I'm going to keep this brief instead of being a travelogue. Instead the aim is to make some current remarks about the state of the trail along with some first hand observations as a novice to this experience.
The province did put out enough tourism notices that the trail would be under construction and to expect delays this summer I don't recall more than 3 times I had a road crew holding me up. When it did occur, it was no more than 5 minutes for the longest, which was a good excuse to put the feet down and stretch some muscles and enjoy the scenery.
There are extensive segments under going major work, for example it could be several kilometers. Not all of them required stops to share a single lane in both directions, but the surfaces could be sketchy and there's no distinction between long coastal passages and the twisting snakes going up and down the hill sides. That point of not being down to a single alternating lane means staying sharp going around blind corners with the expectation that people are coming the other way, trying to stay away from the edge or having to ride their brakes on loose surfaces, just like you'll be doing a minute later on your descent.
Cape Smokey / Smokey Mountain was not under construction but the surface is dated. Some of the passages winding up the hills on the north west section were actively under construction. The coastal rock cut north of Cheticamp (see the picture) was a major area of driving through active construction with lane diversions and loose surfaces. I imagine it's going to be a beautiful stretch of highway when it is done.
As for the volume of traffic, I never felt held up from the front or pushed from behind to set any kind of pace. In fact the entire week in Nova Scotia was like that. People will slow down and flash their right signal to indicate they are obliging you to pass. Traffic was very light on the weekday I rode the trail which was great because it could have been very backed up, considering the 4 days before and after were wet to ridiculous deluges.
As a first timer, that is not a route I would enjoy for the first time in rain. Too many other things already to be paying attention to between gravel and oblivion waiting just feet past the guardrail. That was maybe 10 percent of the route but it's the parts I sure remember. Plus the cloud cover was obscuring the hill tops by about 25 percent or more of their height.
Generally, lots of lay bys, look outs (they call them look offs), to get a break and take photos. Gas station intervals were more than adequate and they don't gouge on the price just because they're the only station for possibly 50km and further. I only felt stiffed once and that was for a dinky coffee that was stewing in the carafe far too long.
A friend of mine basically got rained out trying to enjoy the trail in June and I had to stay an extra day for sun and it was well worth it. Other sources have recommended you plan ahead for the possibility of needing one or two more days and pick the best one to do the loop. Also I took the advice to do the loop counter clockwise so you are closest to the coast. I found the climbs and descents were in my opinion a bit more pleasurable than if I had gone clockwise. Maybe if there is the time and it's all about the road and not the scenery, a person would do it in both directions.
With refueling, reliefs, stopping to take some pics and two snack breaks, I think it was certainly over 6 hours for me. I wasn't watching the clock.
North of Cheticamp, facing south.
Approaching Smokey Mountain from the south (image from Google Maps)The little white hand is bigger than a camper truck I spotted coming down at that location, for perspective.
Pleasant Bay, West Coast - viewed from the south
Neils Harbour, North East Coast
1984 Yamaha FJ1100 workhorse, now 5,500 km more worthy of my trust.
Your Privacy Choices