Map of Nova Scotia The Cabot Trail is the shaded area on the map. Nova Scotia is 580 km's long and surrounded by four bodies of water - the Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Fundy, Northumberland Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with large, ice-free, deep-water harbours. With an area of 55,491 km2, Nova Scotia is larger than Denmark, although somewhat smaller than Scotland, after which it is named. It's average width of 128 km means that no part of the province is far from the sea. Over 80 percent of Nova Scotia's population of 940,888 trace their ancestry either wholly or partly to the British Isles. Those with French origin rank second: 18 percent of residents have some French ancestry. The next largest groups by ancestry are German and Dutch.

Nova Scotia is one of four Atlantic Provinces on Canada's east coast. When coming from the Canso Causeway, that connects Cape Breton to the mainland, there are three routes by which you can reach the Cabot Trail.

For a scenic drive take Route 19 along the Ceilidh Trail. This will take you through villages such as Judique and Mabou, home towns of many famous Cape Breton musicians like Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIssac and the former Rankin Family. For the highway route, keep on the 105 Trans Canada. You will travel through Whycocomagh, " Micmac Native Reserve" before coming to The Red Barn Gift Shop, where you turn left on to the Cabot Trail. Or you could travel through Baddeck "where the Bell museum is found " to the St. Anns entrance of the Cabot Trail.