EVENT UPDATES: See below comments from Halifax Web Site!
One of my favourite areas for hiking and mountain biking in the Halifax area is the Birch Cove Lakes area that can be entered near the Bayers Lake Shopping Centre and also accessible from boat club parking area behind Kearney Lake. (MASKWA AQUATIC CLUB).
This is especially convenient for people who live in West Halifax, Clayton Park and Bedford areas since it is so close and offers so many different points of access and a variety of terrain and activities from hiking, biking, canoeing and winter activities like skating and snow shoeing.
“Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes is an wilderness area of Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) that have been designated under the Wilderness Areas Protection Act. The total area of this near-urban wilderness area is 1,312 hectares (3,242 acres), or almost 3/4 the size of Halifax Peninsula.”
“The wilderness area includes forests, lakes, granite plateaus and barrens, and wetlands along the many lakes and small streams encompassed by the area. It protects some wildlife habitat and offers a range of wilderness recreation opportunities, all within minutes of Halifax / Bedford. The area has long been a favorite of Mountain Bikers, Hikers and Canoe Enthusiasts that have developed trails and portages from repeated use over the years.”
A large percantage of the trails in the area have been developed by mountain bike enthusiasts an is well known as the “Whopper Dropper” trail. There are many other trails along Suzie Lake, Quarry Lake, behind Kearny Lake and Charlie’s Lake that form a large system of trails that follow along Hobsons Lake, Ash Lake and Crane lake that eventually return to the “Whopper” trails behind Suzie lake.
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One place I would like to get to soon and combine a shoreline hike with a tour of the Fossil Center and exibits . . .
Located at the head of the Bay of Fundy, the 75-foot high cliffs at Joggins are exposed to constant tidal action and as Fundy’s 50-foot tides erode the cliffs, new fossils are revealed including a rich variety of flora, diverse amphibian fauna, important trackways and some of the world’s first reptiles.
See the Joggins Fossil Centre’s Web Site
Cliff at Loggin’s Beach
A Unesco world heritage site, the Joggins Fossil Cliffs became famous in 1851 with the discovery of fossilized tree trunks found in their original positions. When these trunks were closer examined, tiny bones were noticed which turned out to be one of the most important fossil discoveries in Nova Scotia. These remains were from one of the world’s first reptiles and evidence that land animals had lived during the “Coal Age”. Today the Joggins Fossil Cliffs are recognized in a world-class palaeontological site.
“…the action of the tides of the Bay of Fundy being so destructive as continually to undermine and sweep away the whole face of the cliffs, so that a new crop of fossils is laid open to view every three or four years.”
—Sir Charles Lyell, Travels in America (1845)
Drive down Loggin’s N.S. “Main Street”.
Joggins Fossil Centre
100 Main Street
Joggins NS B0L 1A0
Canada
Toll-free — 1.888.932.9766
Kejimkujik National Park is one of my favorite places – it is a great National Park and especially suited to hiking, canoeing, and back country camping. The many lakes and rivers offer a great selection of routes and different terrain.
What better place is there in Nova Scotia for hiking and canoeing?
Turtle in Jeremy Bay
The trails of Kejimkujik National Park offer visitors an opportunity to enjoy rivers, lakes and forests with groves of 300-year-old hemlock trees and an abundance of trails that access each of these natural treasures. All trails are maintained with a high quality gravel surface, while bridges and boardwalks provide access over wet areas. Each trail head has a sign with a map and brief description of the natural features along the way.
Trees on Keji Lake