The Gypsum Mine trail is a must-see destination in Cape Breton. It is the perfect family day trip. I’ll tell you all about it in this blog post.
Gypsum Mine Trail
We checked a hike off of our Nova Scotia Bucket List today! I’ve been eyeing up the Gypsum Mine trail on Instagram for over a year now. It’s the type of hike you decide to do for “the gram,” but in reality, the beauty takes your breath away.
Gypsum Mine Trail Details
Gypsum Mines is located near Cheticamp, Cape Breton. You can find the directions HERE. I highly recommend this for the whole family. The hike to the lake is super easy. It’s a 2.6km hike up a dirt road to the lake. My 2-year-old did the whole walk up by herself, so that should give you an idea of the level of difficulty.
Gypsum is the second most important mineral resource to the Nova Scotian economy, next to coal. It was mined mostly for use in fertilizer or paint filler. From my research, Gypsum mine was in operation between 1908-1939.
Swimming at Gypsum Mine Trail
If you go on a warm day I would suggest bringing a swimsuit, towel, and a floaty if you have one. Even if you don’t think you want to get in, you probably will. The water is a beautiful turquoise colour and on the hot day that we were there, it wasn’t crowded at all.
Across the lake is a spot for cliff jumping. We did not get over there, but we watched people doing it, and there is even a rope attached to the rock to help you climb up.
Hike to the Lookout at Gypsum Mine Trail
From the lake, there is another hike up to a look-out point. This trail is not very long at all (I’d say under 10 minutes) but it is extremely steep. There is a rope near the top to help you, which is good because it would be easy to lose your footing at this point. I would not recommend having young children climb this part. We were lucky because our friends stayed with our kids near the lake while we hiked up to check out the view.
Gypsum Mine Trail – Our Experience
When we got back down to the lake, I knew I would regret it if I did not jump in. There was a young couple sitting on the edge of the lake. He was playing acoustic guitar and they were both singing. It was perfect. We decided to get in the water near where they were playing and enjoyed listening to music as we floated in the lake. I loved watching my daughter’s big eyes light up as she watched them play. I could have stayed there forever. It was the best day I have had in a really long time.
Read about our experience in Cape Breton last year and the crazy thing that happened to me HERE.