Discover Beit Keshet

A memorial site stands in Kibbutz Beit Keshet, while Beit Keshet Forest shapes the surrounding landscape. This brings cultural history and nature together in your travel planning: the Ben-Zvi family cabin and a forest area with trails, a scenic road, and seasonal blooms.

Memorial Site in the Kibbutz

The Ben-Zvi family cabin was brought to Kibbutz Beit Keshet in 1955. It stands there as a memorial to Ali Ben-Zvi and to the legacy and contributions of the Ben-Zvi family to Israel. The memorial site thus provides a distinct cultural and historical focus within the kibbutz.

Landscape and Blossoms in Beit Keshet Forest

Near Beit Keshet, Beit Keshet Forest covers about 25,000 dunams on the eastern slopes of the Nazareth Mountains. The forest includes a remnant of the Tabor oak forest. Its size, hillside setting, and this remnant all shape different aspects of the landscape.

Along the scenic road, seasonal blooms appear in succession: in February, red anemones and pink cyclamens are especially prominent; later, buttercups and orchids bloom. This sequence gives a seasonal sense of the plants that shape the surroundings at different times of year.

Trails and Cycling

Beit Keshet Forest has an 18-kilometer scenic road, picnic areas, and hiking and cycling trails. The Beit Keshet Forest singletrack is another cycling option nearby. It is about 22 kilometers long, with about 12 kilometers of singletrack. The total elevation gain is 500 meters, and the difficulty level is moderate. Winter is the recommended season for riding.

The two routes differ in their distances and focus: the scenic road is 18 kilometers long, while the singletrack route is also described by its proportion of singletrack and total elevation gain. This makes it possible to consider a ride along the scenic road separately from the singletrack route, which is described in terms of difficulty and elevation gain.

Bicycle Parking

Cyclists can continue into Kibbutz Beit Keshet, turn right toward the “Radio Kol Rega” parking lot, and park there. They can then cycle back to the trailhead. Check parking options before you arrive.

Cultural Sites in the Northern District

The broader travel destination of the Northern District also includes the archaeological sites of Tel Hazor and Tel Megiddo. Both are biblical tells with significant remains of cities associated with the Bible. They offer distinct cultural and historical themes that differ from the memorial site in Beit Keshet.

A visit to Tel Hazor focuses on the Upper City. Its features include Solomon’s Gate, a six-chambered gate with two towers dating to the 10th century BCE. The Canaanite palace was used by the kings of Hazor in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The Late Bronze Age palace is considered the most elaborate in Israel and one of the most significant in the Levant.

Tel Hazor also preserves significant remains of an underground water collection system, an engineering achievement adapted to the geography for water storage. An excavated shaft there is 45 meters deep. In the water system, steps three meters wide are carved into the walls of the vertical shaft. Tel Hazor’s fortifications are considered the finest example of their kind in the area stretching from southern Turkey to the northern Negev.

Tel Megiddo also preserves significant remains of a city associated with the Bible and is one of three tells closely linked to events in the Bible. Two archaeological features represent different periods: the Early Bronze Age temple complex is exceptional for the number of its temples, the continuity of cult activity, and its documented ritual practices. The Iron Age orthogonal city plan has few parallels in the Levant.

Discover more destinations: En Dor, Julis, Tirat Ẕevi, Harashim, Shibli, Kafr Kanna, Beit Rimon, Netu'a.

For the broader travel overview: Northern District.