11 Great Hikes in and near Cape Breton Island
Picture Canada geese congregating at water’s edge, harbour and mountain views behind them. And soaring highlands seemingly rising from the sea. Add in majestic waterfalls, river canyons, a vast inland sea and dramatic mountain vistas and you start to understand that when it comes to hiking, Cape Breton Island, on Nova Scotia’s eastern edge, captures the soul with its landscape. For all skill levels, the island has intimate and personal locations to explore, including in the 950-square-kilometre Cape Breton Highlands National Park (its 26 hiking trails are among the park’s top draw), and is awe-inspiring wherever you wander.
Celtic Shores Coastal Trail
Distance: 92 km
Time: Multi-day
Elevation gain: 256 m
Breezing through Inverness County, along Cape Breton’s western sunset side, this flat, packed-gravel multi-use route follows the former railway corridor from Port Hastings to Inverness. Organized into five sections, with extensive signage and numerous access points, hikers (and bikers) have a choice: they can trek part of a route or plan a multi-night journey. Terrain changes as you travel, from ocean coastal paths paralleling the Gulf of St. Lawrence to inland river and forest landscapes with opportunities to see herons, swooping eagles, pilot whales and coastal birds. The trail passes ponds and pioneer cemeteries, crosses 26 bridges—many of them trestles—and chugs into local communities (think possible side trips to beaches, museums and live music.)
Read more here.
Skyline Trail
Distance: 6.5 to 8.2 km
Time: 1.5-3 hours
Elevation Gain: Up to 405 m
The signature, poster child hike of Cape Breton Highlands National Park, this level, looping trail atop French Mountain is popular (and busy) for good reason. It’s easy, accessible and ends thrillingly on a headland overlooking the marvel that is the Cabot Trail curving through the opposing cliffside and the Gulf of St. Lawrence (if you’re lucky you may spot whales). Summer brings crowds, so consider a morning or evening amble. There’s an in-and-out circuit (through an enclosure working to bring back the boreal forest by preventing resident moose from nibbling the habitat) and a slightly longer loop back.
Read more here.
Kauzmann Trail
Distance: 3.9 km
Time: 1.5 hours
Elevation Gain: 113 m
If you’re going adventuring, Aspy Bay near the island’s northern tip hits all the hiking high notes. This remote trail, found down a dirt road leading to Money Point, has appealing edge-of-world vibes, ending as it does on a mountain crest overlooking the entirety of Aspy Bay. It’s been compared to the Skyline (sans crowds) as it’s an approachable walk (flat from start to finish) to sweeping views. Like the Skyline, it too can be prone to fog.
Read more here.
Louisbourg Lighthouse Trail
Distance: 3.1 km
Time: 40 minutes
Elevation Gain: 39 m
Good news! Visitors can again experience the wonder of walking this looped coastal footpath that traipses beside the stunning, rocky Atlantic Ocean coastline. The refurbished trail reopened in October 2024 after a two-year closure following damage wreaked by post-tropical Hurricane Fiona. Louisbourg Lighthouse, the site of Canada’s first beacon (1734), is a guiding landmark as you wind around jagged coves, with the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site across the harbour. Those interested can continue on a more rugged, natural route off the groomed path, with stunning, raw ocean views and photo opportunities continuing on a wilder, 10-kilometre loop to Big Lorraine Head.
Read more here.
Le Buttereau
Distance: 1.6 km
Time: 30-45 minutes
Elevation Gain: Up to 55 m
A scattering of Acadian families once called “Le Buttereau” home, which is a small hill overlooking the Chéticamp River and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Foundation ruins are still visible along this pearl of a trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Along with history, the hypnotic sounds of seaside waves hitting coast accompany the easy walk, suitable for most. With peekaboo views into Chéticamp village, interpretive panels tell how Le Buttereau inhabitants didn’t have cars, so they walked to this Acadian fishing village for mass. For a longer hike, the trail connects with the 4.6-kilometre Chemin du Buttereau Trail.
Read more here.
Franey
Distance: 7.4 km
Time: 2-3hours
Elevation Gain: Up to 430 m
Conquering Franey is not easy. The trail shinnies up, up, and up, and so must you—with steep gains in altitude. You may, like me, need to stop to catch your breath. But the poetic moments—the wind whistling through trees, the sun in open spots, stopping to see where a moose noshed on sugar maple—that’s something. At the summit? Revel in accomplishment—and those views of the Atlantic coastline, the Middle Head Peninsula and Clyburn Valley. Some consider it the jewel of the national park. Know too that it’s all downhill from here—comfortably down an old access road.
Read more here.
Middle Head Trail
Distance: 3.8 km
Time: 1-2 hours
Elevation Gain: Up to 45 m
Scenery is on your side as you pass the Keltic Lodge, a white-sided, red-roofed Tudor retreat on the cliffs of Middle Head Peninsula near Ingonish to reach the trailhead. The hike through forest and field follows a former carriage road along a long, narrow peninsula separating two ocean bays. Ending on headland cliffs, relish the sound of breaking waves and the twill of birds on the rocks below as you gaze shamelessly over the trifecta of the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Smokey and Ingonish Island.
Read more here.
Fair Alistair’s Trail
Distance: 3 km
Time: 1 hour
Elevation Gain: 166 m
Taking in otherworldly views of sea and highlands from a meadow on a cliff’s point is the reward for scampering 30 minutes up a path that skirts a mountain’s edge and gives glimpses of the sea below. The trailhead sits off Mabou Coal Mines Road. The trail is part of over a dozen in the Cape Mabou Highlands spreading across more than 20 square kilometres of coastal wilderness. Some trails follow old cart tracks that once connected pioneer settlements of the Gaelic-speaking Scots who settled here. Peace, wonder and discovery run plentiful in the glens and forests and along the shoreline coast.
Read more here.
Salt Mountain Trail
Distance: 2.5 km
Time: 1-1.5hours
Elevation Gain: 230 m
While technically it’s a walk in the park, this beauty in Whycocomagh Provincial Park is no walk in the park. With multiple routes and steep inclines up a hillside that overlooks the Skye River Valley and the Bras d’Or Lake (Canada’s inland sea), the hike provides a proper cardio workout en route to panoramic views overlooking all four of Cape Breton’s counties. Popular with park campers and visitors, Salt Mountain is a hit, too, with locals, who regularly ascend in all seasons. Bald eagles are commonly spotted.
Read more here.
Kluskap Cave Trail
Distance: 2.7 km
Elevation Gain: 105 m
Time: 1-2 hours
On the eastern side of Kelly’s Mountain, at Cape Dauphin, a short, beautiful and challenging trail leads to Kluskap Cave, a place sacred to the Mi’kmaq people as it is said it’s where the great prophet Kluskap resided before leaving Mi’kma’ki and is one day to return. Sturdy shoes and checking tide times are advised as hikers descend a ravine en route, follow a mountain stream and cross rocks (or swim) to reach the oceanside cave.
Read more here.
Summit Loop, Keppoch Mountain
Distance: 4.3 km
Time: 1.2 hours
Elevation Gain: 152 m
On Nova Scotia’s mainland, 45 minutes from Cape Breton, the Summit Loop, arguably the premier trail on Keppoch Mountain ,near the university town of Antigonish, honours its past with a cairn in a mountaintop clearing, commemorating 19th century Gaelic poet “Keppoch Bard” Alexander MacDonald. Known commonly as “The Keppoch,” visitors find a former alpine ski terrain transformed into a year-round destination with over 40 kilometres of multi-use trails, mountain biking areas, an accessibility loop, bouldering opportunities, Nordic skiing and more.
Read more here.
60 years of visiting CB in all seasons and trekking in mountains all over the world and thanks to you I still found a new trail to take this year. Many thanks