Parking
From the Cabot Trail, turn into the Black Brook day-use area and follow the left turn to the upper parking lot. Park admission is required.
Overview
About Jack Pine
Why go
- A compact loop with both ocean views and a strong natural-history story
- Squeaker Hole gives the route a distinctive coastal payoff
Heads up
- Rocky, rugged patches break up the easy grade
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cape Breton Highlands map
Full mapElevation20–55 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cape Breton Highlands Tour Guide
Your drive to Jack Pine, 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 tourRecorded for this trailhead
Black Brook Beach and Still Brook Falls0:00 / 0:31
“Up ahead is Black Brook Beach, an Atlantic cove with Still Brook Falls at its northern end. I'd stop for the shore and a picnic, with time to look at the pink-orange veins cutting through the grey granite.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cape Breton Highlands Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Jigging Cove Lake Trail
- Green Cove
- Neils Brook Beach
- Growing Out of a Shell
- 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
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Jack Pine
A short coastal loopJack Pine is an easy 2.3 km loop from the upper lot at Black Brook day-use area.
Jack Pine is an easy 2.3 km loop from the upper lot at Black Brook day-use area. Allow about an hour. The path has short climbs and some rocky, rugged sections, then winds through a post-fire jack pine stand with views over the Atlantic. It’s a good pick for a compact walk with an ecological story; the park’s optional Coastal Trail connection is a separate, longer outing. Park admission is required.
What you’ll walkThe loop returns to the same upper lot.
The loop returns to the same upper lot. Expect uneven rock and a few short climbs rather than a smooth stroll. The 2.3 km figure is the complete loop. Keep dogs leashed throughout the park.
Why the jack pines matterThis small pocket of jack pine sits about 200 km from the rest of the species’ range.
This small pocket of jack pine sits about 200 km from the rest of the species’ range. Interpretive panels trace the area’s story from a 1921 fire through a later budworm infestation, and explain how hardy vegetation persists in this exposed coastal setting.
The view at Squeaker HoleNear the end, Jack Pine looks over Squeaker Hole, where the sea pushes into a rocky inlet.
Near the end, Jack Pine looks over Squeaker Hole, where the sea pushes into a rocky inlet. Pause for the contrast between pink-gray cliffs, low evergreens and open water; it’s the trail’s standout coastal view.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Cape Breton Highlands
180 sightingsMooseMost seen around 5 AMSighting map
60 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
48 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
29 sightingsGrey SealMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
14 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
10 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cape Breton Highlands. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
