Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Part 1 - Western Shoreline
Cape Breton Island
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Cape Breton Highlands National Park is a large NP which spans the northern part
of Cape Breton Island. From the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the west to the Atlantic
Ocean in the east. | The Cabot Trail is a road which loops the perimeter of the park and covers about 150 miles. Most of those miles are on rocky cliffs, winding, and steep roads. At times the Bounder was really huffing and puffing! This is a great time of year to be here. The campgrounds are almost empty. However, some are already closed! Time for some history! The French were the first (1605) to populate the New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia areas. They named it Acadia, French for "Peaceful Land." In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht awarded this area to Great Britain. The French settlers wanted to keep their language and flag. The flag is the same as a French flag (red, white, and blue vertical stripes) with the addition of a yellow star in the blue area. The Acadian descendents and businesses still call themselves "Acadians" and fly the Acadian flag along with the Canadian flag. They also only speak French among themselves, but switch to a very good English if a non-Acadian talks to them. They are very friendly toward Americans, not like the French in Quebec province. None of the government buildings here fly the Acadian flag. The official language in the Maritimes is English and in Nova Scotia the street signs do not carry the French language like in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario.
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