I finally made it back to Kejimkujik National Park! I can’t believe it took me this long to paddle Keji’s pristine backcountry, known for sublime canoeing and camping reminiscent of the Canadian Shield. Keji Southern Lakes region offers a variety of paddle routes, from short day trips to longer (and more challenging) multi-day excursions. I’d easily call this some of the best canoeing in Nova Scotia. Keep reading for our day-to-day experience on Keji Southern Lakes.
Last Updated: January 9, 2026
Growing up in Nova Scotia, I visited Kejimkujik National Park a few times but never ventured into the backcountry. For as long as I can remember, I’ve 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’d say July was the perfect time to go. I hope this trip report will give you a sense of this unmissable Nova Scotia canoe adventure!
This post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of the links, I may receive a percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.
Keji Southern Lakes Map
About Keji Southern Lakes — Best Canoeing in Nova Scotia
Location: Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia
Distance: 48 km loop
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 4 days
Campsites: 30, 40, 31
Lakes: George, Kejimkujik, North Cranberry, Puzzle, Cobrielle, Peskowesk, Hilchemakaar, Lower Silver, Back, Beaverskin, Peskawa, Mountain
Portages: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, N
Season: May 20 to October 30
Reservation: Yes, reservations and backcountry permits are required.
Features: The Keji Southern Lakes region features canoe and portage routes that have been used for centuries, formed by the Mi’kmaq First Nations long ago. This flatwater canoe route includes 12 lakes and 13 portages leading into isolated and beautiful backcountry. Canoeing in Nova Scotia is one of the best ways to find natural beauty and solitude.
Are you looking for a comprehensive guide? Check out Your Complete Guide to Canoeing in Kejimkujik National Park to find everything you need to know.
Jeremy’s Bay Campground
We stayed overnight at Jeremy’s Bay Campground to start our Keji canoe trip bright and early the next day. Site 87 in Upper Meadow Loop offered a comfortable place to lay our heads —not very private but did the trick for one night. Upper Meadow Loop has a nice new shower and washroom facility. Staying in this frontcountry campground was a great choice for us, with this MSR Elixer 3 Person Tent. Thanks, Parks Canada, for the complimentary stay!
Thank you to Parks Canada for providing a complimentary night’s stay at Jeremy Bay’s Campground, as well as a backcountry map and drone permit for the footage used for this resource.
Finding the Boat Launch
After asking the Parks staff for directions, we made our way down to Eel Weir to start our trip. We debated starting at Jake’s Landing, but that would have added more overall distance to an already lengthy paddle (glad we didn’t this time!). After our classic instant oatmeal breakfast, we packed up our gear and drove down the Kejimkujik Parkway and then Eel Weir Rd. We found the park quite easy to navigate, driving 14 km from 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 our gear into the canoe, in two 70-litre MEC dry bags from Whynot Adventure, and then hit the water!
Keji Backcountry Portaging
I’ll admit, it took us a few tries to find a portaging system that worked well for us. Initially, we tried to portage the canoe together with the common underhand lift, but that got very tiring. We also tried the overhead carry together, which is somewhat awkward with our 14-foot Mad River. There were a couple of shorter portages at first, so we tried carrying dry bags and then returning for the boat — but this took much more time (especially for longer portages). In the end, we settled on the solo portage by me and Jen carrying more gear and paddles. For those new to canoe tripping, a bit of portage practice can come in handy on this trip!
Read next: Your Complete Guide to Canoeing in Kejimkujik National Park
Day 1 — Eel Weir to Lower Silver Lake (Site 30) – 17 KM
Distance: 17 km
Time: 6 – 7 hours
Lakes: George, Keji, North Cranberry, Puzzle, Cobrielle, Peskowesk, Hilchemakaar,
Portages: A, B, C, D, G, H, I
Campsite: Site 30 — Lower Silver Lake
At 10:30 in the morning, the first section on George Lake was calm and peaceful. After the first few minutes, I wondered if we might be completely alone for the next four days (turned out to be mostly the case, as we only encountered a handful of other paddlers). We continued up beside Hemlock Island and reached Portage A in Minards Bay by around noon.
While the weather 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. Initially, we tried to carry our packs and our heavy Mad River canoe simultaneously. Then we tried carrying packs first and returning for the canoe, but completing portages twice wasn’t ideal. Finally, Jen carried more gear while I hauled my pack and solo portaged the canoe. This worked well for Portage C and we continued for the rest of the trip.
Our trip from Eel Weir to Site 30 at Lower Silver Lake took about 7 hours, arriving at our campsite by 5:30pm. We were delighted to find a stocked woodpile, even though this isn’t a designated firewood drop. Site 30 also has an outhouse, a bear hang, picnic table, and two tent pads. Not a bad place to call it a day.
Day 2 — Lower Silver Lake to Peskawa Lake (Site 40) – 13 KM
Distance: 13 km
Time: 5 – 6 hours
Lakes: Lower Silver, Back, Peskowesk, Beaverskin, Peskawa
Portages: J, K, L
Campsite: Site 40 — Peskawa Lake
Day two started with blue skies and warm weather — beauty! What more could we ask for? I can’t even tell you how thrilled I was to be back on the water. Many warned about the thick amount of mosquitoes in Keji, but we saw very few (even at our campsites). You might want to bring a bug jacket and bug spray anyway.
After packing up camp, we left our site around 10:30am onto Lower Silver Lake. Paddling in Keji Southern Lakes means exploring all of the smaller lakes, only accessible by portage. After a nice paddle up the lake, we took Portage I onto Back Lake and then Portage J onto the much larger Peskowesk Lake. Portage J is 1.2 km and took us about 30 minutes.
Thankfully, Peskowesk wasn’t very windy and the waves were minor. My favourite part of today was finding a tiny island on the lake for lunch. With plenty of flat rock surface, the dubbed-by-us “One Tree Island” was the perfect lunch stop. It was also easy to fill the gravity filter to replenish our water bottles. Swimming off the rocks was fun and refreshing, too!
After lunch, it was a quick paddle to Portage L and then onto Peskawa Lake. Peskawa was much windier… and we had to pay closer attention to the waves! We paddled across these choppy waters to find Site 40 around 4 o’clock. Our campsite felt very remote and the sand beach was a bonus, with some great hammock trees. If you have a chance to visit Site 40, I would take it. Today’s trip (including a decent lunch break) took about 5.5 hours to complete.
Read more: Your Complete Guide to the Bagwa Canoe Route in Saskatchewan
Day 3 — Peskawa Lake to Peskowesk Lake (Site 31) – 9 KM
Distance: 9 km
Time: 3 hours
Lakes: Peskawa, Peskowesk, Mountain, Keji, George
Portages: N
Campsite: Site 31 — Peskowesk Lake
It would have been possible to finish our trip on day three. But I’m glad we didn’t. We left our campsite just after 10:30am onto Peskawa’s windy waters (very choppy!). After about 30 minutes of hard paddling, we reached the only portage of the day. Portage N is actually two separate portages that pass by Site 38. We also found a pair of iconic red chars not too far from Poison Ivy Falls. After about 30 minutes, we were back onto Peskowesk and ready to paddle to our next campsite.
Similar to Peskawa, Peskowesk decided to show us some wind and swells. There’s nothing overly technical about paddling in Keji backcountry, but windy conditions require some paddling technique (and a bit of muscle). We paddled by the island Site 32 that looked quite nice — next time! After about 1.5 hours, we reached our third and final campsite.
Site 31 is nicely maintained and has the same features as other Keji backcountry campgrounds. We found two tent pads, an outhouse toilet, fire pit, and picnic table. The pulley bear hang was broken, so we strung our food up a tree. Swimming at Site 31 was excellent — with a steep drop off! We enjoyed swimming here more than at Site 41.
Read next: 3-Day Milk River Canoe Trip in Alberta—The Ultimate Guide
Day 4 — Peskowesk Lake to Eel Weir – 10 KM
Distance: 10 km
Time: 3 hours
Lakes: Mountain, Kejimkujik, George
Portages: F, E
We didn’t see a drop of rain until our very last day. Thankfully, our MSR Elixer 3 tent is very waterproof and kept us dry. In the morning, I set up a tarp over the picnic table for breakfast, and we left camp around 9 o’clock.
About 600 metres long, Portage F wasn’t too difficult and took us 15 minutes to reach Mountain Lake. Thankfully, the sprinkling rain wasn’t too cold, and our rain jackets plus paddling kept our body temperatures up. It was a quick 30-minute paddle across Mountain to the beginning of the longest portage in the Keji Southern Lakes region.
I had really built up Portage E in my mind. To be fair, I heard that most people take 1.5 hours to complete it. Don’t get me wrong — a 2.3-km portage is no walk in the park (okay, it literally is… but you’re also carrying a boat 😉 ). I’m glad we approached this one from Mountain Lake, as the descent to Minards Bay was much easier than tackling the incline from the opposite direction. After 45 minutes (yep, that’s it!), we were back on Kejimkujik Lake for our final stretch to Eel Weir. It’s amazing how the thought of warm and dry clothes can motivate a paddler…. We were back at the car before noon, and happily completed our Keji backcountry adventure.
Keji Southern Lakes Packing List
Camping Gear
- Tent
- Groundsheet
- Sleeping pad
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping bag liner
- Hammocks
- Siltarp
- Rain jacket
- Gravity water filter
- Water bottle
- Food / snacks
- Headlamp
- Bug spray
- Sunscreen
- Matches
- Jetboil stove & fuel
- Bowl
- Spoon
- Knife
- Biodegradable soap & scrub
- Toothbrush / toothpaste
- Toilet paper
- Towel
- Map / compass
- Sat comm device
- Powerbank / charger cables
- 2 70-litre dry bags
- 2 10-litre dry bags
- Sunglasses
- Binoculars
- Book
- First aid kit
- Down jacket
- Bear spray
- Car key
- Camera
- Clothing
- Water shoes
- Camp shoes
Canoe Gear
- PFD / life jacket
- Paddles
- An extra paddle
- Painter chord
- Bilge pump
- Throw bag
- Whistle
- Pilot knife (attached to PFD)
- Waterproof flashlight
- Yoke pad
Know Before You Go — Canoeing in Nova Scotia
Parks Canada Pass: Visitors to Kejimkujik National Park require a Parks Pass. We had our Parks Canada Discovery Pass with us.
Reservations: You are required to reserve backcountry campsites in Keji National Park. Make your reservation online through the Parks Canada Reservation Service or call 1-877-RESERVE (1-877-737-3783) from 8am to 6pm Atlantic time.
Campsites: Backcountry campgrounds come with two tent pads, fire pit, picnic table, bear hang, and toilet. We were surprised that we didn’t have any neighbours, and then realized that our booking included both tent pads.
Safety: Backcountry camping requires self-sufficiency and safety considerations. Highly recommend completing a wilderness first aid course before backcountry camping. Bring safety equipment including a first aid kit (with medications) and a satellite communications device (no cell service).
Map: Purchase the backcountry map at the Visitor Centre. You can also download the map online for planning purposes.
Gear: Packing light will certainly make portaging easier. Highly recommend dry bag backpacks when you’re multi-day canoeing in Nova Scotia.
Portaging: Keji Southern Lakes has many portage routes of various lengths and conditions. Sturdy water shoes or sneakers are essential. Practice portaging before arriving in Keji. Portage carts can be useful, but not always practical (depending on the terrain).
Canoe Rentals: Gear and equipment rentals are available in Kejimkujik National Park through Whynot Adventure at Jakes Landing.
Drones: Recreational drone use is not permitted in Kejimkujik National Park without a special permit from Parks Canada. This helps protect wildlife, preserve the natural soundscape, and maintain a safe and peaceful visitor experience.
Keji Southern Lakes Video — Amazing Canoeing in Nova Scotia
Have you paddled in Kejimkujik Southern Lakes region? What was your experience like? Tell me in the comments below!
Save this for later? Hover over the image to add to Pinterest 👇
Thomas Coldwell has always been fond of the outdoors. He loves hiking, paddling, and camping, and thoroughly enjoys creating outdoor adventure resources for people like you. Originally from Nova Scotia, Thomas has lived in four Canadian provinces (NS, NB, ON, AB) and has travelled in 20 countries and counting.
