The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail
Parking Lot, 2890 St. Margaret's Bay Road B3Z 4R3 Halifax, NS, Canada

The proposed Ingram River Wilderness Area needs your help! Please fill out the survey by Nov. 22nd, and specify that you would like to see this incredible area protected. https://novascotia.ca/natr/consultation/ingram-river.asp You can learn more about the area and the St. Margaret's Bay Stewardship Association's campaign here. https://www.protecttheingram.com/

The general white-tail deer hunting season is now open across Nova Scotia. Remember, hunting is permitted in the Wilderness Area that surrounds The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail but not directly on it. Snares are also allowed quite close to the trail. Be sure to wear hunter orange when you are on the trail and keep dogs on leash to reduce the risks. WRWEO is also aware of the construction of illegal, permanent hunting blinds near the trail with one VERY concerning example aro...und 150 m away and FACING the trail on the Pot Lake Loop. This structure has since been dismantled but it, or others, may be rebuilt. Sunday Hunting: Only allowed on the two Sundays immediately following the last Friday in October. You can get more information from the gov't website here: https://novascotia.ca/natr/hunt/pdf/Bag_limits_2020.pdf

Have you found some sunglasses on the trail? Some were recently left behind please send us a message so we can put you in touch with the owner.

Have you lost a watch on the trail? If so, send us a description of the watch and we'll get it back to you.

The Board had a meeting at the trail head today and a short hike on the trail along the corridor to where Pot Lake Loop splits (about 20 minutes). We met with our Stewardship Coordinator, Mike Lancaster. and three of our summer students - Allison, Rowan and Kevin. There are lots of projects that need to get going - replace old signs, replace the old boardwalk, and our funding is lower this year as well. Please help maintain the trail by becoming a member or donating - https://wrweo.ca/wp/about-wrweo/membershipsdonations/

Ben Armstrong and Paul Berry paddled out to the junction of Mi'kmaw Hill and the Bluff loops and met Nils who was about to camp at the Crow site, practicing LNT camping he only brought a gas light and peanut butter sandwich, no campfire needed. We also saw Rowan and Keltie, two of the students stewarding the trail this summer. WRWEO is so grateful to trail users like Nils and our summer students who are addressing the harms that result from human use. During the pandemic the trail has seen increased use, about 30% and a lot more camping. Unfortunately many campers do not practice leave no trace camping, cutting down trees, building fire rings, and leaving trash behind happens all the time, we picked up lots of toilet paper and tissue (yucky!).

It's hot out there, please be sure to prepare and bring lots of water ...

Help save Blue Mountain Birch Cove

Big thanks to Bill, one our Trail Stewards, for supplying some new boards for the boardwalk and helping to install them as well! We also had help from Kathleen, long-time Trail Steward and one of WRWEOs newest board members, and Allison and Keltie, two of our summer students.

As The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail navigates through the Five Bridges Lakes Wilderness Protected Area it is not a permitted use to intentionally leave any items behind during the course of your time on the trail. This not only includes standard garbage items, such as food wrappers, but also extends to fruit peels and nut shells. We've recently found a few painted rocks in the trail and have seen check-ins with others. Although we know that the placement of these rocks is done solely with the best of intentions they, too, are in noncompliance with the laws. Please help us to keep The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail and surrounding Five Bridges Lakes Wilderness Protected Area wild by packing out what you pack in.

Our team of summer students will be on the trail for the next 8 weeks! We have a great team this year, equipped with lots of great knowledge on the trail, ecology, trail safety, updates on current fire bans, and on how we can reduce impacts. See you on-trail!

You are invited to our 2020 annual general meeting. It will be held via Zoom on Tuesday July 7, 2020. The meeting starts at 6:00pm and will conclude by 7:30pm. Registration - online via our form on Website,, or send your name, email, phone # and address to [email protected] Membership costs $5, pay online - membership must be up-to-date in order to participate [ 71 more words ] https://wrweo.ca//2020-agm-wrweo-25th-anniversary-july-7-/

Donate to the Bluff Trail via NS Trails Federation ...

Bluff Trail is open but we strongly recommend that it not be used at this time (see earlier post for more info) - parking lot is open, social distancing and prohibitions on gathering in groups must be followed.

Notice to Users of The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail: Due to the ongoing concerns of the spread of COVID-19, and yesterday's declaration of a State of Emergency, the Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization (WRWEO) - the non-profit that created and manages The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail - strongly discourages using the Trail at this time. The Trail navigates through a provincially-designated Wilderness Protected Area and is not itself technically closed but the p...arking lot, which is owned by Halifax Regional Municipality, is. This means you cannot drive to the Trail and may be subject to hefty fines if you do, not to mention potentially causing great harm. As such, although it is still legally open for use from locals who arrive on foot, WRWEO strongly recommends that users stay off of the Trail for the time being in order to help limit the spread of COVID-19. See the provincial news release here: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/ "...effective immediately, provincial parks, beaches and tourist attractions are closed. Provincial trails will remain open for exercise. Gathering limits and social distancing guidelines must be followed." See the HRM municipal closures here under Municpal Updates click on the "Parks & Recreation": https://www.halifax.ca//emer/corona-virus-disease-covid-19 Another issue that is faced with our Trail is the high prevalence of rescue calls that have occurred on the trails. If a user becomes lost or hurt on the Trail in the coming weeks Search and Rescue will need to respond during the COVID-19 outbreak; while the volunteers want to help the community the level of risk to volunteers responding has increased during these COVID-19 times. Please call 311 if you see cars illegally parked along the side of the St. Margaret's Bay Road near the Trail parking lot. This is a difficult time but we will prevail, together. The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail will continue to be one of the jewels of Nova Scotia's trail systems and it will be there when we come out this ordeal, helping connect us with nature and helping us keep healthy of body and mind.

We are cancelling the AGM for now - we will let you know when it is rescheduled. It was scheduled for Thursday March 26, 2020. https://wrweo.ca//we-are-cancelling-the-wrweo-bluff-trail/