Visit the North Highland Community Museum & Culture Centre

 202Come Visit Us Down North*

If you travel Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail, you pass right by the North Highlands Community Museum and Culture Centre. We are in Cape North Village, at the top of the hill, at the intersection of the Cabot Trail and the road leading to Bay St. Lawrence.

Driving to Cape North from the mainland, come along either the east or the west side of Cape Breton Island; the time is very nearly the same either way. Driving from the Canso Causeway to Cape North without stopping (which would be a pity) is an easy 3-hour trip.

If you are coming by air, commercial airline service takes you to Halifax or Sydney. From  Sydney airport, travel time to Cape North is also about 3 hours. A number of fine Bed and Breakfasts are located in our area, as are restaurants, several markets, gasoline service stations, etc., which offer all the comforts and conveniences of home — and perhaps even some extra ones!

For things to do, once you have scoured the Museum, there’s exploring Cape Breton Highlands National Park, swimming, gift shopping, whale watching, weather watching, golf, nature study, biking, hiking, kayaking, concerts, ceilidhs — Celtic, Acadian and others — , lobster and crab fests, and gawking at the scenery.

Admission is free. Donations are gratefully accepted. Click here to donate.

The Museum is open Tuesday – Friday from 11:00 – 4:00, and plans to be open into the autumn 2021. Please call (902)-383-2579, or e-mail us.

Bagpiper at North Highland Community Museum - Cabot Trail Attraction

*”Down north??”

Yes — prevailing winds in Cape Breton come from the southwest in summer. Sailors working their way northward along Cape Breton’s shore often enjoy tail winds, and progress of course is faster, similar to biking downhill on land. As a result, places to the north are called “down north.” Likewise, folks traveling southward, from Cape North to Sydney for example, say they’re going up to Sydney.