Description

Background: Up until recently, Google Maps has shown the West Big Intervale Road as a single connected road; it is not and has not been since well before I started coming to Cape Breton, though it once was. Today, the northern and southern sections of the historical road are maintained as two distinct roads that confusingly continue to bear the same name. The middle section of the historical road, between the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge and Portree, is no longer provincially maintained: it is driveable only for a short distance at Portree, providing access to the camps there, and is now used as a hiking trail in the summer and as a snowmobile trail in the winter.

This page describes the northern section of the former road; the description of the southern section of the former road can be found here.

Today, the only way of reaching the northern section of the West Big Intervale Road by vehicle is to take the East Big Intervale Road from Margaree Valley to the Kingross Crossing Road in Kingross and crossing the Northeast Margaree River at the bridge at the end of that road. The northern section of the West Big Intervale Road runs from the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge at Big Intervale north to Forest Glen on the west side of the Northeast Margaree River; the bridge over the Northeast Margaree River is very roughly halfway between the Lodge and Forest Glen.
Google Maps Name: West Big Intervale Road
Local Usage: West Big Intervale Road, SANS 905
Direction: South to North
Start Point: 46°25.573'N 60°56.737'W, at the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge in Big Intervale
End Point: 46°28.133'N 60°55.153'W , at the bridge over Forest Glen Brook in Forest Glen
Length: 5.4 km (3⅓ mi)
Classification: Local Road
Surface: Gravel
Condition: Driveable. From the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge north to the bridge over the Northeast Margaree River, the road is easily driveable. The last time I drove the road north beyond that bridge, in August of 2014, I turned around at Stewart Brook because I ran out of time—it was very slow going dodging the profusion of dandy potholes in my low-slung Prius, though I encountered nothing that would have prevented me from reaching Forest Glen given enough time; a jeep or pick-up would doubtless have an easier time of it. I did successfully drive all the way to Forest Glen in an equally low-slung Camry in 2009, when the road was in somewhat better shape.
Route Description: At the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge, the road heads north at the foot of the highlands on the left and above the Northeast Margaree River on the right; Sugarloaf Mountain rises directly across the river, giving the road the sense of passing through the bottom of a canyon. Ocasional pull-off spots allow fishermen to park off the road to access the various fishing pools along the river, the views of which are mostly tree-shrouded from the road north of the Lodge. The pull-off at the 875 m (0.55 mi) mark is well worth a stop: if you clamber down the banks to the edge of the river, you will be rewarded with superb views of the river north of Wards Pool in both directions, of the highlands to the north, and of Sugarloaf Mountain across the river. At 1.4 km (⅞ mi), the Northeast Margaree River veers to the northeast, forming a bight that the road crosses well inland, returning to the river just as one reaches the new bridge over the Northeast Margaree River on the Kingross Crossing Road (which you will have had to have already crossed in order to reach the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge) at the 3 km (1⅞ mi) mark. For the next 670 m (⅖ mi), the road follows closely above the river, usually shrouded by trees. At that point, the river forms another bight, which the road again crosses inland, arriving at the 3.9 km (2⅖ mi) mark at a house in a spectacular glen carved by Stewart Brook, which the road crosses on a small bridge 110 m (360 ft) further north. For the next 300 m (⅕ mi), the road parallels Forest Glen Brook, which enters the Northeast Margaree River a bit south of the Stewart Brook Bridge. Thereafter, the road is through the forest west of the Forest Glen Brook, which it crosses on a bridge at the 5.4 km (3⅓ mi) mark; the views of the highlands there are grand. When I was at the bridge over Forest Glen Brook in August of 2009, the road continued on past the bridge, but was blocked by cars parked for a picnic with numerous people in the Brook swimming. Google Earth shows the road as continuing on for another 1.1 km (⅔ mi) past the bridge to arrive at a clearing containing a house, but since I have neither driven nor hiked this segment, I do not know how far it is driveable and have not included it in the length above.
Vic’s Scenic Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Comments: Forest Glen is at the edge of the Margaree River Wilderness Area and 2.3 km (1⅖ mi) in a straight line from the cliff look-off at Cape Clear. It is as far north along the Aspy Fault as you can reach by car. A hiking trails sign at the bridge over the Forest Glen Brook piqued my interest, but I have been unable to obtain any information about them, other than that they are very arduous and recommended only for very experienced backwoods hikers.

Photo Catalogue

Click on any thumbnail to be taken to the photo essay page for that photo.

Date	GPS	Locality	Where	Caption
2014 October 9	46°25.585′N 60°56.675′W	Big Intervale	3 km (1⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	The slopes of Sugarloaf Mountain rise above the Northeast Margaree River at the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge
2014 October 9	46°25.585′N 60°56.681′W	Big Intervale	3 km (1⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Looking downstream at the Northeast Margaree River from the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge
2014 October 9	46°25.587′N 60°56.679′W	Big Intervale	3 km (1⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Looking upstream at the Northeast Margaree River from the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge
2014 October 9	46°25.588′N 60°56.723′W	Big Intervale	3 km (1⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Colours on the Margaree Highlands above the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge
2014 October 9	46°25.589′N 60°57.347′W	Big Intervale	3 km (1⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	The Big Intervale Fishing Lodge below the Margaree Highlands
2014 October 9	46°25.589′N 60°56.725′W	Big Intervale	3 km (1⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Colours on the Margaree Highlands above the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge
2014 October 9	46°25.590′N 60°56.724′W	Big Intervale	3 km (1⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Colours on the Margaree Highlands above the Big Intervale Fishing Lodge
2014 October 9	46°25.989′N 60°56.443′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Sugarloaf Mountain above the Northeast Margaree River
2014 October 9	46°25.993′N 60°56.459′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	The Northeast Margaree River flows around Sugarloaf Mountain
2014 October 9	46°25.994′N 60°56.459′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	The Northeast Margaree River north of Wards Pool
2014 October 9	46°25.994′N 60°56.460′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Looking downstream at the Northeast Margaree River from north of Wards Pool
2014 October 9	46°25.998′N 60°56.458′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Looking upstream at the Northeast Margaree River from north of Wards Pool
2014 October 9	46°25.998′N 60°56.457′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Looking upstream at the Northeast Margaree River from north of Wards Pool
2014 October 9	46°26.001′N 60°56.456′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Red-orange tree on the side of Sugarloaf Mountain
2014 October 9	46°26.011′N 60°56.470′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Ferns at the side of the West Big Intervale Road
2014 October 9	46°26.011′N 60°56.470′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	The Highlands west of the West Big Intervale Road
2014 October 9	46°26.011′N 60°56.470′W	Big Intervale	2.2 km (1⅓ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Looking north along the West Big Intervale Road
2014 October 9	46°26.379′N 60°56.262′W	Big Intervale	1.4 km (⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Close-up of the trees east of the West Big Intervale Road
2014 October 9	46°26.382′N 60°56.268′W	Big Intervale	1.4 km (⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Looking north along the West Big Intervale Road
2014 October 9	46°26.383′N 60°56.263′W	Big Intervale	1.4 km (⅞ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Looking across the Northeast Margaree River at the side of Sugarloaf Mountain
2014 October 9	46°26.795′N 60°55.763′W	Big Intervale	385 m (¼ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Red-orange tree at the side of the West Big Intervale Road
2014 October 9	46°26.796′N 60°55.762′W	Big Intervale	385 m (¼ mi) south of its junction with the Kingross Crossing Road	Looking south along the West Big Intervale Road from Big Intervale