Page 69 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to Canada

visitors, whereas autumn promises brilliant
fall foliage and delectable harvest feasts.
Happily, a rapidly-growing number of
restaurants spotlight fresh, locally-sourced
ingredients. Come winter, frozen ponds
and lakes provide an ideal setting for
cutting figure eights or playing pick-up
hockey. Snow also falls—as much as 400 cm
(157 in.) annually in northern New
Brunswick—covering ski hills and more
than 8,000 km (4,971 mi.) of groomed
snowmobile trails.
In a place that has this much to offer,
there’s no need to rush. So take your cue
from the mighty St. John River and simply go
with the flow.
WHAT’S NEW
Fundy National Park turns 75 in 2025, and it's
celebrating in style! With jaw-dropping coast-
lines, epic tides, and endless adventures—
hiking, kayaking, stargazing, and more—it’s a
nature lover’s dream. Don’t miss this unfor-
gettable escape! (www.parks.canada.ca/
pn-np/nb/fundy).
In Saint John, walk “the plank” at the Reversing
Falls from a 33.5 m (110 ft.) observation plank.
Look over the sides to see 1.2 billion-year-old
Precambrian age marble that collided with 515
million-year-old igneous rock. And check out
the rooftop theatre (www.theplank.ca).
Immerse yourself in Acadian culture at the
1.5 km (1 mi.) Akadi Lumina Night Walk.
Le Pays de la Sagouine opens in August
in the Acadian village of Bouctouche
(www.sagouine.com/en/lumina).
The Silverwave Film Festival celebrates its
25th anniversary in November. Prepare for
four days of cinematic excellence, zooming
in on local talent and global storytelling,
coming your way in Fredericton
(www.swfilmfest.com).
The Saint John waterfront has expanded the
Waterfront Container Village using more
than 60 shipping containers. This collection
of retail shops, food trucks, public art and
pop-up activities includes a large perform-
ance stage (www.area506.ca/village).
Rev up your engines for the 25th anniversary
of the Atlantic Nationals Automotive Extrav-
aganza, rolling into Moncton from July 9–13.
With over 2,000 vintage, custom, and
best-in-class cars, plus scenic cruisers,
celebrity meet-and-greets, and a legendary
downtown street party, this is Canada’s
ultimate car lover’s paradise (www.atlantic
nationals.com).
The Market Square in Saint John is
undergoing a revitalization that includes
upgrading restaurant spaces by installing
glass panels to create multi-season patios
(marketsquaresj.com).
CITY LIGHTS
Fredericton is rightly called “Atlantic
Canada’s Riverfront Capital.” The British
made it the seat of government 235 years ago
due to the easy access the St. John River
provided, and most civic sites still line its
banks. Chief among them are the two-block
Garrison District, where red-coated troops
were once quartered; the copper-domed
Legislature; the neo-Gothic Christ Church
Cathedral; and the top-notch Beaverbrook Art
Gallery. Overlooking them all is the Univer-
sity of New Brunswick’s historic hilltop
campus (www.tourismfredericton.ca).
Saint John, a vibrant commercial and
cruise port, has been defined by its harbour
since the Loyalists sailed in. Evidence is
found in its 18th century waterside sites and
the grand edifices erected by later seafarers
during the “Golden Age of Sail.” The harbour’s
significance is further apparent in Market
Square, a museum and entertainment
complex fashioned from waterfront
warehouses, and the City Market which was
built by shipwrights. Even the Harbour
Passage Trail is named in its honour
(www.discoversaintjohn.com).
Straddling the muddy Petitcodiac River,
Greater Moncton has surpassed Saint John to
become the province’s most populous urban
centre. Originally nicknamed the “Hub City”
by virtue of its central location, it now
doubles as a hub of tourist activity because
FUNDY NATIONAL PARK • NEW BRUNSWICK TOURISM
NB
67
Greater Moncton is home to attractions like
the Magic Mountain Water Park, Casino New
Brunswick and Magnetic Hill which, in
addition to the eponymous hill, boasts a
popular zoo, winery and concert site
(www.moncton.ca).
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
New Brunswick is blessed with superlative
natural attractions: the world’s highest tides,
some of the oldest mountains and second
biggest whirlpool. The maritime province is
85 per cent forested and surrounded by the
ocean and lakes and rivers. These sites are,
quite literally, phenomenal. Yet what makes
the outdoors truly “great” is that it has
something for everyone. Fundy Trail Provin-
cial Park—known for its precipitous cliffs,
aromatic evergreens and sublime views—is a
case in point (www.parcsnbparks.info/en/
parks/35/fundy-trail-provincial-park).
Ultra-fit hikers can spend days traversing
this part of the Trans Canada Trail. But,
thanks to an adjacent parkway, key portions
are accessible to children and the physically
challenged, too.
Equally important is the fact that nature
in New Brunswick is always close at hand,
even in urban areas. Visitors to Saint John
can splash out in Rockwood Park, one of the
largest municipal parks in the country, or go
wild by the seaside in the Irving Nature Park
without leaving the city limits. Fresh air
aficionados in Fredericton, similarly, can
stroll, bike and rollerblade on a riverfront
path dubbed “The Green” or get out on the
water by boat. Moncton, meanwhile, puts
sand connoisseurs in reach of both the
delicate Bouctouche dunes and bustling
Parlee Beach.
HERITAGE AND CULTURE
Occupied by Indigenous Peoples for more
than 3,000 years, New Brunswick has 15