Frontcountry Camping in Kejimkujik National Park Nova Scotia

Camping at Keji, Our Way

Keji is famous for its waterways, wilderness, backcountry camping, and, of course, its amazing beauty.

We love all of that too, but I should probably admit right up front that we did the tenting thing when we were young. These days we are either too old or too spoiled for roughing it. Our version of camping now comes with a 28-foot motorhome, a full shower, a queen-sized bed, and even a heated mattress pad.

We always stay at Meadows Loop, known affectionately around the campground as Mellow Meadows. It is where the older crowd tends to gather and honestly, that suits us just fine. It is quieter, the people are our kind of people, and the campground itself is beautiful.

Fair warning though, if you end up on the side of Meadows Loop where the oak trees hang over the RVs, those acorns dropping in the wind sound exactly like little firecrackers hitting your roof. The first time it happened to us, we both shot straight up in bed at midnight wondering what on earth had just happened.

Now we chuckle every single time we hear it and wonder what the people new to the park are thinking. It has become part of the Keji experience.

Fall Colours at Kejimkujik

Fall is our absolute favourite time of year to visit Keji. The park has a lot of hardwood trees and in October when they all turn, it makes the whole place even more beautiful. The reds, yellows and oranges painted along the river and lake are a photographer’s dream, especially in the early morning fog.

The park gets a little quieter after Labour Day once the kids are back in school and some of the parents have forgotten that September and October are fabulous months for camping.

We go right up until the last weekend in October and have woken to more than a few mornings with ice in the puddles. Again, our style of roughing it involves a motorhome with a heated mattress pad and a furnace. But the crisp fall air in the mornings is just another gift from Mother Nature.

I dress warm and walk down to the lake because when the air is cold the lake is almost guaranteed to have morning fog, and that fog turns magical when the morning sun starts trying to burn through. By October the sunrise is at a respectable hour too. Not 5am like it is in July!

One of my favourite spots in the park in the fall is Rogers Brook. Picture tall brown grasses like old farm fields of years gone by, surrounded by hardwood trees that in the right light make you feel like you are standing inside an autumn painting.

I had biked well over 30 kilometres this particular day and hiked a few more on top of that, all trying to capture the perfect fall photo. I know full well that the perfect shot is all about the timing and lighting, but no matter what I tried I just couldn’t get it right. The trees were dressed in their best colours but the light wasn’t cooperating.

By suppertime my legs were tired and my stomach was growling so I called it a day, biked back to the campsite and sat down by the fire to relax.

And immediately the sun came out and lit everything up in a beautiful golden glow.

As tired as I was I jumped back on my bike and rode all the way back to Rogers Brook. They say you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take and I wasn’t about to miss this one.

The sun was still working its magic when I got there. This is one of my all time favourite photos.

Biking the Trails to Jakes Landing

One of my favourite things to do at Keji is pack my camera, throw a lunch in my backpack and explore the trails on my bike. Leaving Mellow Meadows I ride about five kilometres to Jakes Landing along the lake. It is a different ride every trip, the lighting, the fog, the wind or no wind, it is just awesome.

The trails also wind through the forest and along the river, which I can follow all the way back to the main entrance. I can lose myself for hours taking photos along the river bank. In the fall especially there are stunning photographs around every corner.

I lose track of time out there. That’s the point.

Canoeing and Kayaking on the Lake

And I haven’t even talked about canoeing yet!

We don’t do the backcountry routes but we still have plenty of fun paddling the lake and exploring the endless coves and islands. We bring our own canoe but if you don’t have one there are rentals right at Jakes Landing. You can rent canoes or kayaks and from there you can choose to paddle out on the open lake or head upstream on the river — the water is slow and gentle and easy to paddle.

What makes that stretch of river so special is that it runs right past Rogers Brook, through all those hardwood trees and old farmland fields we talked about earlier. In the fall it is absolutely stunning from the water.

Walking the Mersey River

Right at the entrance to the park sits the Visitor Centre, and honestly it couldn’t be in a better location. It sits alongside one of the most beautiful stretches of the Mersey River you will ever walk. It is the perfect introduction for new visitors to the park.

I have spent hours exploring endless pools, mini waterfalls and one impressive cascade after another. What I love most is that every eddy and pool has its own personality, its own life and character. The water moves differently around every rock, the light hits every pool a different way, the majestic Hemlocks point straight up to the sky, and the lush flora along the riverbank is so quiet and magical you expect to see elves hiding in the tree knolls. Especially when you spot the electric blue damselflies hovering inches above the water looking for their next meal.

It is endlessly photogenic. I have walked that river more times than I can count and every single time I find something new.

And as if the slow winding river couldn’t get any prettier, the water suddenly picks up pace and cascades down a series of large boulders in a series of impressive waterfalls. There are benches here to sit and become hypnotized watching the water tumble over the rocks, or you can cross the beautiful new footbridge to explore even more on the opposite side.

A Dark Sky Like No Other

As magical as the days are at Keji, the night sky is equally impressive.

Keji is an official Dark Sky Preserve, one of only a handful in the entire country. The stars at night are so bright and dense they almost don’t seem real. You feel like you are inside a Disney ride with LED lights hanging just a few feet above your head.

I love going down to the lake at night and experimenting with astrophotography.

The Night a Screech Owl Nearly Killed Me

I was down on the beach late at night, by myself, trying to photograph the canoe under the stars. It was pitch black, the lake was quiet, and somewhere across the water a great horned owl was calling.

I remember thinking, “Well, this is just about perfect.”

Then, out of nowhere, a screech owl let loose right behind me.

I had never heard one before, and I am not sure how to describe it other than a cross between a hysterical laugh, a high-pitched squeal, and something from a horror movie. Whatever it was, it nearly launched me straight into the lake.

I did get the photo, but I will admit I did not hang around much longer after that.

A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

The blackflies can be horrendous for a week or two in late spring but then they are gone. Time your visit right and you won’t see one. We haven’t had bad luck with mosquitoes but we have heard others complain so bring repellent just in case.

People often ask about ticks. On the South Shore of Nova Scotia they are a genuine concern any time you step off a trail, but in all of our visits to Keji I have only ever found one on me. Check yourself after trail walks and you should be fine.

An important note about firewood. Due to the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an invasive insect that is devastating the hemlock trees in the park, you are only permitted to burn wood supplied at the park or certified kiln dried wood from outside. Parks Canada has an inoculation program working to save the hemlocks but the last thing the park needs is another invasive species hitching a ride in on a log from home. Please respect this rule, those majestic hemlocks are worth protecting.

On the subject of Starlink, yes we bring it and yes we use it. Some purists frown on being online while camping but without it we would be sitting at home working instead of working a few hours a day in one of the most beautiful places in Nova Scotia. There are far more satellites in orbit now than there were a few years ago and the signal gets through even under a good canopy of trees. We switched to the Starlink Mini this year and haven’t tested it at Keji yet but we have no reason to think it won’t perform just as well as the Gen 2 we used for the past two years.

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So that is our way of enjoying Keji. I am sure there are plenty of posts out there about the beautiful secluded backcountry sites you hike or paddle into, but this is how we do it.

After a day of adventures we usually have an early night, but not before sitting around a crackling campfire for a while. I sip a Guinness or a glass of wine, strum a few tunes on my guitar, and then we call it a night.

And generally the last thing one of us will say before g’nite is… “what should we do tomorrow?”

Another best day.

Keep moving. Stay healthy.

If you want to follow along on more adventures like this you can find us on Instagram at @EastCoastPhotoGuy and at @FrontPorchLifestyle. Come say hello!