Qualla: Skyline Trail (Cape Breton Highlands National Park)

Skyline Trail (Cape Breton Highlands National Park): Introduction

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ericbodden, CC BY-SA 3.0. On October 27, 2009, another hiker on the Skyline Trail photographed two coyotes behaving aggressively. Six minutes later, those coyotes attacked 19-year-old Taylor Mitchell, a rising Canadian folk singer hiking alone on the same path. She died that night from her injuries -- the first documented case of coyotes killing an adult in North American history. The trail, a seven-kilometer loop near French Mountain's summit in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, had been known for its spectacular views of the Cabot Trail winding along the coast below. After Mitchell's death, it became known for something else entirely: the reminder that the beauty of wild places and their danger are not separate qualities but the same one.

Image: Ericbodden | CC BY-SA 3.0

Skyline Trail (Cape Breton Highlands National Park): The Edge of the Highlands

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tony Webster from San Francisco, California, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Skyline Trail begins on the western side of the Cabot Trail near the summit of French Mountain in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia. The seven-kilometer loop divides neatly into two halves. The first section is well-maintained and virtually wheelchair accessibl...

Image: Tony Webster from San Francisco, California | CC BY-SA 2.0

Skyline Trail (Cape Breton Highlands National Park): Where the Wild Things Are

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kelly Wang, CC BY-SA 4.0. The trail's wildlife is abundant and varied. Moose browse in the meadows and forest edges, sometimes blocking the path entirely. Black bears move through the underbrush. Offshore, the waters host a remarkable congregation of marine mammals: minke whales, humpback whales, fin whal...

Image: Kelly Wang | CC BY-SA 4.0

Skyline Trail (Cape Breton Highlands National Park): Taylor Mitchell

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit simpf, CC BY-SA 2.0. Taylor Mitchell was 19 years old and building a promising career as a folk singer when she decided to hike the Skyline Trail alone on October 27, 2009. The attack came without the kind of warning most hikers would recognize. Another visitor had photographed two bold coyotes on th...

Image: simpf | CC BY-SA 2.0

Skyline Trail (Cape Breton Highlands National Park): What Changed

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tony Webster from San Francisco, California, CC BY-SA 2.0. Mitchell's death triggered a five-year research project funded by Parks Canada, NSERC, and academic collaborators to understand what had driven the coyotes to such extreme behavior. Warning signs now greet hikers at every trailhead, educating visitors on how to respond in coyote ...

Image: Tony Webster from San Francisco, California | CC BY-SA 2.0