A rugged coast pocked by plunging gorges, long ocean views, and steep cliffs where eagles hunt below scenic overlooks is the blurred impression you might take away from a daylong drive through Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It is also a fairly typical one, for the blacktop skirting the park provides the area’s only road access.

Sandwiched between the picturesque coves of the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the massive cliffs of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the west lies Nova Scotia’s largest wilderness. More than 90 miles of trails offer hiking options that range from scenic walks that can be done in a morning or afternoon to overnight hikes of two or three days.

The highlands are dotted with dozens of small lakes and areas of mire wetlands. From these rise the Cheticamp, MacKenzies, Warren Brook, and Aspy River, which empty into the Atlantic. The river valleys are lowlands carpeted with glorious stands of sugar maple, yellow birch, and beech, which consort with white birch and cherry at higher elevation.