Shean Trail: Inverness to Kenloch Church

I'm a cigarette smoker who bikes, hikes, and can occasionally train to run up to 5 miles, only to quit when it becomes easier and thus boring. On my good days, I may consider myself to be an enigma. On my bad days, I'm nothing but a shithead. In any case, I like to be outdoors and I'm willing to work hard to get to a beautiful scene (climb mountains to see valleys). But I'm not the type to run for running's sake. Or bike. Or whatever the case may be. So I'm not going to get out my bicycle and start doing the Cabot Trail on the exact same road that can be driven. Sometimes I even think it's horrible that we encourage such an activity on a twisty, cliff-side road with no bike lane. When I hike or bike, it's usually because I'm going someplace that cannot be driven. When I do feel like moderate exercise, I stick to the easier routes. Behold--the Inverness Rail-Trail (officially the "Shean Trail" segment of the Trans-Canada trail).

The Rail-Trail is a multi-use trail built upon the old railway bed that stretches from Inverness right to the Canso Causeway--about 92 kilometers, mostly closely following Route 19, the paved "Ceilidh Trail" highway that leads Margaree Forks to Canso. Its parts have localized names. Today I stuck to the Shean segment, running alongside the town of Inverness, but I've also spent a lot of time in the Mabou Rivers segment and the Ceilidh Coastal segments (I'll save those for another day). Depending on where you begin on the trail, it could be considered quite boring on foot. What makes this my preferred biking trail is that its fantastically flat--more or less from this end of town (Inverness) to the Causeway. Conventional trains did not go up steep inclines because of the traction that would be required against the steel rails.

This particular section of railway was completed in 1901. The story goes that the government paid for the route to stretch right to Chéticamp, but the constructors of the railway were also the owners of the coal mines in Inverness, so they quit once it reach their own desired destination and were never forced to continue. The railway was used for commercial passenger travel, but mostly for coal transport. The company went into receivership in 1929 and the railway became part of the Canadian National Railway until they stopped running the trains here in 1986. After this section of rail was closed, many volunteer groups, including the Judique Flyer Association, the Inverness Trails Federation, the Chestico Trail, and the Ceilidh Coastal Trail Association, as well as different levels of government agencies, made a joint effort to build a multi-use trail on top of the stripped rail bed, making it part of the Trans Canada Trail--the world's longest connection of trails. When completed, it will stretch over 23,0 00 kilometers and connect Canadians from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans.

You can begin the trail at any number of access points. It begins at the Inverness Railway Station that is now the Inverness Miner's Museum. I rarely park there, since there's an access on the other side of the road and I don't want to be in town long with my dog, who I take with me whenever she and I are both up for it. She listens well enough that I don't feel the need for a leash and can get a good run in there. Most of the trail is a good distance from the road, though there are some places where the trail runs almost alongside, or where it crosses side roads or private properties near which a dog needs to watched carefully. In any case, I usually park near the visitor's center or Gables Motel and walk over to the trail from there. You'll see the signs marking its beginnings. Another good access from Inverness (and quieter if you've got your own pup with you) is to head up the Deepdale Road just after Inverness (toward Lake Ainslie) and park at the access that's right at the Kenloch church on your right side after a few minute's drive. A tip to finding such access points is to look for signs warning of ATV crossings, since 4-wheelers and snowmobiles regularly use these trails. Once on the trail, kilometer markers that run from south to north will be a guide to where you are.

There have been many improvements to the trail made in recent years--drainage is excellent, the bridges and their approaches well-maintained, and so forth. I was happy to have excellent biking in Inverness on this day, for the Mabou Rivers section that I did not so long ago had a fine sand surface placed on it, making a lazy biker like me just a tad bit slowed-down (though it's a pretty section and should not be skipped).

One of my favorite features is the Deepdale Trestle bridge, high above a deep gorge.

The Sean section of trail has many small branch-offs leading uphill from which great views of the Inverness Harbor and Cape Mabou Highlands can be seen. I usually leave my bike at the bottom for these and walk up.

Not part of the trail, but one of many branch-offs above town from which great views can be reached.

 Geocaches in Area: 
"Hurricane Series" (Series) Status: Some good, some bad (2013-06-13) i.e. GC2ET93
"Blueberry Stash"  N 46° 13.435 W 061° 18.477 Status: Missing (2013-06-13) GC2CZFC