Keji Day Trips, Nova Scotia, Canada
Outdoor Activities and Family Fun in Kejimkujik National Park, NS
Aug 30, 2009
Established in 1968, Kejimkujik National Park in Canada provides Nova Scotians and visitors with an easily accessible wilderness escape. The national park holds a strong place in the culture of the Mi’kmaw First Nation, while it also protects a natural area offering birdwatching, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, bicycling, hiking, and education.
From Halifax, visitors to Keji will take Highway 103 southwest to Exit 13, then following Highway 325 for about 25km (15.5 miles) before heading west on Highway 208 for about 17km (10.5 miles). Finally, drive Highway 8 to the well-signposted national park.
Keji Group and Family Activities
Kejimkujik National Park presents an array of outdoor activities that explore the lakes, forests, and habitats in the park. These include:
- Mi’kmaw heritage: The park draws on its cultural and spiritual significance to the Mi’kmaw people and their ancestors. The interpretive center begins the story of the First Nations people, while cultural sites in the park continue the telling.
- Birdwatching at Keji: Loons, Cormorants, woodpeckers, owls, hawks, Canadian Warblers, Chimney Swifts, and goshawks frequent the Canadian national park making the wilderness area a great location to bird watch.
- Kejimkujik camping: The park hosts more than 400 campsites spread over Jeremy’s Bay Campground, Jim Charles Point Group Campground, and back country campsites. Reservations are available for the Jim Charles Point Group Campground.
- Keji canoeing: The vast majority of the park is accessible only by water and hiking. Paddlers can rent canoes at Jake’s Landing.
- Beaches at the national park: The lakeside beaches at Keji provide warm summertime swimming waters. Expect many families clustered along the shore at Meadow, Slapfoot, Kedge, and Merrymakedge beaches.
- Mountain biking: Many of the Kejimkujik trails are bicycle-friendly. Park maps clearly delineate hiking-only and mixed-use trails where mountain bikers are welcomed. Rental bikes are available at Jake’s Landing.
Kejimkujik Hiking Trails
Backcountry trails take hikers to little-accessed areas of the park. Wildlife such as black bears and moose call the park home, so hikers must be familiar with safe food storage practices. Longer multi-day trips include hikes to Channel Lake and a fire tower.
Shorter day hikes include the scenic out-and-back trip to Peter’s Point, trails near Mill Falls, and lakeshore walks near the Keji campgrounds.
Keji Seaside Adjunct
Preserving a blond crescent of sand where endangered piping plovers nest, Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct welcomes visitors to a quiet setting. The park is situated on Nova Scotia's Lighthouse Route and protects one of the province's best beaches. To reach the park, travel on Highway 103 southwest from Halifax to the Port Joli exit before turning onto St Catherine's River Rd. Alternately, travelers can take the preceding Highway 103 exit to Port Mouton and then drive the Old Woods Property Road to the park.
Well-maintained hiking trails, a shore dimpled with tidal pools, and barking harbor seals make this section of the national park exceptional. And, after the sometimes summer-mugginess of the interior national park, this seaside counterpart provides a fresh cool breeze and relief.
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