I make the joke often enough “Portaging is french for torture” and the uninitiated usually reply with a strange uncomfortable laugh and a quick flash of uncertainty in their eyes.

Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, portaging is simply carrying your canoe and kit between waterways via an overland trail. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, there are many variables which can impact your fun meter, such as the weight of your canoe or the number of roots which endeavour to entangle your feet. Also, a portage can be referred to as a carry.

It’s safe to assume most folks close to me wouldn’t label me a social butterfly during the off-season— hermit may be more appropriate. My wintertime existence is probably some ad hoc tactic to strike balance with the overload of social stimulus I enjoy during the warmer months. But I do enjoy the connectedness while I’m in it. This is especially so if I’m shuttling our guests throughout the Park, when there’s a chance for longer conversation.

Regardless of the deep vein of adventure which runs through your soul, there exists any number of reasons to take a canoe down the Shelburne River and through the Tobeatic. That ‘extra’ day of travel shapes a palpable sense of remoteness …

The Southern Lakes region of Kejimkujik remains my favourite place for canoe tripping in the park. While the rocky shores and quick portages of the Park’s northern Frozen Ocean loop are hallmarks of other folk’s favourite trip, the solitude, glacial erratics and sandy beaches draw me to the south.

Going into this three day canoe trip, I did not know what to expect; this was my first time camping in the backcountry. As my dad and I met our group and Cody, our guide, and ate our final meal before entering the wilderness …

The sun is finally out and the water levels are flowing high, not to mention the black flies haven’t yet delivered their vanguard. It’s finally the start of canoe tripping season!

Reserving a backcountry site in Kejimkujik National Park is one of the first steps you need to take for an awesome summertime adventure. Navigating the Parks Canada reservation system can be as tricky as navigating your canoe through Little River in low water, however, so we’ve put together a step by step set of instructions on how to make you reservation, found at the bottom of this blog.

Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site is a little known paddling mecca. The tradition of navigating the waterways in this area spans millennia, beginning with the Mi’kmaq people and their bark canoes. Some of the portage trails used within the park follow the carries originally established by the Mi’kmaq- which is certainly interesting to ponder while shouldering your load between waterways.

Keji’s backcountry, in our opinion, is where the magic begins. There are over 40 backcountry sites in the Park which are accessible only by paddling or hiking or cycling. Each backcountry site is marked with a large reflective sign and has tent pads, a picnic table, a firepit, a stack of dry firewood and a pit-toilet (aka outhouse). Each site also has a ‘bear-hang’ where you can easily attach your food-bag or barrel and raise it up a cable via a pulley system to keep it out of reach from bears, raccoons, rodents and most other wildlife.

Kejimkujik Lake has a variety of campsites, some of which are located on islands adding to the magic and solitude of a wilderness canoe trip. Convenient access to the lake is right here at Jake’s Landing. We have a huge parking lot where you can leave your vehicle for as many nights as you need for free (the parking lots are secure and we've never had any trouble). There are two other parking lots within the park which provide different access points to canoe routes– Big Dam and Eel Weir; each with free, large parking lots.