Things to do in Chéticamp, Cape Breton

Chéticamp sits on the Gulf of St. Lawrence where the Cabot Trail meets the western boundary of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It's one of the last strongholds of Acadian French culture on Cape Breton — you'll hear it spoken in the grocery store and see it on the menus. The town's reputation for hooked rugs is genuine; the Coopérative Artisanale de Chéticamp has been the centre of that craft for generations, and the work sold there is made locally.

The setting does a lot of the work. The harbour opens onto the Gulf, pilot whales feed in the waters offshore, and the Highlands rise sharply behind the village. Whale Cruisers Chéticamp runs three-hour tours out of the harbour, and the Fishing Cove Trail inside the national park rewards the hike with a backcountry campsite at the water's edge.

The Margaree Valley, reached by a short drive south, adds salmon rivers and quieter farmland to the mix. June through October covers most of what the area offers — the park's full trail system is open, the whale season is running, and the Doryman Saturday Ceilidh is on.