Taken 2005 October 13 from the Meat Cove Road across from house number 451
2.4 km (1½ mi) from its junction with the Bay St Lawrence Road in St Margaret Village
GPS 47°00.01?'N 60°29.21?'W
This photo is a close-up view of the area on either side of Bay St Lawrence harbour. Here, the breakwater and the communications towers on the summit of the massif are both clearly visible. The brown colours attest to the lateness of the season; the first frost has already come and gone. In high summer, these vistas are bright green.
The water beside the breakwater leads to Deadmans Pond, a good-sized body of water with a picturesque pier towards the breakwater end of the pond where the boats are docked. There is also a pier beside the breakwater from which one has very fine views of the coast, often with huge waves breaking against the cliffs on either side. The harbour itself is very photogenic and the gulls are plentiful and intriguing to watch interact with both people and other gulls.
Like many of the communities along the Gulf coast, Bay St Lawrence offers whale-watching as well as other kinds of cruises. As interesting as the whales and other sea life are, sometimes so close to the boat you can almost reach out and touch them, I find the scenic views to be had from the boats to be the principal reason for going on board. You can not always plan on going out, as sometimes the winds are just too fierce, even on beautiful days; I have been disappointed in this regard more than once.
Not very far from the main docking area in Bay St Lawrence, Money Point Road turns towards the massif and runs along its base for 2.4 km (1.5 mi) before coming to a dead end. This very useful web site, under the subheading ”Money Point” describes a hiking trail I have not attempted that starts at that point and leads across the massif to a lighthouse at Money Point (at the end of the Massif to the east of Cape North and not visible in these photos); I suspect that it follows the path up the massif that is visible at the left of this photograph. Even if you’re not tempted by the hiking trail, there are glorious views in the direction of Capstick and Cape St Lawrence from the cliffs that are not far away all along this road, which is marked with a line of telephone poles.
[2012] On 2007 October 1, I did make it up the Money Point Trail to the top of the Cape North Massif, across it where I explored the highest prominence, and then part way down the other side. The days were too short by October for me to feel comfortable about descending at 14h to the Money Point lighthouse (since torn down), because the climb up was the most difficult and physically tiring I have made in Cape Breton and because the trail down looked to be just as steep and difficult. So, about a third of the way down the eastern side of the massif, I turned around and reluctantly climbed back up, making it back to my car as dusk was arriving. I hope to get out there again some day, especially since I discovered that one can drive to the top of the massif, saving half the climbing required. See my Fall Colours—2011 Edition photo essay for further information.