The best walks and hikes around Inverness, Subd. A

The Fishing Cove Backcountry Campground is the only designated wilderness camping area inside Cape Breton Highlands National Park, operating seasonally from mid-May to late October. It has 8 primitive tent pads that can be booked at a cost of $13.50 per night. Also budget for park entry fees. The sites require advance registration through Parks Canada and all gear, drinking water, and food must be carried in. All trash must also be carried out. No open fires allowed, instead, small camp stoves can be used for cooking. The facilities out there are basic pit privies and a bear-proof food storage.

The Fishing Cove Trail is a strenuous 12-kilometre hike that begins at the top of MacKenzie Mountain along the Cabot Trail. The descent is roughly 355 metres down to Fishing Cove at sea level. The way back is uphill so keep that in mind while going down. The trail has quite a bit of shade from the Acadian forest that it passes though and has a few steep, sometimes muddy switchbacks. The trail transitions from a highland plateau to a protected coastline while following the Fishing Cove River. Historically, the route traces an old path once used by a 19th-century Scottish fishing community that traded with the French.

Fishing Cove is a picturesque coastal clearing where the freshwater Fishing Cove River meets a stone and pebble beach. This remote shoreline has some remnants of old stone foundations from an old lobster canneries and has a backcountry campground in the grassy headlands. Hikers can walk along the beach and carefully explore tidal pools, or watch for marine wildlife like whales and seabirds.

The Grande Anse River runs through the valley of the same name, surrounded by the old-growth maples that make this stretch of forest so distinctive and beautiful. It’s this river-carved valley that gives the area its sheltered microclimate, allowing trees here to grow much older than those in the wind-battered highlands surrounding it. Autumn is an especially memorable time to visit this area, when the valley’s maples turn brilliant shades of red and gold.

Lone Shieling Trail is a short, easy loop of just over ½ kilometre, starting at the base of North Mountain along the Cabot Trail. It winds through the Grande Anse Valley, one of the largest old-growth hardwood forests in the Maritimes, with sugar maples here estimated at 350 to 400 years old. It’s one of the most protected corners of the park, which is why access is limited to this short trail. Moose are sometimes spotted here too, so it’s worth keeping an eye out as you walk.

The Lone Shieling is a small stone hut with a timber and thatch roof, built in 1942 as a replica of a traditional Scottish shieling on the Isle of Skye. It was built at the request of Professor Donald S. MacIntosh, who willed 100 acres of his family’s land to Nova Scotia for the park on the condition that a cabin be built here in that same style, honouring his Highland Scottish roots. The hut gets its name from “The Lone Shieling,” a poem describing Scottish emigrants from the Highland Clearances who settled on Cape Breton Island, and today, it’s recognized as a Federal Heritage Building for its historical and architectural significance.

The Meat Cove Mountain Trail is a steep, rugged route that climbs quickly from the area near Meat Cove Campground into the surrounding highlands. The path is narrow and rooty with loose rock in places, making trekking poles and proper footwear useful on both the ascent and descent. Once you break out of the forest, the views open immediately toward the ocean and cliffs below. Because the upper section is exposed, it’s important to attempt the trail only in suitable weather, as wind and fog can roll in fast along the coast.

Meat Cove Mountain stands above the northern tip of Cape Breton and offers one of the most dramatic open viewpoints in the region. From the summit you get wide, sweeping views over the cliffs, highlands, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The upper slopes are exposed and conditions can change quickly, so the mountain is best visited in appropriate weather with proper footwear and trekking poles if you prefer extra stability on the uneven ground.