We were staying in Whycocomagh for 2 nights but arrived late in the day. They had laundry facilities in the park so the next morning we took the opportunity to get a few loads done and then go for a hike in the afternoon. We decided to start off on the McQueen Trail and right at the start of the trail was Nova Scotia’s only totem pole! The totem was given to Nova Scotia in 1971 by British Columbia. In 2008 after 37 years of weathering, it was decided it was no longer structurally sound, so they chose Whycocomagh PP as the place to leave it to return it to the earth.
After the McQueen trail, we walked through the upper area of the campground (it’s built into the side of the mountain) and then started the very long and very steep trail to the top of Salt Mountain. Luckily the rain from the night before didn’t make it too slippery. At the very top there was a loop with 3 different lookoffs. When we got to the first lookoff we were blown away by the view! We could see forests and Bras D’Or Lake as far as we good see. There was an Atlantic Salmon farm in the closest bay below us. Shortly after arriving a father and his 2 sons arrived, on a hike for Father’s Day. They were from the Sydney area and asked us lots of questions about our travels and gave us some suggestions. When they went to leave the one son asked if we liked beer and Sharon said I did so he pulled out a can of Quidi Vidi Iceberg beer from Newfoundland and gave it to me, what a nice gesture😉 We carried on to the 2 other lookoffs before heading back down a longer way that took us back to the campground entrance.
When we left Whycocomagh on Monday the forecast was for sun on Monday and rain on Tuesday, so we decided to drive all the way to the Fortress of Louisbourg to see it and then back track to Mira River PP where we were staying for 2 nights.
Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site is a massive, immersive reconstruction of an 18th‑century French fortified town on Cape Breton Island. Once the capital of Île Royale and a key hub for France’s Atlantic fishery and trade, Louisbourg played a central role in the imperial struggle between France and Britain. The fortress was captured twice—1745 and 1758. After the original fortress and town were destroyed by the British in 1760, Louisbourg sat abandoned for two centuries. In 1961, the Government of Canada launched a massive reconstruction project, costing about $25 million—to rebuild roughly one‑quarter of the 1740s town and fortifications. This work continued through the 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s, with additional restoration phases in 2018–2020 and 2022–2023.
The reconstruction relied on:
- Millions of artifacts uncovered through archaeological excavation.
- 750,000 pages of archival documents and 500 historic maps from France, England, Scotland, the U.S., and Canada.
- Original foundations that allowed accurate placement of streets and buildings.
- Craftspeople trained to reproduce 18th‑century building techniques and artifacts, creating what became one of the largest historical reconstruction efforts in North America.
The project also served as an economic lifeline for Cape Breton, employing unemployed coal miners and establishing new heritage‑craft industries.
When we arrived on the grounds, we were surprised by the devastation to the trees from one of the major storms. They have a huge number of parking lots (so it must be very busy in the prime of summer), but the RV lot was almost empty and was close to the visitor centre where you picked up the bus to go to the grounds. We arrived in the early afternoon so after seeing a few sights we went to the restaurant for lunch. The servers were all dressed in costume and they gave you a huge napkin/bib, and you only got a spoon to eat your lunch. I had the Cod dinner, and Sharon had the Seafood Chowder, both very good, and for dessert Sharon had the Chocolate Torte and I had the Rum cake😉
After lunch we spent about 4 hours looking around the grounds and going into the various buildings. Many of the buildings had actors in them who were quite good at playing their parts and not breaking character. The first two were soldiers and they asked where we were from and acted as they had never heard of Ontario or Toronto or even Fort York. Later we saw two ladies making lace and they explained how the patterns worked. Then we saw a Captain and his firewood monger, and they spent about 20 minutes explaining how the captain made money with his 6 ships taking salted cod to the West Indies and returning with rum and sugar. His wood monger collected his wood by boat down the coast and brought it back to the Fortress as they used 10,000 cords of wood per year, so it was a good business. We really had fun interacting with the actors and learning about their way of life. What a phenomenal facility. You could even sleep overnight in some of the buildings if you wanted an extra experience. We were almost the very last to catch the bus at closing time.
When we left Fortress of Louisbourg we drove through the town and it was like a ghost town, no cars, no people. We decided to drive around the harbour to visit Lighthouse Point. The French built the first lighthouse in 1734, but it was damaged by fire in 1736. Another lighthouse was built in 1842, but it was destroyed by fire in 1923 and then the current lighthouse was built in 1924 and then automated in 1990. After this we drove to Mira River where we had a phenomenal site right on the river, the advantage of booking early. Later that evening the rain began and was steady through the night and part of the following morning.
After the rain stopped, we did a 7.5 km hike on the trails and roads of the campground. The one area was called Brickyard Point, and we could see why as there were old bricks along the shore and in the water so maybe there was a factory here way back when. After the trails we enjoyed lunch at our site with red squirrels and loons out on the lake (we’d heard them making mating calls at 2:30 am).
When we left Mira River, we stopped at the Esso station for a fill and met another Leisure Travel Van owner with a Wonder FX. When we left Sydney River, we started following the banks of the Bras D’or Lake along the southern shore. Our first stop was St. Peter’s Canal National Historic Site. We got stopped on the road because the swing bridge was open and a sailboat was going through the canal. Then we drove around to see the actual canal. It was lightly raining but still worth the stop. This canal is one of the few canals in North America to employ a tidal lock. This means they have 2 gates at each end so they can handle the tidal ups and downs of both the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Bras D’or Lake on the other side. A sailboat from Maryland with a just the captain on board was pulling into the lock so we got to watch the entire process happen and speak with the lockmasters on how everything worked. We had noticed some oil sheen on the water surface, and he explained that they use vegetable oil for their hydraulics and they had a minor leak that had been recently repaired. They escorted the sailboat into the lock and then started the valve exchange to equalize the compartments. When the far end of the lock was open, they drove their ATV to the other end so the 2 lockmasters could stop the highway traffic (like we had been stopped) and run the swing bridge to allow the sailboats mast to go through the canal.
The lockmasters said at this time of year only about 5 or 6 boats go through per day but in the peak of the season 40 to 50 boats can go through. The traffic can really get backed up on the highway when they have to keep opening and closing the swing bridge. It was well worth the stop for us.
We carried on to the Canso Causeway to exit Cape Breton, and we had fog and rain again, but we had really enjoyed our Cape Breton adventure. We always say we could have spent even more time, but we were glad we visited as many things as we did, there’s always more to do next time.
