Cape Breton hiking trail reopens two years after Fiona damage

The Louisbourg Lighthouse Trail is well-known for its iconic scenery.

"They have Peggy's Cove, but we have this,” said area resident Cathy MacAulay-Spencer.

The trail was closed for two years due to the damage it sustained from Hurricane Fiona.

"I probably had tears in my eyes, because this is one of my favourite hikes,” said hiker Art Spencer. “There was so much destruction; at times, 150 metres by 50 metres, the whole trail gone."

On Monday, people were able to walk the trail for the first time since the September 2022 storm.

It took nearly $159,000 in funding from the Nova Scotia government – announced in August 2023 - to make the area more resistant to the impacts of a changing climate.

Refurbishment of the trail also required a lot of work and fundraising by local volunteers.

"It took us a while, but we were successful in getting a contractor to take this project on,” said Carter Stevens, chair of the Louisbourg Lighthouse Coastal Connections Trails Association. "Right across the country, we had donations come in through our GoFundMe page so we're very pleased today what we have."

Local stakeholders also hope the reopening of the trail will bring more visitors not only to the lighthouse for a hike, but to the community of Louisbourg, which has struggled with its traffic levels since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"And I've heard lots of people talking about how they missed coming out here,” said resident Judy Swain. “So with the lighthouse looking fantastic, the trail finished, (it should) bring more people into town and that's always good for the businesses."

Stevens said the reopening of the lighthouse was more of a soft launch.

"There's still work to be done on the trail,” he said. “So we hope in the spring to have the bells and whistles, a ribbon-cutting and have signage with benches. Right now, we don't have signage and we don't have benches and there's still trees to clear."

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