Sunrise Cottage on the Ocean

Our cozy two-bedroom cottage is a perfect home for your Cape Breton adventure. Walk empty beaches, relax by the sea, hike in the forest and explore the cultural and natural history of a 300 year old fishing village. This cottage is appealing to those looking for access to the wilderness, quiet, or wanting an artist, musician, or writer’s retreat. Enjoy sunrises from the spacious deck, picking wild berries in season, and local seafood. The cottage is pet-friendly, and so are we. The cottage is located on a dead end dirt road with mostly local traffic. Beach access is across the road. There are several beaches in the area, some in walking distance and others a 10-20 minute drive away. It is a short walk to enter the Gabarus Wilderness Protected Area, to access hours of coastal hiking on our newly-improved trail. It is across from a small lake in which we regularly see geese, loons, and a variety of ducks (with little ones in spring), beaver, muskrat, cormorant, swallows, and gulls. Hummingbirds visit the feeder at the house, and deer and snowshoe hare sometimes wander by. The cottage was built in the 1930’s by the son of the people that owned our home. It was their home until the 1990’s, and then was their daughter’s cottage until it came into our hands. The interior was refreshed in 2017, and a spacious deck added in 2020. There are two bedrooms (each with a double bed); living room with propane fireplace, chesterfield, a comfortable chair, and a rocking chair; kitchen/dining room, pantry; entry/laundry; and bathroom with a tub/shower. There are windows in every room, making the cozy space bright, with kitchen and living room windows facing the little lake and the ocean. Please see the floor plan in the photos, and ask any questions that come to mind! We now restrict bookings to a 24-hour gap between departures and arrivals for extended cleaning and sanitizing owing to COVID-19, for your health and safety. Borrowing of our canoe or and stand-up paddle boards is available by arrangement. There is a BBQ on the deck, small backpacks and walking sticks in the closet for hiking, a library of human and natural history books, and regular community events. We live close by and are available when needed in person or by text message. We do try to give guests your privacy and do not usually drop by unannounced. We have one or two dogs and a hen who may wander over to visit. Please let us know if they are unwelcome. Please don't feed the hen. There is a small storage/ work shed on the property, which we access occasionally. We try to respect your privacy while doing so. Gabarus is a small fishing village located on the edge of Eastern Canada. We have beautiful views of the sun rising out of the Atlantic Ocean. The year-round population is near 78 people, growing in the summer with visitors and seasonal residents. Lobster is the main catch, May 15 to July 15, as well as halibut and mackerel. Our village has an over 300 year known history, being named for a 15th century Basque ship's captain and settled by the French and then the Scots. The Mi'kma’q were here for thousands of years before that, of course, and the Vikings are known to have settled and explored Canada’s east coast around 1000 AD. Cape Gabarus is thought by one author to be the “ship’s cape” mentioned in a Viking saga. The north shore of Gabarus bay is largely taken up by the undeveloped Louisbourg National Historic Site lands, with the Fortress of Louisbourg itself being just beyond the mouth of the bay to the northeast . The south shore of the bay is largely the Gabarus Protected Wilderness Area, with hiking, kayaking, paddlebpoarding, and canoeing opportunities for the adventurous. From the cottage, you can walk into the Wilderness protected Area in about ten minutes and hike six hours along the coast to Belfry Beach Provincial Park ( a ten minute drive away). Gabarus Bay was the location of a mermaid sighting reported in the New York Times July 11, 1886, by a relative of the cottage's builder. It was also the staging area for British and Colonial troops laying siege to the French fortified town at Louisbourg in the 1800's. Gabarus is a 40 minute drive from Sydney, 50 minutes to Louisbourg, 60 minutes from St Peters (via the Fleur-de-lis Trail), and not more than an hour and 45 minutes to Baddeck. There is no local public transportation. Groceries, fuel, and alcohol are available at Marion Bridge, 20 minutes away. Full service groceries and everything else available in Sydney. Watch for the locally-owned “The Mermaid” food truck, always a crowd-pleaser. Kara and Cory also own "Selkie's Neighbourhood Diner" on Charlotte St in Sydney. If you love nature, the ocean and solitude... Gabarus is the place for you. Gabarus is a historic fishing village, and lobster, snow crab, halibut, and other fish may be available. Please ask ahead of time for details. Community news and events may by explored on Gabarus dot ca. New in 2020 is the “Neck of the Woods” restaurant. Information is provided in our guidebook. Also watch for the Mermaid food truck - you’ll know from the lineup of eager patrons!