Thanks from me too. You have until summer 2026 to finish so no rush. 
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Thank you! Would love to see what non-food activities you had.
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I really like Brier Island, back of beyond on the SW end S of the ferry to New Brunswick - as I recall you have to cross at least one ferry to get to the lightly populated island. LOts of good hikes, a lighthouse, lots of fog and not too many people. Maybe not as scenic as Cape Breton but not so far. Annapolis Royale is a cool little town which actually has a fort. A small one. At least one very good french restaurant too. Ferrys are always fun for kids I drove up from NY and took the ferry both ways to NS though it may be faster to drive (my Bro did that) Im sorry about everything I didnt have a chance to see going up there, the maine coast above Acadia is lovely and the N of Maine is quite wild and open.
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Next we made our way to the town of Cheticamp on the other side of the Cabot Trail.
Aucoin Bakery - Cheticamp
I was let loose in this bakery unaccompanied and bought a ridiculous amount of goodies, including their version of tourtiere, a meat pie which heated up beautifully in our lodgingâs oven. I donât remember exactly what we got, but this is a must-stop if youâre in Cheticamp.
Last Chance Sandwich - Cheticamp
Perfect place to grab sandwiches before a hike. Our sandwiches were made to order by the two loveliest ladies. Bonus points for the amazing kooky pickle statue out front (Pierre Pickles) that my daughter loved.
Freya and Thor - Cheticamp -
MUST visit. Combo coffee shop, art gallery, and impromptu music venue. We stumbled upon this place and bought some incredible local art and enjoyed tasty hot beverages and snacks while listening to an incredible local trio singing (mostly in French) and playing instruments in a back room of the venue. They were so sweet with my daughter, who was very into the music. It was very serendipitous and one of those things you just canât plan even if you try and felt just so authentically symbolic of the region as a whole.
Doryman - Cheticamp
Another very cool local experience with live music and a boisterous, welcoming crowd. It was really important to us to experience some of the areaâs music and we did just that here, while also enjoying some drinks and solid (if not very memorable) local seafood. Tables are communal and we were best friends with our neighbors on both sides by the end of the night. Kid friendly due to its loudness. Everyone in this restaurant was happy to be there enjoying good music.
Mr. Chicken - Cheticamp
Chicken (of course) and ice cream are their specialties. We ended up getting ice cream here twice. The ice cream is nothing special, but the view is - especially at sunset (see photo)! Great for kids and a sweet topping off to a great night.
LâAbri - Cheticamp
We did a lot of casual dining on this trip, but this was one of our special meals. It has a beautiful view and some outdoor seating. We were seated indoors at a table right by the window and had a fantastic meal. We had our first of many more bowls of crab dip, crudo (canât remember what kind of fish), a huge fresh salad, and apparently we all hadâŚ. burgers?? Haha maybe at this point we needed a break from seafood. They also gifted me a free cocktail since they didnât have an ingredient for the one I ordered so they had to go run and get that ingredient, which was a nice gesture. They did have a kids meal, which almost all the restaurants we went to in NS did, which to me just exemplifies how much children are welcomed in this corner of the world. Mr. Chicken for dessert to enjoy another incredible Cape Breton sunset.
Mabou Farmersâ Market - Mabou
Another must-visit. More amazing live local musicâ a fiddler and a keyboardist. We got more incredible local crafts and a plethora of snacks for the road. Mostly locals, all friendly and welcoming to us tourists. I love visiting farmersâ markets in new places, and this one was fantastic. We had zero cash but luckily they have market bucks you can buy with a credit card.
Grape Leaves - Antigonish
We stopped for lunch at this great Syrian restaurant. They have fresh smoothies and we had a kebab wrap, kebab platter, and some sort of bowl. The people were very friendly. No seating inside. We found a sunny bench and gobbled it up before continuing on to our final stop, Lunenberg.
Bar Salvador - Lunenburg
This was one of the aforementioned 95 degree days and we rapidly learned that we should not have assumed that our âchaletâ (basically a step up from camping) would be air conditioned. We thought weâd catch some cool air in town, but air conditioning is scarce there too. Anyway, we hadnât made a reservation anywhere, which was a mistake, but we found a tiny barrel at Bar Salvador to crowd around and enjoy some cold drinks and small plates. I loved how welcoming they were to my daughter, who impressed them with her adventurousness and good behavior. Her first time trying tinned anchovies and she ate 90% of the order of tuna crudo. As we experienced throughout the trip, the service was friendly (and apologetic about the weather, as if she felt personally responsible, lol).
Kiwi Cafe - Chester
We grabbed lunch here before being beach bums. Really fantastic lox and bagel sandwiches for the adults, and presumably something kid friendly for the kid (gobbled up before photo evidence could be registered). Some delicious baked goods as well. Great for a beach picnic.
Salt Shaker - Lunenburg
Highly recommend this cute spot in Lunenburg with outdoor seats that have a limited view of the harbor. My daughter had more seafood chowder and her new favorite app, crab dip, which she inhaled, and my husband and I shared fish cakes and salmon risotto, both tasty and fresh. The abundance and freshness of seafood is just absolutely unlike anywhere else Iâve ever been.
Rose Bay Bistro - Rose Bay
Another highly recommended spot - we stopped on the way to or from another beach day. This place is super popular and for good reason. I had another super fresh lobster roll, while my husband indulged in his favorite Canadian cuisine, poutine, along with a sandwich. My daughter had pizza, which wasnât half bad.
Beach Pea Cafe - Lunenburg
To top off our trip, we ended at this more upscale spot. Even this fancier spot had a kidsâ menu (great bowl of tomato sauced pasta for the kid) and they were more than welcoming of our well behaved kiddo. Iâve never seen raw scallops on the half shell on a menu, and that alone was well worth the trip. (My daughter valiantly tried one - she loves sushi but this was a bridge too far for her, lol). Succulent and sweet, and perfectly fresh. It looks like we also ordered more tuna tartare, which is a favorite of our daughterâs, and I had a shrimp pasta dish that I remember being way spicier than advertised. I preferred my husbandâs scallop risotto, which came with 5 large perfectly cooked scallops, putting to shame any NY restaurant that skimps on scallop portions. We capped the night off with delicious cheesecake.
Writing this up has brought back so many memories of the amazing meals we had. While food was central to this trip, the area is so incredibly gorgeous and the culture so rich, I have been recommending this area to nature lovers, food lovers, art lovers, music lovers, hiking lovers, etc. etc. There is something for everyone. I will post a quick list of some of the non-food highlights for us since it seems that others are interested. We really only scraped the surface and I can certainly see us returning in the future.
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Doryman
View from Mr. Chicken
LâAbri
Mabou market
Grape Leaves
Bar Salvador
Kiwi cafe
Salt Shaker
Rose Bay
Beach Pea
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wonderful report! I hope to get back (to get my husband to go ) to Nova Scotia with me and see Cape Breton. Weve been to the Gaspe a couple of times, and the N shore of the St Laurence - and I went to Newfoundland Last summer - so many wonderful places in the Maritimes and Quebec but they are even farther away!
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Easily one of my favorite trip reports here on HO. Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive report. Love the name âFreya and Thor,â 2 very important figures in Nordic mythology and the place sounds absolutely up-our-alley.
I think we live inverse lives. 
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Decidedly un-food related- but since some of you seem interested in exploring Nova Scotia, I figured this may be useful! Pictures to followâŚ
Burntcoat Head Park - Noel
Home of the worldâs highest tides. Tides go up to 40+ feet. You walk on the floor of the ocean at low tide. It is truly incredible. We randomly ended up on a nature walk with a guide and we learned a lot and ate seaweed and held lots of little creatures. Wear clothes and (sturdy) shoes you donât care about. Safety note - check the tide charts before heading out, as you can easily get stranded FAST once the tide starts coming back in.
Halls Harbour
More extreme high and low tides. Combine this with a meal at the lobster pound. Check out the fishing boats scraping the ocean floor at low tide. Walk on the rocky beach after and find perfect wishing stones (stones that have a âseamâ that are perfect for making wishes, per our guide at Burntcoat). Perfect at sunset.
Cabot Trail - Cape Breton
Indescribably gorgeous views from this one-of-a-kind route around Cape Breton. Well maintained with plenty of turn-offs for ogling the beauty of nature and snapping photos. Canât really do justice with words to the beauty of this drive. We did it counter-clockwise, so that we would have the coast on the passenger side of the car as we drove.
Ingonish Beach - Ingonish
Gorgeous beach - do note it can be very rocky, and the water is on the chilly side even in the summer. We did a nice easy hike (more like a stroll) around Freshwater Lake. There is a fantastic and well maintained playground in between the beach and the lake.
Cape Smokey - Ingonish
We went up the gondola to the top of Cape Smokey. We didnât venture out to kayak at the top, since it is a bit of a hike to the lake, but that is an option. It was amazing to see Cape Breton from so high up. A fun and not-taxing way to explore a bit with kids.
Whale Interpretive Center - Pleasant Bay
A cute, small museum with a lot of very interesting info about whales. Good for a quick stop for kids and adults alike, especially on a rainy day.
Whale Watching - Pleasant Bay
You can choose between zodiac tours or fishing boat type tours - we chose the latter with our daughter but the zodiacs can get closer. We only saw one whale from a distance but the adventure of looking for them was exhilarating and we did see seals and porpoises! Highly recommend!
Skyline Trail
This is an absolute MUST. We did the shorter version, which is 4 miles round trip. The out and back is through a wooded area, but the payoff is at the coast. Unfortunately, we had a few days of overcast, foggy weather while we were in Cheticamp, so the day we hiked Skyline, there was not really much view to speak of once we reached the boardwalk at the coast. However, the next day, when we were driving along the Cabot Trail, we saw hikers hiking the trail, and realized just how high up and precariously balanced weâd been, which blew my daughters mind! We still enjoyed this, even without ideal weather.
Le Centre de la Mi-Careme - Grand Etang
Acadian cultural center with the nicest staff. Really interesting exhibit on the celebration that marks the halfway point of Lent; itâs a Carnival type celebration with intricate costumes and masks. We signed up for an art project for our daughter, and got to chat with a local for an hour about the island while she painted a mask that she treasures to this day.
Bog Trail - between Cheticamp and Pleasant Bay
A great easy trail with amazingly interesting pitcher plants along the boardwalk, teeming with flowers and plants. Great for kids. We saw a moose somewhere between here and our next destination on the side of the road, which was one of the highlights of our trip!
Kayaking - Blue Rocks
We rented two kayaks and enjoyed a few hours of paddling around this area. Itâs fairly easy paddling except for a short distance when you get back to the channel that leads in and out. You can do a guided tour if youâre not feeling quite so adventurous. Tons of bird life and a nice way to spend a few hours.
Star Charters Sailing Tour - Lunenburg
We did a sunset tour on this amazing sailboat. The boat really sails and can tilt quite a bit at times, so keep that in mind if you arenât big sailors. Our favorite part was the pod of dolphins who were swimming as we sailed. It gets quite chilly out at sea, so dress appropriately.
Ovens Natural Park - Riverport
Incredible sea caves accessed by an easy hike (with some steep stairs). We had seen mixed reviews online, but we found it to be a really unique and fun short outing.
Rissers Beach - Crescent Beach
A lovely beach that we accessed with the LaHave ferry, which is a free ferry open to vehicles and walkers alike (and an attraction in its own right for us, since weâd never been on a ferry like this before). It is a well maintained beach with lifeguards. Cold water but beautiful nonetheless.
Peggyâs Cove Lighthouse - Peggyâs Cove
We made a detour here on our way to the airport and spent a short time exploring. One of the only places in NS where we found a crowd, but for good reason, as it is quite picturesque.
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I miss Nova Sctia also. My wife and I spent our honeymoon there in July 1965 and went back every summer until I went in the Navy in 1969 and got an all expense paid trip to Vietnam. We loved NS and I actually bought land in the Yarmouth area to built a summer place but we moved to the Upper Midwest and never made it back. Quel dommage.
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