On our second trip to Pleasant Bay and the Cabot Trail we decided to take the trip to Meat Cove. The drive there is not for the arm chair traveler. The end of the trip is 20 km of unpaved road that is like nothing I have traveled on in the US, but it was well worth it. Meat Cove is breathtaking. We refer to it as Big Sur on steroids. The views are amazing and even though it was cool and misty turning to a light drizzle it was heard to tear ourselves away. If you're up for the true wilderness experience you don't ant to miss Meat Cove.
It's well worth the additional drive to Meat Cove and although the maps say unpaved road our basic hire car was fine with care. The views are stunning as is the ice cream but the many notices warning off trespassers from the headland campsite ( though understandable) and the litter in the beach below do spoil the experience . Shame.
The drive out to Meat Cove is on paved road for a while and then goes to gravel road. The views are good, but, you can get similar views without the long drive.
The drive from St. Margaret's Bay / Bay St. Lawrence to Meat Cove is exciting. Paved and unpaved roads take you from one view to the next - all very good and many brilliant. We saw several Bald Eagles in flight close to the shore. Journey's end is Meat Cove with its river, beach, cliffs and rock formations. A thoroughly worthwhile trip!
We got a tip from a local in Cheticamp to make sure to see this area. You do have to drive down a dirt road for a while, but don't just stop at the privately owned campground. Instead, park at the campground and walk up the hill just a bit and you will see a trail just opposite of a wooden telephone/electric pole. That trail will take you through some wooded undergrowth to a ridge hike that takes you way above the level of the campground for the best views around. But don't just stop at the top. If you walk along further down the ridge to the very end, there are even better views to the west that you cannot experience until you get out there. We sat and had a wonderful lunch at the private and quiet spot. Since my husband is a photographer, he took the opportunity to capture some incredible shots. One of my favorites on the island. It look us about 2 hours round trip, including the time to sit and eat a casual lunch. Not the place for small children, though. Steep inclines on either side require attention and care.
We had no idea where we where going, but you leave the pavement and end up on a basically a one lane dirt road. You need to watch for traffic but you just keep driving till the road ends. When you finally stop there is a few homes, chalets too stay in and a camp ground on this bluff. It is just unbelievable, there is are two restaurants, we had mussels and a bear at the top bluff sitting on a picnic table over looking the ocean. All I can say is WOW! If you like is kayak rentals at the camp ground. Don't miss the drive or the view if you are in the area. You will know when you arrive, the road just stops, so great.
It is worth the trip way out to Meat Cove just to see the views! The last 8 miles are dirt, very steep, with beautiful views. You can camp on the cliffs on the waters edge, have a rustic cabin or enjoy chowder at the hut.
We were on a 10 day road trip of Nova Scotia with the Cabot Trail being the focus of our journey so time was an issue. After reading about Meat Cove on Trip Advisor, we decided to take the extra few hours to check it out. It was most definitely worth the effort! Beautiful views traveling the dirt road to get there, equally as beautiful as parts of the Cabot Trail. The best seafood chowder I had the entire trip was at Seafood Hut. I only regret not spending a night there camping and checking out the hiking trails. If ever I get to Nova Scotia again, I will plan on camping at Meat Cove. I would suggest not going if the weather is bad. Good trek just to see it and have lunch, but I think it would be better to experience it by camping and hiking there too.
Drove the cabot trail last summer and was surprised by home much i enjoyed Meat Cove. Spent a night in the campsite and the staff there were so great! Very helpful and made our visit so enjoyable! I was surprised again that there was dinner served (i think it was $5) but was awesome homemade chowder. The views were something else! The staff even pointed out good hiking trials for us! We got there a little late in the day so only did the short one but were lucky enough that when we got to the top, a pod of about 20 pilot whales were rounding the cove! It was something else. Also, did not notice it to be too windy like other places, and the beach below was quite warm considering how north you are! Also, though not necessary the campsite had wifi which was nice as I didn't have service for a day or so before this!Would definitely recommend to anyone who had the time to drive up there!
You feel like you are at the end of the world- beautiful, magnificent, ,and mysterious! we wished we had binoculars and we didn't go for a hike here. We stayed once at the Markham but ti was in off season and cloudy.Not much food choice around here!