Cape Breton << BREHT uhn >> Highlands National Park is a scenic wilderness area on Cape Breton Island in northeastern Nova Scotia in Canada. A popular highway called the Cabot Trail winds through the park. The road climbs the forested Cape Breton Plateau, which rises to about 1,600 feet (500 meters) at its highest point. The trail also hugs rugged coastline and dips into deep canyons and valleys.
The park covers 234,300 acres (94,800 hectares) and has a wide variety of animals and plants. Coyotes, deer, foxes, moose, snowshoe hares, and squirrels roam the area. Salmon, trout, and whales swim in waters in or near the park. Hundreds of types of birds, including bald eagles and cormorants, nest in the park. Lupines and other wildflowers flourish there. Balsam firs, sugar maples, yellow birches, and many other kinds of trees grow in the park’s forests.
Visitors can camp, fish, golf, hike, ski, or swim in the park. The Canadian government first set aside land for Cape Breton Highlands National Park in 1936.
