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MacIntosh Brook Falls in Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Sight · Cape Breton Highlands National Park

MacIntosh Brook Falls

A short brookside walk ends at a 10 m forest waterfall.

Type
Sight
Nearest trail
0.8 km
Audio stories
3 nearby
  • Trailhead
  • Parking
  • Restrooms
  • Picnic tables
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

MacIntosh Brook Falls and Day Use Area

Overview

About MacIntosh Brook Falls

Why stop

  • A mostly level hardwood forest walk beside the brook

Heads up

  • Exposed roots make parts uneven; the 10 m falls are modest

Map

Where it is

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Full map
SightMacIntosh Brook Falls46.80721, -60.75994
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Plan your stop

Before you go

6 active Cape Breton Highlands alerts

  • CautionPedestrian prohibition on Cabot Trail near French LakeMentions Cabot Trail, referenced in this guidePedestrian use is prohibited at all times on the Cabot Trail between 19713 Cabot Trail (French Lake Look-Off) and 18865 Cabot Trail (Veteran’s Monument Look-Off) through October 25, 2026.Official details
  • ClosureCoyote-related area closuresMacIntosh Brook Campground and Trail, Lone Shieling, three Cabot Trail properties, and nearby pull-offs are closed because coyotes have approached people aggressively.Official details
See all 6 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Cape Breton Highlands Tour Guide

Your drive to MacIntosh Brook Falls, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cape Breton Highlands National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

See the Cape Breton Highlands audio tour

Recorded for this place

MacIntosh Brook Falls and Day Use Area
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“Up ahead is MacIntosh Brook's campground and day-use area, a picnic stop with a short waterfall walk.”

Plays as you drive up to MacIntosh Brook Falls in the Parkwolf Cape Breton Highlands Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Lone Shieling
  • The Partnership on the Bark
  • The Forest's Next Generation
  • Rusty Anchor Restaurant
  • 50 audio storiesacross Cape Breton Highlands’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Moose, Black Bear, Bald Eagle, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 27 trails, 38 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
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Guide

More about MacIntosh Brook Falls

A short walk to the fallsThis is a 10 m waterfall at the end of a 1.7 km return walk beside MacIntosh Brook.

This is a 10 m waterfall at the end of a 1.7 km return walk beside MacIntosh Brook. Parks Canada rates the route easy and gives 30–45 minutes for the return trip. It is mostly level, but exposed roots make parts uneven, so it is a poor stroller outing.

The brook is half the appealThe trail follows the brook through mature hardwood forest, with birdsong along the way.

The trail follows the brook through mature hardwood forest, with birdsong along the way. The cascade is a pleasant payoff, but it is modest rather than a huge waterfall spectacle. For a photo, include the brook and boulders in the foreground; they show more of the setting than a tight crop of the falls.

Start at the day-use areaThe trailhead is at MacIntosh Brook campground and day-use area along the Cabot Trail.

The trailhead is at MacIntosh Brook campground and day-use area along the Cabot Trail. Visitor reports place parking, washrooms and picnic tables at this shared access area.

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Wildlife

Wildlife in Cape Breton Highlands

All Cape Breton Highlands wildlife maps
Moose180 sightingsMooseMost seen around 5 AMSighting mapBlack Bear60 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapBald Eagle48 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapGrey Seal29 sightingsGrey SealMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapCoyote14 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapWhite-tailed Deer10 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cape Breton Highlands. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near MacIntosh Brook Falls

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

EasyMacIntosh Brook Trail1.7 km · 36 min · 0.8 km awayAn easy brookside stroll with a waterfall at the end.EasyLone Shieling Trail0.6 km · 15 min · 2.1 km awayAn easy 0.4-mile loop through old-growth maple forest to a historic hut.ChallengingFishing Cove12 km · 5.5 hr · 7.1 km awayA 12 km cove hike with a tough climb back out.

More stops nearby

Campground · 0.8 km awayMacIntosh Brook Campground and Day Use AreaTen unserviced sites, plus a 1.7 km walk to a waterfall.Sight · 2.2 km awayLone ShielingA little hut with a surprisingly big Cape Breton story.Restaurant · 4.9 km awayRusty Anchor RestaurantSeafood, ocean views and a useful Cabot Trail pauseScenic pullout · 5.6 km awayMacKenzie Mountain Look-off — WhalesA Gulf view and whale exhibit, even without a sighting.Scenic pullout · 5.7 km awayMacKenzie Mountain Look-off — The Gulf of St. LawrenceA Gulf panorama with its own stop on the Cabot Trail.Scenic pullout · 6.2 km awayMacKenzie Mountain Look-off — The Highland PlateauA no-hike look at the plateau and MacKenzie River canyon.Scenic pullout · 6.9 km awayFishing Cove Look-offA quick roadside view 335 metres above Fishing Cove.

Parkwolf’s Cape Breton Highlands ranking

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Take Parkwolf to Cape Breton Highlands.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

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