National Parks Atlas
To the park
View from the end of the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park: a green ridge drops to the sea, on the left the Cabot Trail winds along the coast

Cape Breton Highlands National Park: map

9 places with verified coordinates · 7 with photo

Offers in the park · 4

  • Offer photo: Highlands National Park: Cabot Trail tour

    GetYourGuide

    Highlands National Park: Cabot Trail tour ↗

    4.4 out of 5 stars97 reviews on GetYourGuidefrom €119.93as of 4 Oct

    At the cruise dock in Sydney: at the main dock on the left after security, at the Liberty Dock at the end of the dock; guide in a red jacket with a Blackwood Tours sign, half an hour after the ship docks.

  • Pebble beach at Freshwater Lake near Ingonish Beach in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, with the Middle Head headland and the Keltic Lodge behind; the east coast tour stops here

    GetYourGuide

    Cabot Trail & Cape Breton Highlands tour ↗

    4.1 out of 5 stars8 reviews on GetYourGuidefrom €94.78as of 4 Oct

    Pickup in Sydney included; the operator confirms the location when you book.

  • Offer photo: From Baddeck: the whole Cabot Trail through the national park

    Viator

    From Baddeck: the whole Cabot Trail through the national park ↗Parking lot of the visitor information centre in Baddeck, next to Tom's Pizza; according to the operator, Baddeck is one hour from Sydney and four hours from Halifax.

  • View from the end of the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park over a green ridge dropping to the Gulf of St. Lawrence; the park authority’s sunset hike leads here

    Park authority programme · sunset · Cape Breton Highlands park authority (Parks Canada)

    Skyline Trail sunset hike with the park authority ↗Skyline Trail parking lot (19625 Cabot Trail, Chéticamp), at the gate and sign at the turnaround end of the parking lot; starts two hours before sunset, so the time shifts over the season.

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Trails

Arrival

Where to stay

Surroundings

The plateau of Cape Breton Highlands National Park: low heath and dwarf spruce over granite slabs, the sea and a distant cliff coast in the background
Photo: Larry from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada ↗ · CC BY 2.0 ↗

Trails · Hiking trail

Skyline Trail

6.5 km (4 mi) there and back or 8.2 km (5.1 mi) as a loop, to the viewing boardwalk above the Atlantic. From 26 June to 25 October 2026 only with a reserved parking space; about fifty spaces.

A ridge that ends on a wooden boardwalk above the Atlantic, and since 2026 the only place in the park where you have to book a parking space.

Short version
6.5 km (4 mi) there and back, about 2 hours.
Loop
8.2 km (5.1 mi), about 2.5 to 3 hours.
Reservation
Mandatory from 26 June to 25 October 2026.
Start times
8:00, 9:00, 12:00, 13:00, 16:00 and 17:00, each with four hours of parking.
Arrival window
no earlier than 10 minutes before, no later than one hour after the start time.
Parking spaces
about fifty, including oversize and accessible spaces.
Address
19625 Cabot Trail, Chéticamp, NS.
Without a reservation
November to May: quieter, but with limited services.

Open in OpenStreetMap ↗Location source ↗

46.75691, -60.89744

Where to stay · Campground

Chéticamp Campground

At the western entrance, with showers, electrical and fully serviced sites and oTENTiks.

Open in OpenStreetMap ↗Location source ↗

46.64924, -60.95420

Where to stay · Campground

Broad Cove Campground

The large campground on the east side, with showers, fully serviced sites and oTENTiks.

Open in OpenStreetMap ↗Location source ↗

46.71131, -60.35924

Wide pebble beach at Freshwater Lake in Cape Breton Highlands National Park under a blue sky, with a low forested headland and the open sea behind
Photo: Pi3.124 ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Surroundings · Community outside the park

Ingonish

Community at the eastern park entrance, outside the park boundary. Accommodation, beach and supplies.

The eastern entrance: visitor centre, beach and a lake with a lookoff right behind it.

Visitor centre
opened in 2014; passes, programme tickets and information.
Freshwater Lake
directly behind the centre, with a lookoff and loons.
Old centre
a small historic stone building, now home to the park wardens.
Camping
Broad Cove and Ingonish Beach, which also has a Tiny Cabin.
Access
Cabot Trail East via St. Ann's or the Englishtown ferry.

Open in OpenStreetMap ↗Location source ↗

46.69190, -60.36755

Locations verified from the linked original sources and OpenStreetMap. The map shows no trails or park boundaries; markers do not imply that access is permitted.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenMapTiles, OpenFreeMap. Elevation: Terrain Tiles (Mapzen, AWS Open Data); 3DEP, GMTED2010 and SRTM courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey; EU-DEM (Copernicus, European Union); ETOPO1 (NOAA); ArcticDEM (NSF, DigitalGlobe); Geoscience Australia; Open Data Austria (DGM); Open Government Licence – Canada; INEGI; Land Information New Zealand; Kartverket; Environment Agency (UK).

Park photo: Photo: Tony Webster from San Francisco, California ↗ · CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗

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