About Us

Upland Nature Guides is a small wilderness guiding business located in the hills of the Ottawa Valley. We offer guided day hikes across Ontario’s highlands region, with a focus on expert nature interpretation. We also conduct nature surveys for public and private landowners.

The company is owned and operated by Jeff Priest, an avid hiker, paddler, photographer and naturalist. A decade ago, Jeff and his wife Laura Rose fell in love with Ontario’s highlands after purchasing 60 acres of wilderness east of Bon Echo Provincial Park. They have since hiked and paddled thousands of kilometers around the region, documenting over 15,000 observations on iNaturalist. During these travels, Jeff was surprised by how few people he encountered on the trails. He hatched an idea to share the highlands in a way that won’t ruin their beauty, and Upland Nature Guides was born.

Jeff Priest is a Hike Ontario Certified Hike Leader, iNaturalist Ambassador, and affiliate member of the Interpretive Guides Association. He is certified for standard and remote/wilderness first aid by the Canadian Red Cross. Jeff has completed Lakehead University’s Ontario Master Naturalist Certificate Program and University of Saskatchewan’s course in Botanical Latin. He volunteers with Wildlife Preservation Canada and conducts fieldwork to support local land trusts in their grant funding and property acquisitions. A member of the Field Botanists of Ontario and Toronto Entomologists’ Association, Jeff has organized and led hikes for local naturalist groups. His nature photography appears in periodicals, magazines and books.

When he’s not guiding, Jeff works part-time as operations manager for Rapid Media, publisher of Paddling Magazine and Kayak Angler Magazine and producer of the Paddling Film Festival. In 2024, Paddling Magazine won the National Magazine Awards’ Grand Prix, Canada’s highest honour in magazine publishing.