Mkwesaqtuk / Cap-Rouge campground — Hotel in Cape Breton Highlands National Park

This brand new camping site is just amazing. The views are to die for. Everything is brand new and modern. The check in building even has Starlink for internet, but there is no wifi available. All sites are walk in ONLY. You can get a pull cart from the building next to the check in office to bring your gear to the site. The staff was super helpful and friendly. You can park anywhere close to your site. If I remember right, there was 2 or 3 parking lots.

First off, the camping site. We booked site #24 and it’s a downhill walk from the parking. Once there, site site is flat and the views are to die for. If you have young kids, you have to keep in mind that it may not be the site for you, as there’s a steep cliff that goes straight down to the water. There’s just a rope there and an accident can easily happen! You have a prefect and private view of the sunset, so no need to go to the Skyline trail to see the sunset. You also can see the sunset from the private beach. More on this later. You have a fire pit and picnic table on the site. The site is partially exposed on one site and some trees on the other.

The days we were there, a storm rolled in. There was a wind warning and the site further down (Corney Brook), which is a little further down was evacuated because of the 100Km/Hr gusts. Even though there are some trees on the site, it was pretty exposed and it was very scary in the middle of the night. I had 4 ropes tying down our tent to not get blown down the cliff. The ground was relatively soft, so the pegs were not very effective. Keep that in mind when booking, but the site is very popular, so you might not have a choice. The trees did provide some protection, but not much.

Now, the facilities. In short, AMAZING. Everything is new, clean and working. The showers are ultra clean. The only problem was that one shower was already broken, so only one was available in the mens bathroom. However, there was never a lineup when I was there. The cooking shelter, which is connected to the bathrooms has 2 large sinks and a large picnic table inside. It also has a cast iron fireplace, I am guessing for colder weather. There’s also 2 tables in the covered section outside. With the crazy wind, we were able to cook inside where the cast iron fireplace was.

There’s a trail that goes down to the beach. It is on the far end of the site where the ready-to-camp sites are. There’s also a communal fireplace, but I didn’t see anybody using it. The trail is nice and there’s a fresh water stream that goes out to the ocean. The beach is rocky and there’s little to no sand. I did see people in the water, but there’s no lifeguard and unsure if it is safe to swim there. The water was also pretty rough on one of the days.

As for wildlife, we didn’t see much. There are 3 seals swimming and living in the waters right off of the campsite. We saw them there every day swimming around. Otherwise, we saw nothing but squirrels. There was a bear sighting warning while we were there and there are food lockers by the sites. Just bring your own padlock if you want or leave them unlocked.

Overall, I would highly recommend the site. I don’t think you can get a better view anywhere. Obviously the weather is beyond your control, so keep that in mind when booking. There are plenty of campsites there, so you can always change once there if you don’t like the site. However, #24 may be the best site to view the sunsets...

This is an amazing facility. I have visited many national parks campgrounds in the US (this is my first trip to Canada) and this facility ranks at the top. From what I observed the campground is well staffed including a actual person on site for check-in from 3-7. The check-in staff also served as a great resource for information about the trails and activities in and around the park.

The common facilities were very clean and maintained and included hot water which is a big bonus. There are common kitchen areas and outdoor sinks which are also clean and welcoming. There is daily trash and recycling removal from the bins around the campsites.

These are walk in campsites which I personally like. It adds to the outdoor experience when there are not cars consistently driving by your campsite. There are nice carts available to help load up your gear. The natural surroundings do a great job of shielding the site from the wind. When I was there we had 20-30 mph winds the whole time but my sites (19 for two nights, 18 for one) reduced that impact.

From the bottom of the campground there is a small path down to the water that crosses a small creek. The beach area is wonderful with rounded pebbles and views of the cliffs in both directions.

The location of the campground puts you right in the middle of all of the iconic views and trails. It is also very convenient to get to the park welcome center and Cheticamp. Cheticamp offer stores, restaurants and gas in case you want a little break from the campground life.

If you are a camper and don't mind a short walk to you campsite, this place will...

All walk in sites, you can use the trolleys they have to transport your camping stuff to your site. some sites are more private than others. Sunset is unreal, you can either see it on your site or go to the big lot/parking area where you can see and enjoy the sunset.

Washrooms and Shower rooms are amazing, best we've seen so far. Clean, modern, water pressure is great. Dishwashing/common/charging shelter is big and clean no wifi spotty phone signal. But all good.

Site 23 is a bit uneven and a bit rocky with proper sleeping mat you'll be good. But not bad at all we were able to out our tent by the entrance of our site as supposed to the tree area. Fire pit with grill is small so you might need an axe to cut the wood. They sell firewoods and kindling, i believe its $8.50 firewood, $1.50 kindling

Food lockers are recommended to use, dont leave any food/garbage, scented toiletries (deodorant, toothpaste etc) outside or inside your tent.

Park ranger is amazing, they had bonfire by the sunset and kids loved the games and little show and tell.

We had an amazing overnight camp stay in here we will be...