As I was leaving a week later the leaves were other-worldly spectacular.