Canada Day in Cape Breton

I grew up in the Maritimes and have had the opportunity to explore many of the beautiful locations as a child, but it has been many years since I was here to celebrate Canada Day! 

Specifically I grew up in Sackville, NB until age 12 then moved to Dorchester, NB until high school graduation. Next I moved to Fredericton to attend University of New Brunswick. Especially during my childhood I got to travel with my Dad or Mom around Nova Scotia and PEI. The only time I was on the Cabot Trail until now was when I was 8 years old, a very long time ago and it was a cloudy day with not the best views. 

So we decided to take a few days vacation to revisit Cape Breton, a journey back in time for me and a first glimpse of the beauty this famous region has for Mike. 

I picked a Harvest Host about halfway to Cape Breton from my mom’s place so we had a short driving day and then would get to explore the little Nova Scotia North Shore town of Tatamagouche. Our day started off great and we were on track to leave about 10am until we had a malfunction with the main slide in the trailer. 

It wasn’t serious but required fixing and delayed us until about 1130a. Being only about a 2 hour drive we now were leaving about the time we planned on getting there, but that’s the way of travel, must go with the flow! On the bright side, now we were passing Aulac, NB about lunch time and stopped at the Big Stop for some fried fish and poutine. 

On our drive through to Tatamagouche I called ahead to the Harvest Host which I believed was a campground, but actually was more of an AirBNB that uses trailers.  I had called to ask if there were any specific roads we should avoid and there weren’t, but luckily he told me his last name and that it was on the mailbox at the end of the driveway. 

After driving on some very bumpy and narrow roads for many miles, we drove through the quaint little town and down the road to the Sandpoint Ocean Front Resort. The only indication of the ‘resort’ was the mailbox with his last name on it on a sharp corner of the road. Looking down the driveway it barely looked like we would fit and it was so long the end was not in sight. We trusted and turned in anyway, not knowing if it was the resort or if we could turn around down the lane at some point. 

It paid off! We were met by the very friendly and helpful owner who led us to a beautiful site right on the edge of the water. The view of the Tatamagouche Bay was splendid! 

After quickly settling in and walking the dogs we hurried out to check out the town shops before they closed. Unfortunately they closed at 4pm, not 5pm as I expected, so we missed them. But we had time to visit the Tatamagouche Brewery before going for dinner at The Nook and Cranny.  

The vibe of the town was slow and easy, no one was in a rush and no one was upset about it. As you’d wait in line it was a chance to chat with others and learn a bit about them. It was a big reminder to slow down and forget about the time as we are always in the right place at the right time anyway. 

After dinner we were heading back to the trailer when I remembered the old train restaurant and suddenly said, “Turn here!”.  Mike obliged and made a sharp left into the Tatamagouche Train Station Inn.  What a cute and historic little place! 

We heard live music coming from the alley way so of course we followed it after inspecting the train cars, which have all been turned into rooms for travelers to stay in now.  We were just in time for the last few songs from the two lovely ladies performing, one singing and one on guitar.  The sun was shining and the company was friendly! Perfect end to our little town adventure. 

We arrived back at the trailer in time for the most glorious of sunsets!  The west has amazing sunsets in the desert, but this was to another level when you add the beautiful ocean water into the picture.  

The only issue was the bugs! I have not experienced swarms of mosquitoes like that since I visited Labrador years ago! They literally carried us back into the trailer as soon as the sun went down, and even the next morning when we walked to the beach they were swarmed around us in clouds and around the dogs too. Perhaps just that day, but it would be hard to enjoy that beautiful spot if that was the norm. We only stayed one night … but itched those bites for days! 

Our journey continued along the Sunrise Trail to Pictou and then to Cape Breton along the Trans-Canada. Traveling these roads made me happy with the decision to get the rest of our leaf springs changed as there were lots of bumps along the way.  We made it to our destination, Bras D’Or Lake Campground, safe and sound about 130pm which was perfect. Except then it took about 2 hours to get parked after trying several spots that were way too tight for us, made more difficult because the grass was super wet after 11 days of rain there. If the trailer went off the parking spot even by a foot it would begin to sink fast! At one point the trailer tire was sunk half way up the rim! Good thing Dharma (our truck) is strong cause it took all her power to get Luna (our trailer) out. 

Once we got parked and settled it was getting late in the day so we walked to the shore and checked it all out. The campground is very nice and has beach access into the lake.  I wasn’t really familiar with Bras D’Or lakes really until this visit and they are magnificent in their beautiful, interesting shorelines. Perfect to explore by boat for sure. And luckily the bugs were not like the night before in Tatamagouche!

The next day was Canada Day and the weather was so very perfect! I put on my only red outfit and off we went to explore Baddeck, NS along with all the other locals out to celebrate our country!

Canada Day is much like the 4th of July in the US, but without as many fireworks thankfully. In the US, at least where I’ve lived, it sounds like a war zone all night long!  Other than that difference it’s pretty similar with family barbeques, get togethers, parades and live music. 

Having never been to Baddeck before we just drove right to the waterfront and parked there which was a great choice. Lots of restaurants, shops and bars within walking distance. We chose a beautiful restaurant called The Freight Shed with a patio looking over the docks for lunch.  The view and atmosphere and seafood, along with all the NS accents was just perfect!  

As we were leaving the restaurant the parade started up so we joined in with the locals and waved to the participants. Fire trucks and local clubs made their way through the town streets with lots of excitement and noise. It was nice to see how excited they were to be able to gather and have the celebrations after several years without them due to Covid. Everyone was out and the streets were lined with people, especially by the ice cream shop!  

We chose to visit the Yacht Club for some live music and cold beverages instead of the ice cream, and we were not disappointed. Beautiful view of the lake, plus traditional Nova Scotia music and great conversations with locals and tourists as well.  Canada Day at it’s best!

To top it off, since we were in Cape Breton they were having a Ceilidh that night too! A Ceilidh is a Gaelic word for a gathering, like a kitchen party. They have them all over Cape Breton and are a must to attend when in the region to experience the energy and tradition of the gatherings. 

After dinner back at the trailer we headed over to the Baddeck Legion for a night of fiddle music, stories and song.This Ceilidh was actually part of the Kitchenfest series taking place every day from July 1 to 9th in various Cape Breton locations in the area.  Four talented musicians, Morgan Toney, Isabella Samson, Jesse Cox and Keith Mullins in their own right joined together this night to entertain us and educate us as well on their variety of traditional music mixed with their own new styles too. Morgan Toney was especially interesting as he combines his native Mi’kmaq roots with his love of Celtic fiddle music creating a fresh new style he calls “Mi’kmaltic”.

So that was Canada Day in Cape Breton, but the weekend wasn’t over yet!  We had two famous activities yet to come: Visit to Fortress Louisbourg and Driving the Cabot Trail! 

But they deserve a spotlight of their own… so to be continued…

How did my other fellow Canadians celebrate Canada Day this year? What are your favorite Canada Day memories? Share in the comments below, maybe that will be our next year’s plans!