Cycling and wild camping Canot Trail
 

Hey all -

My friend and I are planning a cycling trip the 2nd week of August, riding the Cabot trail. We're wondering if wild camping along the trail is legal? Has anyone else ridden the trail? Ideally we'd like to ride and camp (3 days at a campground, 4 days wild) for 7 days, and recover and rest in Halifax for a week... Is the trail do-able in a week??

Thanks!!!!

Oops.... I mean CABOT trail. stupid phone

Holy cow, that is some ride! Just the thought of pedalling up those hills makes my heart pump, and going down is not for the faint of heart, for sure.

Regarding ‘wild’ camping, if you mean just choosing a spot and pitching a tent without having to pay, the answer is no, it is generally not allowed in Canada and definitely would not be in Highlands national park. You might be able to do some ‘back country’ camping where you register and pay at the park entrance and walk in to a designated site. I suppose taking a bike in would not be that much different than portaging a canoe, but I’m thinking you will probably would want to stick quite close to the road.

I suggest you give the national park office a call, or the tourism office in Baddeck. Quite possibly there is a cycling club that could be of help also. A few years back we were concerned about pulling our small tent trailer up those hills with our 4 cyl. vehicle and found a site on line that gave gradients, that I think came from a cycling group.