26 Best Sights in The Fundy Coast, New Brunswick

The halls of the Aberdeen Cultural Centre ring with music and chatter. The converted schoolhouse is now home to theater and dance companies, a framing shop, artists' ateliers, and several galleries, and concerts and artist talks are also hosted here. Galerie 12 represents leading contemporary Acadian artists. Galerie Sans Nom is an artist-run co-op supporting avant-garde artists from throughout Canada. The artist-run IMAGO Inc. is the only print-production shop in the province. Guided tours are available by appointment.

On the campus of the University of Moncton, this museum has one of the world's largest collection of Acadian artifacts reflecting 400 years of Acadian life in the Maritimes and covering culture and beliefs, domestic life, politics, and more. Additionally, a fine art gallery showcases contemporary works by local and national artists.

The university is also home to several pieces of public art, so look out for these as you drive through

The small seaside village of Alma services Fundy National Park with restaurants that serve good lobster, a bakery that sells sublime sticky buns, and motels. There's plenty to do around here—from bird-watching and kayaking to horseback riding. Around Canada Day, events may include performances at the Alma Activity Centre and a (plastic) duck race on the Salmon River. In 2021 a new Connector Road opened, linking Alma directly with the Fundy Trail Parkway and reducing the driving time to get there by about an hour.

If the name of the cape isn't enough of a hint, the 140-year-old (still-working) lighthouse perched on the end of its rocky promontory says much about the nature of the waters here. Add tides that rise as much as 16 vertical meters (53 feet) and this becomes a must-see. If the ziplining, rappelling, and rock-climbing opportunities represent too much excitement, you can walk the boardwalk to a viewing platform below the lighthouse, and from there head down to the long "wilderness" beach below (check tide times and leave at least two hours before high tide; staff can advise).

Active since 1840 and a National Historic Site since 1983, the courthouse is an exceptionally fine example of 19th-century Greek Revival architecture—one of the finest in Canada. The adjacent Old Gaol, on the other hand, is a grim reminder of the conditions that awaited local wrongdoers. The courthouse is also the home of Charlotte County Archives, whose volunteers offer free tours of the courthouse and the Old Gaol (June to September). Ask about their Ghost Walks, too.

The Ganong family has been making chocolates in St. Stephen since 1873 and their original candy factory now houses this museum. It explores the sweet history of candy making with hand-dipping videos, a collection of antique chocolate boxes, and hands-on exhibits. A Heritage Chocolate Walking Tour, available Monday to Saturday, July through mid-August, includes a guided tour of the museum and a stroll around town, where the guide points out buildings associated with the chocolate industry. There are occasional activities for children and a chocolate festival in early August. After all that chocolate talk and those tempting displays, there's a sweet finale: an on-site, year-round retail outlet selling the indulgent treats.

A walk through this small nature park is always pleasant, and a great way to pass the time while waiting for the ferry to Campobello Island. Just a few feet offshore in the Western Passage, the Old Sow, the second-largest whirlpool in the world, is visible, but its intensity depends on the state of the tide–it is at its most dramatic three hours before high tide. The water is always highly active, though, and porpoises can often be seen.

The scenic Fundy Trail Parkway extends for 30 km (18.6 miles) along the cliff tops through previously inaccessible wilderness with stunning views, and you can stop along the way at a number of lookouts. These include the stunning Walton Glen Gorge, the "Grand Canyon of New Brunswick"–1,000 feet across, 525 feet deep, and 550 million years old. Once a difficult eight-hour round-trip hike, it is now an easy 2-km (1-mile) round-trip walk to an observation deck with spectacular views across the towering rock face cliffs. Also along the Parkway make a stop at the Interpretive Centre at Big Salmon River. Various Stonehammer Geopark activities are offered here, including walks with an interpreter. The road closely parallels the cycling/walking Fundy Trail along the shore. There are lots of places to park and many accessible scenic lookouts. The 49-km (30-mile) Fundy Footpath, for expert hikers, continues through to the national park. The parkway portion operates mid-May through mid-October. In 2020 a new road linked the parkway to Sussex, and in 2021 a new Connector Road to Alma opened, both improving access to this highly scenic area.

After a remark was made at an 1822 dinner party about the "poor" Presbyterians not having a church of their own, Captain Christopher Scott took exception to the insult and spared no expense on this building. The church is decorated with a carving of a green oak tree in honor of Scott's birthplace, Greenock in Scotland.

This small but interesting aquarium, established in 1969, is at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, a private not-for-profit research and education institution. Marine exhibits include a huge two-story tank with indicators showing the varying levels of the Fundy tides, teeming touch tanks that delight children (and adults), rare wolffish, sea horses, squid, salmon, and a pair of very entertaining harbor seals (fed at 11 and 4 daily), as well as free movies and slide shows. A trail leads to the beach on the Saint Croix River (depending on tides). Check the website for other feeding times, behind-the-scenes tours, and sleepover opportunities. Also consult the website or call for driving directions—it's not easy to find.

These beautiful falls within a park inside the Stonehammer Geopark tumble over ancient rocks and near a fossil of a rare tetrapod trackway. The park provides visitors with tantalizing views of the falls from the boardwalk in the wooded surroundings, where there are picnic tables and hiking trails. At the right time of year, you can pick wild strawberries here.

If you love antiques and would thrill at the notion of discovering an old barn or attic crammed with centuries-old furniture, household items, and miscellaneous other artifacts, it's worth the short trip out here from downtown Moncton. Within a restored 1883 meetinghouse, there are authentic household, work-related, schoolroom, and even military items of the area's non-Acadian pioneer settlers, including the Lutz family, from as far back as 1766. Ignore your first impression—there's more than immediately meets the eye when you enter; more than 3,000 artifacts are crammed into the upper floor and basement areas as well as the main level, and guided tours tell fascinating stories behind the objects. The museum hosts a Canada Day Farmfest and occasional theater, tea, and supper events.

This is an excellent theme park, adjacent to Magnetic Hill. It includes the SplashZone water park with a huge wave pool, thrill-ride body slides, including the 60 km/hour (37 mph) Kamikaze and three giant twister slides. The FunZone has plenty of thrill rides as well as rides for younger children, including battery-powered Bumper Boats with built-in squirters, while video games in the TekZone and four 9-hole golf courses round out the attractions.

This is the largest zoo in Atlantic Canada, covering 40 acres and housing 575 animals in more than 70 species, including a Big Cat exhibit housing endangered Amur tigers (which produced three cubs in 2018) and a leopard in a replication of a Siberian landscape (the New Brunswick climate is also similar to that of Siberia). In addition to imaginative viewing areas, the cats are fed from a zipline, which encourages them to chase and jump. There's no shortage of other exotic species, including lemurs, lions and other big cats, zebras, and ostriches, plus around 80 bird species are represented, both Indigenous and exotic. A tropical house has reptiles, amphibians, birds, and primates, and at Old MacDonald's Barnyard, children can pet domestic animals or ride a pony in summer. Check feeding times on the way in.

This huge island estate, once completely self-sufficient, was the summer home of Sir William Van Horne, chairman of the Canadian Pacific Railway from 1899 to 1915. Tours of the property include Covenhoven, Sir William's 50-room summer home; a tidal swimming pool; a livestock barn; a cottage; an old windmill; and the 1790 Minister's House from which the island takes its name. To get to the island you drive, walk, or bike at low tide; be sure to leave the island before the tide comes in or you will be stuck for another six hours. The website gives details of accessible hours for each open day.

Unlike most Bay of Fundy beaches, this one is sandy and great for swimming, especially if you wait until the tide is coming in. The sun warms the sand at low tide, and the sand warms the water as it comes in. There are quite a lot of steps down to the beach, and the toilets, canteen, and picnic tables are at the top. It's part of the New River Beach Provincial Park that also has a boardwalk through a bog, a playground, interpretive programs, hiking trails, kayak rentals, and campsites. The annual Sand Sculpture Competition in late July is a popular event. Amenities: food and drink; parking; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking.

The 34-room rustic summer cottage of the family of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is now part of a nature preserve, Roosevelt Campobello International Park, a joint project of the Canadian and U.S. governments. The miles of trails here make for pleasant strolling, many incorporating observation decks with stunning views and marine life sightings. Roosevelt's boyhood summer home was also the setting for the 1960 movie Sunrise at Campobello. Twice-daily Tea with Eleanor events include a talk about her life on the island. As an alternative to the ferry from Deer Island, Canada-based visitors can drive across the border into Maine from St. Stephen, go down Route 1, and take Route 189 to Lubec, Maine, then cross the bridge to the island.

A U.S. couple who had a summer home in St. Andrews for 40 years established this museum. The Rosses donated the trappings of that home and an extensive collection of 19th-century New Brunswick furniture and decorative artwork to the town and purchased this 1824 Georgian mansion to house them. The Christmas Open House, over five days in late November/early December, is a popular event.

The three main areas of this freshwater preserve—Germantown Marsh, Mary's Point, and New Horton—comprise an important habitat for species, including the American bittern, sora, and pied-billed grebe, and are also a staging point for tens of thousands of migrating shorebirds, such as American black duck, green- and blue-winged teal, and ring-necked duck. Most notable, perhaps, is the fact that 98 percent of the world population of sandpipers stop to feed on the mud shrimp in the Bay of Fundy on their way south. The mammal population includes moose, bobcats, white-tailed deer, coyotes, otters, and mink. The shoreline at Mary's Point—a Ramsar-designated conservation site—offers spectacular sightings during the peak season from July 20 through mid-August and also has an interpretation center. Shepody is a great place for hiking, and at Mary's Point you can follow the shoreline and stroll through forests for land-bird sightings, which include bald eagles and peregrine falcons. The area, now a bird sanctuary and interpretive center, is near Riverside-Albert.

Built in 1883, this beautiful house was the home of an Intercolonial Railway executive and gives more than just an idea of how a prosperous Victorian family would have lived. It also hosts exhibitions and events. After touring certain rooms of the house, you can get refreshments in the Verandah Tearoom, but check the closing time—you might need to take your afternoon tea first, before your tour.

When the world's highest tides come in on the Bay of Fundy, the surge of water pushes far upstream on the Petitcodiac River, reversing the flow with a wall of water up to a meter high and raising the overall river level. It is an incredible sight when tides are at their highest. With its terraced seating and positioning, Bore Park on Main Street is the best vantage point; viewing times are posted. In summer, there's an introductory talk about the tides. The park is part of the larger Riverfront Park, with 5 km (3 miles) of multiuse trails along the banks of the river.

Entering the water is extremely dangerous because of the deep, soft mud that lines the river.