Kids of all ages Love Cape Breton
Here’s the top 10 activities, some not well known, that many kids
(kids spanning a wide range of ages!; some of us never grow up, do we?!!)
enjoy year after year.
Recommendations
1. Whale watching
Whales off Cape Breton
Go on a zodiac speed boat or big steel craft led by an exerienced whale watching captain (like Captain Stan MacKinnon who even plays the fiddle along the way or Captain Cyril Fraser who represents 5 generations of captains) to see Pilot and Minke whales, Fin Whales, Humpbacks, Dolphins, Seals, Eagles, Coromorans and other seabirds.
2. Puffin tours
Puffin Tour
Puffin Tours depart from English town and head out to the Bird Islands where you’ll see puffins, seals and eagles, as well as views of the spectacular rocky shores of St.Ann’s Bay, Jersey Cove and parts of the North Shore shore of Cape Breton Island.
3. Black Brook Beach
Fun at Black Brook Beach
Here you can find barbeques for cooking lunch, great swimming and boogie boarding, and even a fresh water creek and waterfall for a nice shower. Can you find the boardwalk to a hidden cove?
4. Little River beach
Kids' Magic
This is the magic beach that’s known for mermaid sightings – you never know…
5. Skyline Park
Moose in Skyline Park
Where moose roam, sometimes really close by, and paths leading to a boardwalk overlooking the Gulf of St.Lawrence.
6. A Water Show and outdoor Extravaganza
Yoloboarding with Cosmo
- Yolo boarding
Every summer, during the Good Health Festival at Indian Brook you can try Yolo boards (stand up paddle boards), kayaks and canoes.
7. Ceilidhs
Experience foot-stomping music and catchy celtic rhythms at local Ceilidhs at St Ann’s United church twice a week during July and August.
Live Music at Cabot Shores & local Ceilidh
8 Lobster, lobster, lobster
It's Alive!
Lobster eating…Lobster Lore…you can even pick up your own fresh, live lobster at Little River Harbor.
9. Hikes to waterfalls
Waterfall off the Cabot Trail
There are many waterfalls along the Cabot Trail, some easy to find, some tucked away in the Highlands. You can also boogie board down Indian Brook from the Great Falls.
10. Bonfires
Just in Time
Being next to bonfires by the ocean or a brook, enjoying a BBQ, roasting marsh mellows and making smores…
And of course, many of us who have kids or empty nests or even kids plus furry kids, there’s a great place for pet companions as well.
Megan & Kid Friendly Dog Cosmo
Commentary:
(also published in ezinearticles.com)
The opposite of a good vacation for adults is having kids bored, tired and uninspired, especially when you’ve traveled a long distance to get to your travel destination.
One such destination is Cape Breton Island, which is about as far east off North America as you can drive without falling off the map. At the eastern tip of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton is bordered by the Atlantic on the East and the Gulf of St. Lawrence the West.
Circling around the Island is the famous Cabot Trail, which National Geographic describes as one of the “drives of a lifetime”. But all this does not mean kids will love the mountain and ocean scenery, the gaelic and mi’kmaq and french acadian culture…They may even, during lots of driving, sit with their mobile screens and miss the beautiful scenery altogther. They may even complain of boredom and say there’s no where to shop (meaning lack of malls), nothing to do and no one (their age) to be with.
I know from bitter experience, the first time my family (2 kids) and wife and I traveled 850 miles from the Boston area and drove around the 180 mile Cabot Trail during November, when there truly was nothing open, icey roads and not many other kids in obvious view.
Eleven years later and with many all season Cabot Trail tours under my belt, I have come up with 10 Outrageously Fun Activities that are certified by many happy local kids, guides and guests to Cape Breton Island.
