ForkinMouth

I can heartily recommend an October visit to Cape Breton! The weather was unexpectedly mild, sunny and almost entirely rain-free...what a surprise. The fall colors were breathtaking, and the Park was not crowded at all, except for our encounters with a total of 9 moose on the Cabot Trail and while hiking! We attended a wonderful "Celtic Colours" concert, sampled numerous versions of delicious chowders, had "Thanksgiving Dinner" at Keltic Lodge, saw a pod of perhaps 50 pilot whales from a lookout, hiked may trails including Skyline, Benjie's Lake, Warren Lake, Jigging Cove,and took more than our share of photos along the way. A very enjoyable vacation. Our thanks to the many helpful posters that assisted in our travel planning!

elberko

Sounds like a great trip! We spent a few days in CB a few years ago, and plan on returning some day.

I would love to see moose- was there a certain time of the day they were more common?

ForkinMouth

Elberko: I believe the key to moose spotting involves a willingness to get up early in the morning....dawn or dusk are the optimal times. Also, getting information on what areas they frequent. I found the relatively compact area of Benjie's Lake, French Lake and Skyline Trail to have most of the moose activity on my visit.

Molly2

It's true; wildlife is best spotted at dawn or dusk. Nevertheless, my husband and I saw moose on consecutive hikes on the Skyline trail in the early afternoon {summer}.

ForkinMouth, I have always wanted to visit CB in the fall - sounds like it was a memorable trip.

capebreton01

Dear Forkinmouth, I am very happy you enjoyed your stay on the island during Oct & hope you were treated with Warmth & Hospitality during your stay. You now have an understanding few come to find anywhere in the world, that Cape Breton is really an diamond in the rough & through your eyes some one else will come to see what a jewel the island is. Thank You for your kind words & we hope you grace our island again.

LaurenSKahn

9 moose! Sounds like you hit the moose jackpot. Heck, I went to Isle Royale National Park (It's in Lake Superior) during the summer and saw only one. Most of the people I was traveling with didn't see any! And Isle Royale is supposed to be moose heaven. Sounds like I would have done better on CB.

Glad you had fun!

ForkinMouth

capebreton01: In your post, you hoped that we were treated with warmth and hospitality while in Cape Breton. We certainly were.... and here are but two examples of the kindness shown to us:
1. I foolishly backed my car into a ditch and the very first driver who passed us on the road, stopped, drove his truck to a neighboring home and got some rope, returned and towed our car out of the ditch!
2. After our stay in Cape Breton, we explored Halifax and some of the coast down to Lunenberg. I asked a local resident in Chester for travel directions and not only pleasantly received them, but was surprised to find that the resident had, unknown to me, followed my car to see that I made my way back to the highway!
Yes, Nova Scotia is indeed a special place, and so are its residents!