Ceilidh Trail
The Ceilidh Trail is Highway 19 — the road up the western side of Inverness County from the Canso Causeway north to Margaree Harbour, where it meets the Cabot Trail. Ceilidh (KAY-lee) is the Gaelic word for a kitchen party, and that's the spirit of the route: this is the music coast of Cape Breton.
Stop at the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Judique, the Red Shoe Pub in Mabou, Glenora Distillery for North America's first single-malt whisky, and Cabot Cliffs / Cabot Links in Inverness — one of the world's great modern golf destinations. Beaches at Port Hood and Mabou are warm and sandy.
The Ceilidh Trail is shorter than the Cabot Trail but easily a full day if you stop for a ceilidh and a meal.
Communities along the route
Inverness
Former coal town turned golf destination — Cabot Cliffs, Cabot Links, and a long sand beach.
Judique
Celtic Music Interpretive Centre — the heart of the Cape Breton fiddle tradition.
Mabou
Music village — home of the Rankin Family and the Red Shoe Pub.
Port Hawkesbury
Industrial port at the Canso Causeway — the first town most visitors see crossing onto the island.
Port Hood
West-coast fishing village with a sandy beach and warm-water swimming.
Chéticamp
Acadian fishing village and the western gateway to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
Margaree Forks
Salmon-fishing capital of Cape Breton, where the Margaree River meets the Cabot Trail.