Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site

This is a shared-use trail so please watch for bikers.

Start behind the Visitor Centre and walk downstream along the bank of the Mersey River.

Observe the sheer power of Mill Falls in the spring from the viewing area by the picnic shelter or stop in the summer for a cool spot to picnic.

Continue to the end of the trail to enjoy the quieter places in the river.

This is a shared-use trail so please watch for bikers.

Drumlins are steep on one side and gently sloping on the other.

The top of this drumlin is clothed in beeches, bright green and full of warblers in the spring, soft brown and loaded with beechnuts in the fall.

This is a shared-use trail so please watch for bikers.

Listen to the Mersey River gurgling and splashing as you wander through a wetland and along a riverbank. Gateway to Ukme’k (#12).

The 300-year old hemlocks along this trail are among Nova Scotia’s oldest trees.

As you move into the stand of tall, stately conifers, notice how different it feels under the thick-leafed canopy: cool and dark and moist.

A hemlock boardwalk will take you over the very sensitive roots of these giants.

Travel back into Kejimkujik's past with a walk to an old drumlin farm.

Drumlins, eliptical hills, were formed many thousands of years ago during glacial periods.

In the 19th century they attracted settlers who built their farms on the top.

Walk through the forest in the trail of ancient glaciers and search for evidence of the old farm.

The trail may be short, but there’s so much to see as you explore the Rogers Brook trail.

You will cross Rogers Brook and follow the Mersey River along a red maple floodplain.

Vibrant in autumn, the floodplain is teeming with life all year.

Watch for turtles and amphibians and nesting waterfowl.

Amble among towering pines and gnarled beech trees on this two-loop trail.

Discoveries await you: birds, lakes, bogs, diverse forests and marshes.

This is a shared-use trail so please watch for bikers.

Birds love this area for its variety of habitats: red and sugar maple and hemlock.

People love this area for its secluded sandy point.

This is a shared-use trail so please watch for bikers.

Follow the river’s edge to see the Mersey in all its different moods.

From the trail’s parking and picnic area, head along the river, up into the darker woods, and back to quiet, still Mersey pools.

Listen to the swish of the lush grasses as you pass through. 

Floating bridge:

The floating bridge at Jake’s Landing is removed from mid-October until spring.

This is a busy shared-use trail so please watch for other trail users.

Access Slapfoot Trail from Meadow Beach, various points in Jeremy’s Bay campground, Jim Charles Point, Jake’s Landing, or Merrymakedge.

Skirt the forested shoreline of Kejimkujik Lake, joining either the Mersey River trail or continuing on to Jake’s Landing.

The views of the lakeshore change with the season and the weather. Every turn brings something new.

The Slapfoot Trail continues at the far end of the Jake's Landing parking lot, climbing steeply through scattered granite boulders. This is a good place to watch for Pileated Woodpeckers.

Enveloped in trees, you’ll pass the viewing tower on your way to the picnic area and shelter at Merrymakedge P1. From here the trail follows the lakeshore, flat and easy, to the canteen and the beach at Merrymakedge P4.

Floating bridge:

The floating bridge at Jake’s Landing is removed from mid-October until spring.

Our newest trail will have you twisting and turning with the Mersey River as you weave your way through the landscape by foot or by bike. 

More information

More information

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This trail passes through dense coastal forest, beside bogs rich with orchids, over coastal barrens, and then to the sandy beach and rocky islands at Harbour Rocks.

Along the trail, a viewing platform provides a spectacular view of St. Catherine's River Beach.

In the thick growth of shrubs at the trail’s edge you may see birds such as the Common Yellow-throat, Savannah Sparrow, and Palm Warbler feeding on insects or berries.

At the shore, a viewing scope provides a close-up look at offshore seals and seabirds like the Northern Gannet and the Common Eider.

This route then follows the headlands and small sheltered coves to St. Catherine's River Beach.

Park staff protect the Piping Plover by closing the beach to public access during the nesting season.

Trail closed until further notice.

This trail branches from the Harbour Rocks Trail, and crosses an extensive bog to a viewing platform overlooking Boyds Cove.

The trail skirts clumps of coastal forest, which provide shelter for White-tailed Deer and forest birds, and then follows the coast to Port Joli Head.

Here is the full force of the ocean. Crashing surf announces the energy of the waves, the wind whips salty spray into the air, cobbles clatter as the waves recede, cries of gulls and eiders drift ashore, and the smell of seaweed is heavy in the air.

Large boulders left behind by the glaciers sit perched on the rocky headlands, now encrusted with orange coastal lichens.

When you explore these headlands be careful to keep your distance from the water’s edge, since rogue waves can wash across them.

From Port Joli Head, the trail loops along the shoreline to Harbour Rocks.