The Best Backcountry Spot in Cape Breton: Fishing Cove

If you’re visiting Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada and looking for the ultimate adventure for your trip, Fishing Cove is our new FAVOURITE backcountry camping spot! This hike in & out campsite is a hike into a small cove on the coast of the island with the most serene views of the ocean. Read on for the hike stats, what to know, and our experience at Fishing Cove.

About Fishing Cove

Fishing Cove is found on the coast of Cape Breton Island within Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It’s a backcountry campsite with 8 reservable sites, accessible by hiking in/out. The campsite overlooks the ocean and has a beach and creek area that makes for amazing morning views and waking up to the sound of the ocean can’t be beat.

Hiking Stats & Camping Information

• Route type: Out & Back
• Distance: 11.7km (approx 6km there and then out the same way)
• Elevation: 488m
• Time: 3-5 hrs (total)
• Difficulty: Medium
• Dog Friendly: Yes – on leash.
• Washrooms: Yes – portable washroom at the campsite. None in the parking lot.
• All Trails Link

How To Book Fishing Cove

Fishing Cove is located within Cape Breton Highlands National Park, and therefore has to be booked through Parks Canada. Here is the link for the Fishing Cove page to make a reservation.

Our Experience

We visited Fishing Cove early July. We drove into Cape Breton Highland National Park and were immediately in love! The views during the drive were stunning and there are tons of points to park and take in the scenery. We recommend opening the all trails map / google maps and pull up the parking lot for Fishing Cove BEFORE entering the park whilst you still have service – you won’t have service once you enter the park. Otherwise just keep an eye open for the signs on the drive through. We arrived at the parking lot at about 330pm and packed up and hit the road (aka the hiking path) at about 4pm. It was still super hot, but the path is mostly shaded and follows a creek for a long portion of it which makes for some great scenery. The hike, for being mostly tree/creek views, was really nice and there are many rest stops (even some with benches) along the route!

The hike isn’t too difficult – it’s mostly downhill (on the way in) and not too many ups and downs. There’s also signs at each kilometre. We hiked for about 2-2.5 hours (taking some stops for Pringle – our Pup – to enjoy the creek). We arrived at the campsite around 630pm and set up camp so we could spend the rest of the evening enjoying the beach and views. We stayed at campsite #3, which was a great option for being a little further back from the action (the beach where everyone goes), and having some surreal views. Each campsite has a wooden tent pad for you to set up on.

We spent the evening down by the beach dipping in the ocean (and washing off in the creek) and enjoying the stunning weather. Pringle LOVED the ocean, chasing after sticks, and being snuggled in his towel after his cold dip (see the picture below) and over exaggerating his shivers for extra love (which we are always happy to give him). After some much deserved towel snuggles, we cooked some food from our tent pad and watched the sunset – we even saw some seals in the ocean from where we were sitting! We actually only shared the entire space with only one other group, so it was a super quiet evening.

The next morning we woke up to the sound of the ocean and took full advantage to get a morning cold dip in the ocean and the creek before cooking breakfast. The cloudy weather was coming in quick, so we didn’t spend too much time here, but I do believe you can stay until late morning before you need to pack out for the next people. We packed up and it takes a little longer on the way out just because it is mostly uphill (this one of the few hikes I have done that it’s downhill on the way in, and uphill on the way back!) but again it took about 2hrs depending on how long we took for Pringle to stop by the creeks. Once we got back to the car, we had a beautiful drive back out of the park to our next road trip destination.

Additional Information

• There is no potable water on site (just a creek / the ocean) – bring your own drinking water / food
• You need to pack out all your garbage
• There is a washroom at the campsite
• You need to bring a camp stove (no open fires allowed)
• Campsites #2 and #3 have the best views, with uncovered views of the ocean. We chose #3 because #2 is right beside the walking path everyone takes down to the ocean, but both have STUNNING views and #2 has no-one in front of their view.
• Most of the other campsites do have tree coverage (#2 and #3 do not) which is nice for additional coverage from the elements / tarp / etc.
• There is a second route which is shorter (I think 6km total instead of approx 12km), however we didn’t use that route. I believe it’s an ATV trail and much steeper than the route we took.
• Bring your swimsuit – dip in the ocean and then the creek to wash off most of the saltiness after!
• Once your reservation is confirmed, it will give you additional information on if you need to register for park access / any other details you need.
• There is no cell service at the campsite (and none really in the entire park).

We both agreed that this was the best backcountry campsite we have ever stayed at – and the fact that we could bring our pup along was the best part! We highly recommend Fishing Cove if you’re heading out to Cape Breton and want to make your stay extra special.