Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Cape Breton Highlands National Park

I have been enjoying learning about Canadian National Parks, and the one I'm writing about today is one I have found to be very interesting, particularly if you enjoy seeing animals in their own natural habitats when you travel, as this National Park has everything you might hope to see and experience in a National Park - at least everything I might hope for! Cape Breton Highlands National Park is in Nova Scotia . . . which is a place where some of my ancestors are from!

• Cape Breton Highlands National Park was the first national park in the Atlantic provinces of Canada.
• It covers an area of 948 square kilometers (366 mi²).
• You will discover mountains, valleys, waterfalls, rocky coastlines, the Cape Breton Highlands, a tundra-esque plateau along with Acadian and Boreal forests.
• The park includes the highest point in Nova Scotia, White Hill, at 533.5 m (1,750 ft) above sea level.
• Rivers in the park include the Chéticamp River and the North Aspy River.
• The park is known for its "steep cliffs and deep river canyons which carve into a forested plateau bordering the Atlantic Ocean".
• There are five main salt water ocean beaches in the park and two freshwater lakes. 
• Birds visible from this park include three species of hawk, two species of owl, northern gannets, kestrel, Bicknell's thrush, and the bald eagle.
• Mammals include white-tailed deer, marten, lynx, muskrat, snowshoe hare, beaver, mink, bobcat, river otter, stoat, red fox, raccoon, moose, black bear, and coyote.
• Aquatic life visible from this park includes North Atlantic right whales, humpback whales, fin whales, minke whales, sei whales, pilot whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, harbor seals, harp seals, and grey seals.
• Reptiles include garter snake, red belly snake, ring-necked snake, smooth green snake, wood turtle, and leatherback sea turtle.

As you can see there is so much to see and experience at Cape Breton Highlands National Park - I think you would have to spend a lot of time here to even come close to seeing it all! You will find more about this amazing place at the following link.