Thomas Raddall Provincial Park covers 1600 acres (650 hectares) of forest and beach on Nova Scotia’s southern shore. Secluded beachfront and scenic views make it a popular destination for outdoor adventurers and nature enthusiasts.
The sandy, secluded beaches offer the perfect location for swimming and boating in Port Joli Harbor. Guests can also watch seals play on the rocks and gulls flying overhead. The day use area features a picnic area with fire pits, BBQ grills, and tables.
Hikers and bikers can enjoy six different trails that travel through various areas of the park. Trek along the pebbled shoreline or travel through the aspen forest near lakes and marshes.
A variety of wildlife call the park home. Keep a watchful eye out for a glimpse of black bears, coyotes, owls, and great blue herons.
The campground at Thomas Raddall Provincial Park features 69 sites without hookups open for RV camping mid May to mid October. A comfort station with flush toilets and showers is available for guest use. Picnic tables and fire pits are also available.
Thomas Raddall Provincial Park is located near the scenic Lighthouse Route in Port Joli, Nova Scotia. Visitors can reach the park by traveling two hours southwest of the town of Halifax or one and a half hours east of Yarmouth.
The park is off Highway 103, adjacent to Port Joli Harbor and across the bay from Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct National Park.
All roads within the park and the campground are paved and accessible for RVs and trailers, though some sections of the road can be quite narrow. No pull through sites are available in the campground. Sites are mostly dirt.
Biking is allowed on park roads and trails. All bicyclists must wear a helmet.
Parking is available at each site in the campground. Additional parking can be found in the day use areas. Park only in designated areas, and do not park along roadways.
The campground at Thomas Raddall Provincial Park features 69 sites without hookups open for RV camping from May to October. Sites are dirt and gravel and surrounded by woods. The campground here is the perfect location from which to enjoy the park's many outdoor activities.
There are plenty of amenities available here like a comfort station with flush toilets and showers. Wood and ice are sold at the park office for your convenience. Picnic tables and fire pits are available for use as well and generator use is allowed between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm and pets are permitted on leash.
Thomas Raddall Provincial Park is located on the scenic southern shore of Nova Scotia. During the warmer summer months, visitors can enjoy the ocean waves from secluded beaches. The park is adjacent to Port Joli Harbor and features long sandy stretches of quiet beach.
Three beaches contain designated swimming areas. Camper’s Beach is a short walk from the campground and popular with families and children. Lifeguards are not on duty, so swimmers should exercise caution, stay warm, and never swim alone.
There is no shortage of activities for hikers to enjoy at Thomas Raddall Provincial Park. Six hiking trails take visitors around the park with a variety of terrains and scenic views. The longest trail, Moody Barrens Trail, is 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) long and guides campers through a softwood forest and alongside the Moody bog. The 0.7 mile (1.1 kilometer) Port Joli Trail travels along the coastline and through groves of white spruce and balsam fir with beautiful views of the seaside.
On the southern shore of Nova Scotia, Thomas Raddall Provincial Park is a popular location for boaters. Port Joli Harbor runs adjacent to the park’s beach and campground. Smaller, non-motorized watercraft like canoes and kayaks are easy to launch from the shore.
Once on the water, boaters can catch glimpses of harbor seals and various shorebirds like gulls and great blue herons. Boaters can paddle across the harbor to neighboring Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct National Park.
Bikers can enjoy traveling through the forests and marsh areas of Thomas Raddall Provincial Park on several trails and roadways. The most popular trail for biking enthusiasts is the Historic Port Joli Road. The paved trail doubles as a scenic byway for vehicles. It covers 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) of the park, and travels by Cove Lake, one of the park’s pristine marshes full of wildlife, and finally ends at the day use area.
Thomas Raddall Provincial Park features a wide variety of wildlife for visitors to observe and enjoy. The varied ecosystem from forest to beach creates a diverse environment. Seals, loons, piping plovers, great blue herons, and gulls play on the shoreline and pebbled beaches. In the forests, coyotes, owls, deer, black bears, porcupines, and raccoons live among the trees. Guests particularly enjoy when the two ecosystems collide. Bears and coyotes have been spotted on the beaches, so always exercise caution and keep pets on leash.
Picnicking is the perfect activity any time of the year at Thomas Raddall Provincial Park. The day use area features a picnic pavilion for visitors with fire pits, BBQ grills, and picnic tables. There is a designated parking area with a change house and pit toilets. Watch for wildlife like seals in the harbor and bears and deer along the forested shore. Pets should remain on leash. Please properly dispose of or carry out all garbage.
