Shelburne River, Nova Scotia
Wild Headwaters, Quiet Stillwaters, and Ancient Forests
Designated 1997

Shallow rocky lakes, rapids, still-water reaches – the Shelburne begins in the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, the largest remaining wilderness in the Maritimes. It flows through many shallow, rocky lakes, tumbles over rapids, and slips quietly through tranquil stillwaters as it traverses boulder-strewn wetlands, eskers and undisturbed forests. Here are some of the last old-growth stands of white pine, red spruce and hemlock in Nova Scotia. For the paddler, the Shelburne is a wilderness river appearing much as it did when the Mi’Kmaq used it as a travel route centuries ago.