The sea loch and surrounding countryside is designated as the Kyle of Tongue National Scenic Area, one of the forty such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The designated area covers 24,488 ha in total, of which 21,093 ha is on land, with a further 3396 ha being marine (i.e. below low tide level), and takes in the nearby mountains of Ben Hope and Ben Loyal as well as several small islands and the coastline as far east as Bettyhill.