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Cabot Trail: Pleasant Bay to Ingonish, Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia
Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.0

Drives Nova Scotia Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island

Cabot Trail: Pleasant Bay to Ingonish

Cabot Trail · Pleasant Bay → Ingonish Beach

Sweeping45 mi1 hr 20 min4,000 ft climbHigh point ≈ 1,500 ftOne way
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The drive

This leg of the Cabot Trail goes from Pleasant Bay across the top of Cape Breton to Ingonish Beach. About a third of the whole Cabot Trail runs through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, with ocean and mountain views.

Cape North is described as a headland at the northernmost point of the Cabot Trail, and the route ends at Ingonish, where the Keltic Lodge resort and Ingonish Beach are.

The drive is 45.3 miles and takes about 1 hr 20 min. It climbs roughly 4,000 feet in all, to a high point of 1,500 feet.

Along the way

  1. Pleasant Bay
  2. Lone Shieling
  3. Cape North
  4. Neils Harbour
  5. Ingonish Beach
Elevation
4,000 ft of climbing · high point ≈ 1,500 ft
Pleasant BayIngonish Beach
Curves
Mostly gentle curves
Pleasant BayIngonish Beach
GentleHairpins

Good to know

  • Parks Canada charges daily admission in the national park.
  • Visitor services in the park run from mid-May to late October, though the park is open year-round.
  • Check 511 Nova Scotia and Parks Canada before you go.

Open all year, weather permitting. Roads close for snow, fire, storms and repairs: before you set off, check Parks Canada: Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Questions about this drive

How long does the Cabot Trail from Pleasant Bay to Ingonish take?

Pleasant Bay to Ingonish Beach is 45.3 miles and takes about 1 hr 20 min without stops.

Is there a fee on this part of the Cabot Trail?

Parts of it are inside Cape Breton Highlands National Park, which charges daily admission.

What you get in the app

Turn by turn, on this roadSpoken directions along the exact route. Carve never reroutes you onto a faster one.
Preview it in 3DFly the whole drive over satellite and terrain before you go.
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Live Group TrackingAPEXEveryone on the route, on the map, by name.
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More drives near here

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Distance, time, elevation, curves and intensity are from Carve's route. Checked 2026-10-28.

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Map of Cabot Trail: Pleasant Bay to Ingonish, from Pleasant Bay to Ingonish Beach