A Nature and Hiking Guide to Cape Breton's Cabot Trail

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

More than 1000 species of plants and animals exist in Cape Breton; this
guide will lead you to most of them. Approximately half the book is
devoted to guiding the reader to areas where nature can be observed.
There are driving directions to key points on the Cabot Trail, and maps
and detailed notes to follow while exploring mini-environments on foot.
Twenty-eight hiking trails are described, with attention to level of
difficulty, safety precautions, type of terrain, time required, general
scenery, and species likely to be encountered.

The second half of the guide is a great reference for use in the field
by the hiker. There’s information on geology and climate, plus lists
(some with brief descriptions) of the area’s mammals, birds, whales,
amphibians, toads, frogs, reptiles, salamanders, snakes, turtles,
spiders, insects, butterflies, fish, wildflowers, mosses and liverworts,
lichens, mushrooms, and more. There are many interesting “extras”;
for example, wildflowers are presented in a “bloom sequence” chart.
The lists of mosses, liverworts, and lichens are welcome, as these are
seldom included in field guides.

For naturalists living in or planning to visit Cape Breton, this book
is indispensable. For the causal tourist, it will add a new level of
interest to a drive along the famous Cabot Trail. For armchair travelers
and naturalists everywhere, it is interesting browsing while planning
next year’s outings, and a good addition to a Canadian natural history
reference shelf.