True North

Cruising Cape Breton Island’s captivating Cabot Trail in a Land Rover Defender

- By Jared Paul Stern. Photography by Adam Hill

“A winding mix of roadway, paths, stairs, and stunning beauty that takes you from unreal ocean vistas to quaint fishing villages”—if anything, Cape Breton Island’s tourism bureau understates the appeal of the 185-mile-long Cabot Trail, one of the most scenic drives in the world. The Trail, which loops around a sizable chunk of the island, passing through Cape Breton Highlands National Park at its northernmost point, has long enticed visitors to this remote, briny end of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. And yet it has managed to mostly stay under the radar with a certain class of traveler, as its craggy attractions have never included much in the way of high-end hospitality.

That began to change in recent years with the development of Cabot Cape Breton, an award-winning golf resort on a rocky promontory on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, which recently added a 10hole short course and additional luxury real estate offerings. The island, home to Glenora, the oldest single malt whisky in North America, has also gained a reputation for phenomenal food and drink—no surprise given Cape Breton’s strong French heritage—making the most of the bounty of its fisheries, farms, breweries and distilleries.