15 Best Stops on the Cabot Trail With Kids (From Our Trip)
If you’re planning a trip to Cape Breton with kids, here are the stops on the Cabot Trail I’d add to your family road trip. But… this isn’t a list of every possible Cabot Trail viewpoint or attraction. These are the Cabot Trail stops we actually made with our kids.
We hiked to waterfalls where the boys could play in the water, searched for seals from the rocks, stopped at a goat farm for gelato, had a picnic beside a waterfall and visited a museum where the kids got called on stage for science experiments.
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Our 5 Favourite Cabot Trail Stops With Kids
We made a LOT of stops while driving the Cabot Trail, but if you don’t have time for all of them, there are a few that we ALL loved and would do again.
If I were planning our trip again and could only choose five, these are the Cabot Trail stops I’d prioritize:
🥾 Skyline Trail: This is the classic Cabot Trail experience, and despite being 6.5 km, it was much easier with the boys than I expected. The final coastal views make the hike completely worth it.
🦭 Green Cove: Probably our biggest unexpected favourite. We almost skipped it and ended up watching seals and two bald eagles from the rocks. If you’re travelling with wildlife-loving kids, don’t miss this quick stop.
💦 Egypt Falls: The most adventurous hike on this list. It’s short but surprisingly steep, and the waterfall at the bottom is incredible. In summer, bring water shoes and bathing suits so the kids can play in the water.
🧪 Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site: Our biggest surprise. The science demonstrations, Parks Canada activity booklet and interactive exhibits made this much more fun for the kids than I expected. It’s also an excellent rainy-day option (which we had).
🍦 Groovy Goat Farm: Not the most iconic Cabot Trail stop, but definitely one of the easiest wins with kids. After a long day of hiking and driving, seeing the animals and sharing some gelato was exactly what we needed.
The biggest thing I’d keep in mind when choosing your own Cabot Trail stops is that your kids probably don’t need another scenic viewpoint nearly as much as they need somewhere to get out of the car.
💡 More on the Cabot Trail and Cape Breton:
7 Things I Wish I Knew Before Driving the Cabot Trail
3-Day Cape Breton Itinerary With Kids: Our Cabot Trail Road Trip
Our Experience Hiking the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton, NS
Is the Cabot Trail Worth Driving With Kids? Our Honest Take
15 Best Stops on the Cabot Trail With Kids
1. Egypt Falls: Our Favourite Waterfall Stop
Egypt Falls was one of our first stops as we made our way toward Chéticamp, and it ended up being one of the most adventurous short hikes we did in Cape Breton.
The trail is only about 1.8 km round trip (though we clocked in more steps as we took a wrong turn), with roughly 108 metres of elevation gain, so on paper it doesn’t sound particularly difficult.
It was MUCH steeper than we expected.
The trail heads down through the forest toward the waterfall, which means the hard part comes when you have to climb all the way back up. There was plenty of shade, which we really appreciated on a warm summer day, but I definitely wished I’d brought hiking poles for the climb back to the car.
But, it was completely worth the effort.
The waterfall is beautiful, and you can get right down to the water at its base. The boys had SO much fun playing in the water. I’m so glad we came prepared and had our swimwear.
🏊♀️ If you’re visiting in summer, bring water shoes and bathing suits so the kids can really enjoy the water.
One other thing to know is that you’ll need to drive along a dirt road to reach the trailhead, so don’t be surprised when your navigation takes you off the main road.
2. Belle Côte Viewpoint: Our First Real Cabot Trail Views
After seeing so many photos of the Cabot Trail before our trip, I had pictured most of the drive following the coastline with dramatic cliffs and ocean views.
As I mentioned in our guide to driving the Cabot Trail, that’s not really the case. A lot more of the drive is inland and through the forest than I expected.
But around Belle Côte, we finally got that moment of: THIS is the Cabot Trail I had pictured.
The road gets much closer to the water, with the mountains and cliffs rising around you and beautiful views over the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We also got incredibly lucky with the weather. The sky was clear and blue, which ended up being pretty rare during our time in Cape Breton.
We pulled into one of the roadside viewpoints and just took it all in for a while. I unfortunately didn’t save the exact location of the viewpoint where we stopped, but the pullout is hard to miss.
3. Seafood Stop Restaurant & Fish Market
One of the best parts of travelling is getting recommendations from people you meet along the way, and that’s exactly how we ended up at the Seafood Stop Restaurant & Fish Market.
While hiking at Egypt Falls, we met a family from the area who recommended stopping here for seafood before reaching Chéticamp. We hadn’t planned on eating there, but we decided to take their advice.
I’m glad we did.
We ordered a few different dishes to share, including fish and chips, seafood chowder and a shrimp and scallop stir-fry that was the special that day. Everything was good, but the seafood chowder was easily my favourite.
4. Chéticamp: The Best Overnight Stop Before the Skyline Trail
Chéticamp wasn’t just another stop along the Cabot Trail for us. It was also our home base for the night, and I’m really glad we planned our itinerary that way.
What I loved most about staying in Chéticamp, though, was simply being in an Acadian community. As a French Canadian family, it felt pretty special to experience that side of Cape Breton and see another piece of the island’s culture beyond the Scottish heritage it’s so famous for.
But there was also a very practical reason we chose Chéticamp: the Skyline Trail.
We stayed at Laurie’s Motor Inn, which was well located for exploring the town on foot. After checking in, we could walk down toward the marina, where we enjoyed a beautiful sunset before settling in for the night.
5. Skyline Trail: The Must-Do Cabot Trail Hike
If you’re going to choose one longer hike while driving the Cabot Trail with kids, it has to be the Skyline Trail.
I was actually a little nervous about this one before we started. The out-and-back trail is about 6.5 km, which is a decent distance with kids, and from all the photos I’d seen, I had imagined a much more challenging hike along the side of the mountain.
It ended up being much easier than I expected.
Most of the trail is relatively flat and takes you through the forest. In fact, for a good portion of the hike, there aren’t any ocean views at all. It’s only toward the end that you reach the famous coastal viewpoint and boardwalk overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
And THAT is where you understand why everyone recommends this hike. The views were beautiful, and the boys handled the distance really well.
6. The Lone Shieling
The trail is only about 1 km round trip and takes you through a beautiful forest to a small stone hut built to resemble the traditional homes found in the Scottish Highlands. It gave us a little glimpse into the Scottish heritage that you’ll see throughout Cape Breton, so there’s some history mixed into the stop too.
The trail also follows a stream, which, unsurprisingly, ended up being more interesting to the boys than the historic stone hut. We stopped for a while so they could skip rocks in the water before eventually making our way back to the car.
7. Beulach Ban Falls
Unlike Egypt Falls, there was no steep hike involved here. It’s only a very short walk to reach the waterfall.
The waterfall itself is beautiful, and you can get close to the water at the bottom. You can enjoy the water too.
We had packed a picnic, so instead of trying to find somewhere to eat along the Cabot Trail, we stopped here for lunch.
8. North Highlands Community Museum: A Surprisingly Fun Stop With Kids
North Highlands Community Museum was completely unplanned. It’s right at an intersection, we saw the sign and decided to just stop.
The museum shares the history of northern Cape Breton, with exhibits about the early settlers, local families, fishing and what everyday life looked like in this part of the island.
We ended up staying much longer than planned. Plus, it’s always nice to learn a little more about the communities we were driving through, but I didn’t necessarily expect this to be one of the places where we’d spend a lot of time.
The staff were also SO nice with the boys. They took the time to show them different things around the museum. One of the coolest was a piece from the Titanic, which immediately got their attention and led to lots of questions.
9. Tartans & Treasures: A Fun Scottish Souvenir Stop
If you want to bring home a souvenir that actually feels connected to Cape Breton, Tartans & Treasures is a fun little stop along the Cabot Trail.
The shop is filled with Scottish and Highland-inspired gifts, including lots of tartan products. We ended up finding some coasters with the boys’ family name and tartan on them and brought those home as our souvenir from the stop.
10. Neil’s Harbour
Neil’s Harbour is a small fishing village along the Cabot Trail and a really nice place to stop.
We walked around the harbour, enjoyed the coastal views and checked out the lighthouse, which has been converted into an ice cream shop. With kids, turning a lighthouse stop into an ice cream stop is obviously never a bad thing!
There is also the Chowder House to grab food.
We also spotted seals swimming in the water near the Chowder House.
It was our first really good seal sighting along the Cabot Trail, so naturally, the boys were much more interested in watching the water than anything else happening around the harbour.
11. Green Cove: Our Favourite Wildlife Stop on the Cabot Trail
We almost didn’t stop at Green Cove.
It had already been a busy day, and from the road, it looked like it would just be another quick coastal viewpoint (ok… we sound spoiled here 🤣). But at the last minute, we decided to pull over.
I’m SO glad we did because it ended up being one of my favourite stops on the entire Cabot Trail.
From the parking lot, it’s only a super short walk out to the rocky coastline. We found a spot on the rocks, sat down and started watching the water.
And then the show started.
We spotted a family of seals swimming just offshore. Then, as we were watching them, we noticed two bald eagles flying overhead and trying to catch fish from the water. Between the seals, the eagles and the ocean, it felt like we had stumbled onto our own little Cape Breton wildlife show.
The boys loved it.
There was also a Parks Canada staff member there during our visit, which made the stop even better. The kids could ask questions, and we learned more about the different marine animals you can potentially spot from Green Cove.
12. Groovy Goat Farm
After a full day of hiking, waterfalls, museums, wildlife spotting and driving the Cabot Trail, Groovy Goat Farm was our last stop of the day, and it was a pretty perfect way to finish.
Groovy Goat is a bit of a funky place with a small petting farm where the kids could see the goats and a few other animals including a Highland cow (which was pretty exciting and SO cute).
But let’s be honest. After a long day on the road, we were mostly here for the gelato.
We ordered a few different flavours to share, and they were really good. The mango was my favourite, although the chocolate was a close second.
Since this is a goat farm, they also make goat milk soap. We had fun smelling some of the different soaps in the shop and ended up bringing one home with us.
13. Middle Head Trail: The Hike We Didn’t Finish
Middle Head Trail was high on our list for our final day on the Cabot Trail.
The trail follows a narrow peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and Ingonish Bay, and from everything I’d seen before our trip, the coastal views looked incredible. At around 4 km, it also seemed like a very manageable family hike.
Unfortunately, Cape Breton’s weather had other plans for us.
We woke up to a really cloudy and foggy day, and by the time we reached the trailhead, visibility wasn’t great. We decided to start hiking anyway, hoping the fog might clear or we’d still get some nice views along the way.
It didn’t take long for us to reconsider.
The boys were already pretty tired after everything we’d done over the previous couple of days. Then we passed signs warning about coyotes in the area, and the kids got a little nervous about continuing.
Between tired kids, thick fog and almost no chance of seeing the coastal views we’d come for, we decided to turn around.
Even though we didn’t complete the Middle Head Trail, I’m still glad we drove out there. The road toward the trailhead takes you past the beautiful Keltic Lodge area (and the Keltic Resort) , and even in the fog, we could tell how spectacular this part of Cape Breton must be when the weather cooperates.
14. Ingonish Beach
Ingonish Beach was another stop we had planned for our Cabot Trail itinerary, especially that the kids LOVED the ocean and swimming. They are like little fishes.
But we never actually made it there.
After spending the previous evening enjoying the private beach at our accommodation, we woke up to a cold, rainy and incredibly foggy day. Beach time just wasn’t going to happen.
We considered stopping anyway, but with the weather and everything else we wanted to fit into our final day, we decided to skip it.
And that’s one of the realities of planning a trip around Cape Breton: the weather might change your itinerary.
So I can’t personally tell you whether Ingonish Beach is one of the best beaches for families on the Cabot Trail because we didn’t properly experience it. It’s still somewhere I’d keep on our list for a future trip, ideally on a much sunnier day.
15. Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site: Our Biggest Surprise With Kids
The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck was easily one of the biggest surprises of our Cape Breton trip.
First, I have a slightly embarrassing Canadian confession to make: I had no idea Alexander Graham Bell had such strong ties to Canada before visiting.
I obviously knew who he was and knew about the telephone, but there was SO much more to his story than I realized. We all ended up learning a lot during our visit.
And this wasn’t one of those museums where the adults are interested and the kids are just waiting to leave.
There were activities that kept the boys engaged throughout our visit, including a science demonstration specifically designed for kids. The presenter asked for volunteers, and both boys ended up going on stage to participate in one of the experiments, which was definitely a highlight for them.
Like many Parks Canada National Historic Sites we’ve visited across Canada, there was also an activity booklet the kids could complete as we explored. We’ve found these booklets really helpful because they give the boys something specific to look for instead of simply following us through exhibits.
The old rotary telephone also kept them busy for a surprisingly long time.
The site was undergoing some construction when we visited, but we didn’t take away from our experience. There was still plenty to see and do.
16. Baddeck: A Town I Wish We’d Had More Time to Explore
Baddeck was supposed to be more than a quick stop for us.
Our original Cape Breton itinerary included an overnight stay here, which would have given us more time to explore the town, enjoy the waterfront and hopefully experience some of the Celtic culture Baddeck is known for.
But once again, the Cape Breton weather changed our plans.
The forecast was calling for more rain and heavy fog, and since we’d already had to skip Ingonish Beach and turn around on the Middle Head Trail, we decided to cut one night from our Cape Breton stay.
So instead of spending the night in Baddeck, we only had a few hours.
We visited the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, drove around town and by the marina, and stopped for coffee at Village People Coffee.
And on a cold, foggy and rainy day, that warm latte was EXACTLY what I wanted.
Apparently, everyone else had the same idea because the coffee shop was packed when we arrived.
Even with our shortened visit, we wished we had stayed longer in Baddeck. The waterfront setting is beautiful, and I was a little disappointed that the weather meant we didn’t get to experience more of what we’d originally planned.
Baddeck also has strong Scottish and Celtic roots, and I would have loved to add a Celtic music or dance performance to our visit. That’s definitely something I’d look into if we return.
FAQ: Cabot Trail Stops With Kids
What are the best stops on the Cabot Trail with kids?
Our favourite Cabot Trail stops with kids were the Skyline Trail, Green Cove, Egypt Falls, the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site and Groovy Goat Farm.
But they were favourites for very different reasons. Skyline gave us those iconic Cape Breton views, Green Cove was incredible for wildlife, Egypt Falls was a fun adventure, Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site was surprisingly interactive and Groovy Goat Farm gave the kids a much-needed break from hiking and scenic driving.
I’d try to include a mix of experiences rather than filling your entire day with viewpoints.
Where can you see seals along the Cabot Trail?
We saw seals in two places while driving the Cabot Trail: Neil’s Harbour and Green Cove.
Green Cove was by far our best wildlife experience. We sat on the rocks watching a family of seals in the water while two bald eagles flew overhead looking for fish.
Of course, wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, but I’d definitely bring binoculars or a zoom lens. I left my zoom lens behind and immediately regretted it!
Is the Skyline Trail good for kids?
The Skyline Trail worked really well for our kids, but at approximately 7.5 km out and back, it won’t be suitable for every family.
What surprised me was how relatively easy the trail itself felt. Most of our hike was fairly flat and through the forest, with the famous coastal views and boardwalk coming toward the end.
In fact, our kids found the Skyline Trail easier than the much shorter but significantly steeper Egypt Falls hike we’d done the previous day.
If your kids are already comfortable hiking that kind of distance, I’d absolutely add it to your Cabot Trail itinerary.
What are the easiest Cabot Trail stops for younger kids?
You don’t need to do long hikes to enjoy the Cabot Trail with kids.
Green Cove requires only a very short walk to the rocks, Beulach Ban Falls gives you an impressive waterfall without a big hike, and the Lone Shieling is an easy forest walk of about 1 km.
Neil’s Harbour and Groovy Goat Farm are also good options when everyone needs a break from hiking.
Where is a good place to have a picnic on the Cabot Trail?
Beulach Ban Falls worked perfectly for us. There was a picnic table near the parking area, so we stopped for lunch after visiting the waterfall.
I’d definitely recommend keeping picnic food and snacks in the car while driving the Cabot Trail with kids. Having our own food gave us much more flexibility and meant we didn’t have to plan the entire day around finding a restaurant at a specific time.
How many days do you need to explore the Cabot Trail with kids?
I’d give yourself around two to three days if you want to make several stops and do some hiking.
We spread our stops over roughly three days, including our arrival into Chéticamp and our final day around Ingonish and Baddeck.
For us, that was much better than trying to complete the entire Cabot Trail in one long driving day. The boys had plenty of opportunities to get out of the car, and we had enough flexibility to stay longer at places we enjoyed or change our plans when the weather didn’t cooperate.
That’s probably the biggest thing I’d recommend when planning the Cabot Trail with kids: don’t measure your day by how many kilometres you can cover. Plan it around how often everyone gets to get out of the car and actually experience Cape Breton.
Final Thoughts on the Best Cabot Trail Stops With Kids
Before our trip, I thought the Cabot Trail itself would be the highlight. I pictured those famous winding roads, dramatic cliffs and incredible ocean views.
And yes, the drive is beautiful.
But when I think back on our time in Cape Breton, some of my favourite memories happened after we pulled the car over.
It was the boys playing in the water at Egypt Falls, watching seals and bald eagles from the rocks at Green Cove, having our picnic beside Beulach Ban Falls and somehow being completely entertained by an old rotary telephone at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site.
Those are the moments that made the Cabot Trail work so well as a family road trip.
If you’re driving the Cabot Trail with kids, my biggest advice is to plan fewer stops than you think you need and leave room for the unexpected ones. You don’t need to pull over at every viewpoint or complete every hike.
And whatever you do, don’t skip Green Cove like we almost did. That unplanned stop ended up being one of our favourite memories from the entire Cabot Trail.
