Port Medway

When looking for a hotel in Port Medway, you can start by choosing an area that matches your interests: maritime history and architecture sit alongside walking trails, paddling, and the Port Medway Readers’ Festival. The lighthouses, historic buildings, and outdoor activities each offer a different focus for planning your trip.

Lighthouses and Local History

The Port Medway Lighthouse was built in 1899 as a navigational aid in Port Medway harbour. Another landmark is the Medway Head Lighthouse at the entrance to Port Medway. Its current tower is a 29-foot-high wooden pyramidal tower, built in 1983. These dates refer to two different lighthouses: they distinguish a navigational structure from 1899 from the construction of the current tower at the Medway Head Lighthouse.

Old Port Medway Cemetery is also part of the area’s history: it was the first public cemetery in the community of Port Medway. The Port Medway Meeting House adds an architectural detail to these historic topics. The Port Medway Free Will Baptist congregation built the timber-framed building in 1832. The arrangement of the pews is unusual: they face away from the walls and run parallel to the centre aisle. Visitors interested in history and architecture will find other distinctive aspects of the area beyond its lighthouses.

Walking Trails, Picnics, and Paddling

Port Medway Lighthouse Park has walking trails and boardwalk paths. As conditions on the trails can change, it is recommended that you check them locally before your visit. Picnic spots are available at a pavilion or in the park’s gardens. The park combines outdoor activity with a place to take a break.

Visitors can paddle on the Medway River in Port Medway. If you plan this activity, check water conditions and practical access options locally. Walking trails, boardwalks, and paddling are different ways to spend time outdoors; which one suits your trip depends on what you want to do.

Community Life and Festival

The Port Medway Readers’ Festival was founded in 2002 and continues to be organized as a volunteer-run community project. Dates may vary. If the festival is a factor in your trip, check the current event dates in advance. This allows you to consider the festival as a distinct reason to travel, without equating it with year-round historic attractions or outdoor activities.

Queens County: Distinct Destinations

One destination in its own right in Queens County is the Shelburne River Wilderness Area. The area protects almost 3,500 hectares of remote wilderness in the lower Shelburne River watershed. Another route to explore is the Kejimkujik Scenic Drive, Highway 8: it connects Liverpool with Annapolis Royal and passes through Milton, Middlefield, and Caledonia.

Kejimkujik Seaside is a free day-use park in Queens County where visitors can explore trails and a beach. The Harbour Rocks Trail and the Port Joli Head Trail are located there. Visitors of all ages can cycle in Kejimkujik National Park. These activities differ from the walking trails at Port Medway Lighthouse Park and should be considered as separate destinations within the wider Queens County region.

Distinctive nature and cultural destinations in Queens County include Peppered Moon Nature Reserve and Queens County Museum. Peppered Moon Nature Reserve protects an undisturbed coastal forest that provides habitat for rare lichens, including the Peppered Moon lichen. Queens County Museum features exhibits on Mi’kmaq history, early medicine, maritime history, and wartime memorabilia. Visitors can step onto a replica deck of the famous privateer ship “Liverpool Packet” and learn why Liverpool was known as the “Port of the Privateers.” The range of interests in Queens County therefore extends from protected landscapes and cycling to museum and maritime history.

Discover more destinations: Mill Village, Greenfield, Liverpool, Hunts Point, Port Mouton

Back to the regional travel overview: Queens County.