Why Visit Cape Breton? Five Reasons This Island Will Change You

If you’ve ever asked yourself why visit Cape Breton when there’s a whole world out there, girl, I hear you. I asked myself the same thing for about twenty years.

I was wrong about so much. Embarrassingly, eye-rollingly wrong.

Cape Breton, as it happens, is the travel prescription you didn’t know you needed. So call me Dr. Candace because I’m handing this one out for free.

Full disclosure, I didn’t always feel this way. I actually hated Cape Breton for a long time. My family roots run deep on this island, so every single summer vacation growing up was spent there visiting relatives. By the time I was a surly teenager, I’d had enough and refused to go.

“Um, like, there are so many better places out there,” I’d say, complete with eye roll and hair flip. Sigh. Youth really is wasted on the young.

I’ve been to many of the places I would have deemed “better” back then —The Islands of Tahiti, Iceland, France, Italy — and while I loved them all, it is Cape Breton, the place I rejected for so long, that has captured my heart for good.

I am the Prodigal Daughter returned.

And I am so grateful that Cape Breton welcomed me back with open arms.

The mission now is to move there, but for now I placate myself with frequent visits.

What makes this island paradise so special will be different for everyone, but I can tell you that if you’re seeking peace and an escape from the frenetic pace of your life, then head east woman, head east.

The Cabot Trail: Cape Breton’s Crown Jewel

My cousin Tanya is a nervous passenger in a car, so the day we hit The Cabot Trail, I let her drive my car. Halfway through the trip though, I couldn’t take it any longer. I forced her into the passenger seat because if a road can be sexy as hell, The Cabot Trail is the hottest thing out there. Oh baby, those curves are hot.

Built for drivers, this road twists and turns 298 kilometres around the northern tip of Cape Breton offering jaw-dropping views the entire way. Frequently topping lists around the globe for best highway and most scenic drive, the Cabot Trail isn’t just a road — it’s the whole damn reason to rent a car. Cliffs, ocean, highlands, moose (yes, watch for moose) — it delivers all of it, sometimes within the same five-kilometre stretch. If driving turns you on, get thee to Cape Breton and hit the gas, baby.

The People of Cape Breton

I have a theory that the further east you travel from Ontario, the nicer the people get. We’re Canadian and yes, we’re all nice, so don’t even think about at’ing me on this. I’m not suggesting Vancouver is filled with mean people, just that if the sliding scale starts at Nice in Vancouver and ends with Nicest in Newfoundland, then Cape Bretoners are pretty damn close to perfection.

Part of what makes the people here so distinctive is the culture they’re steeped in. Cape Breton is the only place in Canada where road signs appear in both English and Gaelic — and that’s not a tourist gimmick, that’s just Tuesday. The Gaelic College in St. Ann’s is the only standalone Gaelic college in North America. There’s a deep Acadian presence, a strong Mi’kmaq heritage that predates every settler who followed, and a Scottish Highland influence so embedded in the DNA of this island that you can hear it in the music, taste it in the kitchen, and feel it in how people treat a stranger.

My own family roots here go back to 1545, when two Samson brothers from France arrived and settled on this island. I am, in the most literal sense, from here. And I promise you — the warmth you’ll encounter isn’t performance. It’s just who these people are.

The first time someone asks if “you’re from away”, or calls you “dear” in their wonderfully unique Cape Breton accent, you’ll get a little tug on your heart strings. Welcoming and warm, Cape Bretoners treat everyone like family and their attitude is contagious. I guarantee you’ll return home a littler nicer yourself.

The Beaches

If there was a natural habitat for me, it would most definitely be on a beach. In Cape Breton, I returned to the motherland. From hunting for sea glass on Florence Beach, to swimming in the Bras D’or Lakes at Groves Point, to jumping in the waves at Ingonish, I lived in my swimsuit and lapped up every delicious moment getting salty.

The Bras D’or Lakes deserve a special mention here because they are genuinely one of Canada’s most extraordinary natural wonders. A UNESCO Lake Biosphere Reserve, the Bras D’or is an inland sea — not a lake in the way you’re picturing it — fed by both the Atlantic Ocean and freshwater rivers that wind down through the highlands. The result is a vast, brackish body of water that sits in the middle of the island like a secret. It’s warm, it’s calm, it’s staggeringly beautiful, and most people outside of Nova Scotia have never heard of it. That’s Cape Breton’s whole thing, honestly.

Water is everywhere on this island. You can cool off in the Gypsum Mine near Cheticamp, dunk in the freshwater lake just steps from the ocean at Ingonish, and wash off the salt under a gorgeous waterfall at Black Brook Beach. Speaking of waterfalls — you could build an entire Cape Breton itinerary around chasing them alone. Black Brook is the most accessible just off the trail, but venture further and you’ll find cascades tucked into highland trails that feel like nobody else has found them yet.

The best part of all of this is that with so many options, there is rarely overcrowding anywhere you go. No lineups, no crowds, no problem.

Natural Beauty

I wasn’t kidding about prescribing Cape Breton for your stress earlier. Dr. Candace here again, and the science is conclusive that spending 20 minutes a day in nature can dramatically reduce your stress levels. It stands to reason then, that a trip to Cape Breton is like throwing yourself in a natural detox tank.

Cape Breton has a wonderful lack of commercialization and an abundance of wide open spaces that feel increasingly rare in a world that wants to sell you something at every turn. No billboard clutter, no strip malls, no noise. Just highlands, ocean, and sky as far as you can see. There’s actually a term for what we lose when we disconnect from the natural world — the extinction of experience — and Cape Breton is the antidote to all of it.

The Cape Breton Highlands National Park alone has over 26 hiking trails ranging from easy boardwalk strolls to serious highland treks with views that will make your chest ache in the best possible way. Add in the eagles — and yes, Cape Breton has one of the highest concentrations of bald eagles in North America — the whales off the coast, the puffins at Bird Island, and you have a place that doesn’t just reduce your stress, it reminds you what actually matters.

If you’re still wondering why visit Cape Breton over anywhere else, spend one morning in the highlands and you’ll have your answer.

Why Visit Cape Breton? It’s Cheaper Than Therapy

Here’s one of the most underrated reasons why visit Cape Breton keeps coming up in conversations about hidden gem destinations: it won’t drain your bank account.

Accommodations range from high-end like the Keltic Lodge to modest, like camping in the Cape Breton Highlands with Parks Canada. Finding a place to stay suited to your budget is genuinely easy, and the beauty of Cape Breton is that even the modest options put you steps from something spectacular.

Here’s the absolutely joyful part though. You’ll find no outlet malls, crazy theme parks, or tourist traps designed to separate you from your money. What you will find are amazing cultural experiences like ceilidhs, natural excursions like checking out Puffins on Bird Island, and wide open spaces to clear your head and fill your heart. Cape Breton doesn’t need to dress itself up. It just is.

Why visit Cape Breton? Because nowhere else comes close.

Candace xoxo

Frequently Asked Questions About Visiting Cape Breton