The northernmost shore of Nova Scotia -- dubbed the Sunrise Trail by visitor information centers and provincial tourism publications -- is chock full of rolling hills and pastoral landscapes. Driving along Route 6, you pass through farmlands along the western reaches from Amherst to Pugwash and beyond; around Tatamagouche (locally: "Ta-Ta"), the landscape sometimes mirrors the one found on the other side of the straits on Prince Edward Island: softly rolling fields of grain, punctuated by well-tended farmhouses and barns, and rust-red soil appearing wherever the vegetation has been scraped off. Cows might dominate one field; massive bull's-eyes of rolled hay the next. This Amherst-to-Pictou drive is especially scenic very early or late on a clear day, when the low sun highlights the green of the local fields and forests.
After Pictou, back on the Trans-Canada Highway, you'll see more forest and hills as you make your way toward Cape Breton Island.
