Route leaf · clockwise
Baddeck → Chéticamp → Pleasant Bay → Ingonish → Baddeck
Driving clockwise meets the Acadian coast first, climbs the western highlands early, and saves Ingonish’s beaches for the final stretch home.
Leg 1 of 4
Baddeck to Chéticamp.
Leave Bras d’Or Lake behind and work northwest toward the open Gulf. This leg is the transition from calm inland water to the Acadian coast — the last easy fuel and grocery stop before the highlands begins at Chéticamp.
Read the Chéticamp guideLeg 2 of 4
Chéticamp to Pleasant Bay.
This is the loop’s steepest, most photographed western stretch, entering Cape Breton Highlands National Park directly and passing the Skyline Trail before dropping to the small harbour at Pleasant Bay.
Read the Pleasant Bay guideLeg 3 of 4
Pleasant Bay to Ingonish.
The road climbs over the park’s northern highlands before descending to sea level at Ingonish — a good stretch to break early if a whale-watching trip has already used up the morning at Pleasant Bay.
Read the Ingonish guideLeg 4 of 4
Ingonish back to Baddeck.
The final leg crosses Cape Smokey before rejoining the calmer Bras d’Or Lake road home — a natural point to close a two- or three-day loop with a quieter last night.
Read the Baddeck guide