Day 17 had us traveling from Chéticamp, Cape Breton to hit up a few more sights and sites in Cape Breton to leaving the island and heading back to the Nova Scotia mainland. While the day had us driving quite a bit, we were able to break up the trip with a few fantastic stops: The Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, St. FX in Antigonish, and then Pictou Lodge in Pictou, where would be spending the night.

Around every corner, the views just got more and more incredible as we made our way around the Cabot Trail heading toward the Skyline Trail, . As G navigated the van through the winding roads, I kept looking out both the front windshield and the rear window, ogling each view. We toured the Cabot Trail counter-clockwise, starting in Ingonish and ending in Chéticamp, so that we’d always be closest to the side of the water. Lots of folks do it the other way around and, honestly, I’m not sure one is “better” than the other. The views are stunning no matter which direction you’re headed!

Day 15 of our three-week road trip through the Maine and the Maritimes would take us from Keltic Lodge at the Highlands in Ingonish, Cape Breton, to camping at Meat Cove Campground, way at the tip of Cape Breton Island. Man oh man, it was a day of fantastic views.

We’ve only just begun our exploration of Cape Breton Island, and I’m so looking forward to what awaits us these next few days. While the rest of the Nova Scotia is incredibly beautiful, there’s something about the wild, untamed, rugged landscape of Cape Breton that—already—is drawing me in. It’s like California’s Big Sur, the Green Mountains of Vermont (if Vermont were on an ocean), and the cliffs of Acadia National Park all rolled into one. It’s what I imagine Scotland and Ireland to look like. Cape Breton, you are stunning. Absolutely stunning. And this is the just the beginning…

Our destination for the night was Battery Provincial Park, located in St. Peter’s, not too far from the Canso Causeway that links Cape Breton Island with the rest of Nova Scotia. I’m always nervous about booking campground sites, as I never know if the location is good, if the bathroom is closer (or further away!) than it looks on a map, and what “privacy” and “shade” actually mean. The park has 53 campsites (we had site #8), and let me say this: it’s GORGEOUS. We had site 8, and an awesome view of St. Peter’s Bay.