***WAITLIST ONLY***
The Gaels’ Trail Pilgrimage (Cape Breton, NS)
Sunday, October 4 – Friday, October 9 2026
Begins in Port Hastings, NS, and concludes in Inverness, NS
5-nights; 5 days of walking
Cost: $1050 (includes staffed Camino experience, meals, accommodations, and in-Camino transportation)
About Camino Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Gaels’ Trail Pilgrimage 2026
Pilgrimage brings us close to the land, slowing us down, deepening our awareness. Camino is an opportunity to discover how the rhythms of time and place can help us live more lightly on the land and help us become more Earth-conscious. This particular event offers the opportunity to join an experienced pilgrimage leadership team on a Camino experience in Nova Scotia’s beautiful outdoors, with an emphasis on the rich Gaelic culture of the area.
Exact start and finish times are still being determined, but participants should expect to begin early on Sunday and finish Friday evening. Transportation from Halifax to Cape Breton, and back, will be arranged as required by participants.
Our walking will take us along the south-west coast of Cape Breton Island, between the Canso Causeway and picturesque Inverness County. We begin the journey near the south-western tip of the Island, then walk north through communities made famous by landscape, culture, and memory. We will trek The Celtic Shores Coastal Trail – a 92-km trail through a region where Gaelic culture, language, and history still resonate through community life and identity.
Camino Nova Scotia pilgrims will benefit from the gentle grades of a former rail path, and the warmth of small Maritime communities. This pilgrimage will take us through some of the most breathtaking country in Cape Breton, including seacoast, forest, and lakeside walking, as well as the Mabou highlands. We will walk alongside the homes of world-famous fiddlers and musicians, fishing wharves, churches, fine whiskey distilleries, coal mines, and beautiful beaches.
As with all Camino NS pilgrimages, you will be supported along the way by an enthusiastic pilgrim support team. Our daily routine provides plenty of time to get to know your fellow pilgrims, help prepare and clean-up group meals, participate in an optional time of spiritual reflection, and get the rest you need to recover from the day’s walk and prepare for the next. Camino NS staff will be on hand to facilitate the walking, transport luggage, do the grocery shopping, and coordinate daily check-ins. Before registering, please read our Overview and Expectations document here.
Full payment is due upon registration. Cancelled bookings will be refunded at 100% up until 60 days prior to the start of the event, less a $100 non-refundable administration fee. Cancellations received after this point will be refunded as possible, provided the cancelled space can be filled by a new registration. Medical exceptions to this cancellation & refund policy may be possible in consultation with the Co-Directors.
To Register, complete the registration form below and start working-in your hiking boots. 😊
To learn more about the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail, visit: https://www.celticshores.ca/
To learn more about Camino Nova Scotia, visit www.CaminoNovaScotia.ca.
Still have questions? Reach out to us at camino@astheology.ns.ca.