Canoeing Across Pristine Lakes
Canoeing Across Pristine Lakes – I finally made it to Kejimkujik National Park! I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve paddled through the green countryside of Keji, known for its majestic canoeing and camping reminiscent of the Canadian Shield. The Keji Southern Lakes region offers a variety of paddle routes, from short day trips to longer (and more challenging) multi-day excursions. I would call this some of the best canoeing in Nova Scotia! Read on for our daily experience at Keji Southern Lakes.
Growing up in Nova Scotia, I visited Kejimkujik National Park a few times but never got into the backcountry. For as long as I can remember, I have known that Keji boasts some of the best canoeing in Nova Scotia. I decided to plan at least one canoe trip this summer and spent weeks researching our 4-day Keji canoe route. Looking back, I can say that July was the perfect time to go. I hope this trip report gives you a feel for this unforgettable Nova Scotia canoe adventure!
Canoeing Across Pristine Lakes
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Features: The Keji Southern Lakes region has canoe and portage routes that have been used for centuries, formed long ago by the Mi’kmaq First Nations. This flat water canoe route includes 12 lakes and 13 portages into the remote and beautiful backcountry. Canoeing in Nova Scotia is one of the best ways to find natural beauty and solitude.
Are you looking for guidance? Check out Your Complete Guide to Canoeing in Kejimkujik National Park to find everything you need to know to plan your Keji backcountry canoe trip!
We stayed overnight at Jeremy’s Bay Campground to start our Keji canoe trip bright and early the next day. Site 87 on the Upper Meadow Loop offered a comfortable place to lay our heads —not very private but did the trick for one night. The Upper Meadow Loop has wonderful new shower and washroom facilities. Staying at this campsite in the future is a good option for us, with this MSR Elixer 3 Person Tent. Thank you, Parks Canada, for the complimentary stay!
After asking the Parks staff for directions, we headed down to Eel Weir to begin our trip. We debated starting at Jake’s Landing, but that would add to the total distance of an already long paddle (glad we didn’t this time!). We found the park easy to navigate.
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After our classic instant oatmeal breakfast, we packed up our gear and drove down Kejimkujik Parkway and then Eel Weir Rd. We loaded our gear into the boat, in two 70-liter MEC dry bags from Whynot Adventure, and then hit the water!
I’ll admit, it took us a few tries to find a porting system that worked for us. At first, we tried to portage the canoe with the usual underhand lift, but it was too tiring. We also tried the overhead carry together, which was a little awkward on our 14-foot Mad River. There were a couple of shorter portages at first, so we tried to carry the dry bags and then get back to the boat – but it took a lot of time (especially for the longer portages). In the end, Jen and I settled for a solo portage carrying more gear and a paddle. For those new to canoe tripping, a little portage practice can come in handy on this trip!
After a night at Jeremy Bay’s Campground, we couldn’t wait to start our backcountry adventure. While you won’t find solitude on the Upper Meadow Loop, staying at the campground gave us an early start on our canoe trip. After breakfast, we drove about 14 km from the Upper Meadow Loop to Eel Weir in about 20 minutes. The road ends at the Mersey River bridge where we found the parking area, outhouse, and boat launch. We loaded up two MEC 70 liter dry bags and started our paddle around 10.30am to the Mersey River.
The first section of George Lake is amazing and calm in the morning. After the first few minutes of paddling, I wondered if we would be completely alone for the next four days. This turned out to be (mostly) the case, as we encountered very few other paddlers. We continued alongside Hemlock Island and reached Portage A in Minards Bay around noon.
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While time was on our side, the first day was still the longest and hardest for us. It took some time to find our paddling and portage rhythm again. At first, we tried to carry our packs and our heavy canoe up the Mad River at the same time. Then we first tried to carry the packs and return for the boat, but completing the portages twice was not good. In the end, Jen brought more gear while I hauled my pack and carried the boat by myself. It was good for Portage C and we continued the rest of the trip.
Our trip from Eel Weir to Site 30 on Lower Silver Lake took about 7 hours. We left Eel Weir at 10:30 am and arrived at our camp at 5:30 pm. We were happy to find a stocked woodpile (although it was not a designated firewood dump). Site 30 also has an outhouse, a bear hang, picnic table, and two tent pads. Not a bad place to call it a day.
The second day started with blue skies and warm weather. What more could we ask for? Seriously, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back on the water! Many have warned about the dense population of mosquitoes in Keji, but we saw very few even at our campsite. You can still bring a bug jacket and bug spray.
After packing up the camp, we left our campsite around 10:30 in the morning for Lower Silver Lake. Paddling the Keji Southern Lakes means exploring all the small lakes that can only be reached by portage. After a nice lake paddle, we took Portage I to Back Lake and then Portage J to the larger Peskowesk Lake. Portage J is 1.2 km and takes about 30 minutes.
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Fortunately, Peskowesk is not very windy and the waves are small. My favorite part today was finding a small island in Peskowesk Lake for lunch. With many flat rocks, the so-called “One Tree Island” is the perfect lunch stop. It is also easy to fill the gravity filter to fill our water bottles. Swimming on the rocks is fun and refreshing too!
After lunch, it was a quick paddle to Portage L and then to Peskawa Lake. Peskawa was windier and we had to pay attention to the waves. We paddled through these choppy waters to find Site 40 around 4pm. Our campsite felt very remote and the sandy beach was a bonus, with some great hammocks. Today’s trip (including a decent lunch break) took about 5.5 hours to complete.
It was possible to finish our trip on the third day. But I’m glad we didn’t. We left our campsite at 10:30 in the morning for the windy waters of Peskawa. After about 30 minutes of hard paddling, we reached the one and only portage of the day. Portage N is actually two separate portages that go through Site 38. We also saw a pair of iconic red chars not too far from Poison Ivy Falls. After about 30 minutes, we returned to Peskowesk and were ready to row towards our next camp.
Like Peskawa, Peskowesk decided to show us some wind and waves. There is nothing overly technical about paddling the Keji backcountry, but the windy conditions require some canoeing skills. We paddled to the island Site 32 which looked great — next time! After about 1.5 hours, we reached our third and last campsite.
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Site 31 is well maintained and has the same features as Keji’s other backcountry campsites. We found two tent pads, an outdoor toilet, a fire pit, and a picnic table. Unfortunately, the pulley bear that was hung broke so we tied our food to a tree. The swim at Site 31 is excellent with a steep drop off. We had more fun swimming here than at Site 41.
We didn’t see a drop of rain until our last day. Fortunately, our MSR Elixer 3 tent was waterproof and kept us dry. In the morning, I put a tarp over the picnic table for breakfast, and we left camp around 9 o’clock.
About 600 meters long, Portage F is not too difficult and it took us 15 minutes to reach Mountain Lake. Fortunately, the sprinkling of rain wasn’t too cold, and our rain jackets and paddling kept our body temperatures down. It’s a quick 30-minute paddle across the Mountain to the beginning of the highest port in the Keji Southern Lakes region.
I actually built the Portage E with that in mind. To be fair, I’ve heard that most people take 1.5 hours to complete it. Don’t get me wrong – the 2.3-km portage is no walk in the park. I’m glad we approached it from Mountain Lake, because going down to Minards Bay is easier than tackling the slope from the opposite side.
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