MacLeod Brook Nature Reserve protects a lowland old forest site near West Bay, Cape Breton. This sugar maple, yellow birch, eastern hemlock and white pine forest would have been more common in the region prior to widespread land clearing.

Located just a few hundred metres from Bras d’Or Lake, the reserve is within the Bras d’Or Lake Plain natural landscape. This is a biologically productive region where establishing protected areas is challenging due to fragmented land use and ownership patterns.

The reserve is suitable for old forest appreciation and research. It extends to the public highway at Marshes (West Bay) and to other secondary roads, which provide easy access.