Day 4 Cabot Trail - Skyline Trail Hike + Pick Up our Trailer and move to Baddeck, Cape Breton Nova Scotia

Dawn light

When I wake up at 5:15 am to go to the bathroom, the morning twilight glow is brilliant! I poke Chris who opens weary eyes and immediately pulls the covers over his head so I sneak out on my own and witness the sun rise on Aspy Bay. 

Peaking sun 5:56 am

Another day begins 

Back in bed at 6:15 am for a quick rest before the 7 am alarm goes. We need to load the last of our stuff and be on the road by 8 as last week we made a parking reservation to hike the Skyline Trail between 9am and noon today. The trail is about an hour drive from where we are camped. 

Bowl of cereal to start our day

We stop for a bowl of cereal at a look out point. It was foggy and raining a bit when we passed the Skyline Trail hike the other day on our day one of the Cabot Trail, but it is going to be a glorious day to hike the trail today. 

Skyline trail head

Parked and at the trail head by shortly after 9. Being a mid-week morning there is hardly anyone here so we feel very lucky. Quiet compared to weekend crowds.

Wooden steps down

Since we are already at the top of the mountain, the trail is largely a flat 6.4 km loop until we reach a series of boardwalks and wooden steps that lead us down to the terraced viewing platform. 

Viewing platform - totally to ourselves :)

Originally a mix of old unmanaged paths, the dramatic headlands became exceptionally popular as a panoramic viewpoint over the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the 1990's. This sadly caused trampling of vegetation that severely scarred the rare coastal barrens. 

Parks Canada spent four years building the boardwalk and the set of 275 stairs down to keep foot traffic on a single durable surface. Once again, it is so fortunate that we have Parks Canada to step in, as needed, and preserve our beautiful country. 

View of The Cabot Trail from the Skyline Trail

Antique shop along the way - Myles from Nowhere

It's just another 25 minutes back down the Cabot Trail and we are safely back at our RV. We have had a great truck camping get-away and are super happy with the decision to leave the trailer behind. So much easier on everything, including our nerves :)

We quickly swap gear from the truck to the RV and vice versa, load the bikes and are on our way across island to The Cabot Trail Campground near Baddeck. 

Cabot Trail campground 

We arrive at our campsite - The Cabot Trail Campground - around 6pm. We have a quick dip in the pool and then settle in for the night as it's been a long day.