86 Best Sights in New Brunswick, Canada

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.

Get an update on the tides before heading here if you want to walk out to the lighthouse (also known as Head Harbour Lighthouse) as you can only do so at low tide, via the ladders there---be careful on the wet rocks. On a tiny island off the eastern end of Campobello, this distinctive lighthouse is marked with a large red cross and is accessible only at and around low tide, but it’s worth a look no matter the sea level. You may spot whales in the island-dotted waters off the small park on the rock-clad headland across from the light. Seasonal tours of the light may be offered.

Near the Nova Scotia border in Aulac and 12 km (7 miles) east of Sackville, the site holds the ruins of a star-shape fort that played a part in the 18th-century struggle between the French and British. The Deportation of the Acadians began here. The fort has fine views of the marshes at the head of the Bay of Fundy, and the visitor center has a fascinating collection of artifacts and interpretive exhibits.

The former Pope's Museum now explores the peoples and cultures that shaped the area---First Nations, French, Irish, Scottish, and English, with a room dedicated to each---and how they formed the inclusive society they enjoy today. One exhibit that remains from the previous museum is the scale model of St. Peter's in Rome.

The Officers' Quarters in the Historic Garrison District house a museum that presents a living picture of the community from the time when only First Nations peoples inhabited the area through the Acadian and Loyalist days to the immediate past. Its World War I trench puts you in the thick of battle, and the shellacked remains of the giant Coleman Frog, a Fredericton legend, still inspire controversy. There is also an artists' co-op store featuring locally produced art and crafts. If you're visiting outside the summer months, wear warm clothing—the historic site has no heating or insulation. 

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.

In a distinctive historic house, the oldest private gallery in New Brunswick has original works by more than 100 Atlantic Canadian artists, including painters, printmakers, ceramicists, sculptors, jewelers, and photographers.

Starting at the Malabeam Tourist Information Center, the walk covers the full length of the gorge and is dotted with interpretive panels and monuments. Nearby, you can descend the nearly 250 steps to the wells, holes worn in the rocks by the swirling water. Guided walking tours are also available. According to native legend, a young woman named Malabeam led her Mohawk captors to their deaths over the foaming cataract rather than guide them to her village. The bodies of the Mohawks were found the following day, but Malabeam was not found. The view over the gorge from the center is breathtaking, particularly at snowmelt time or after heavy rain.

This imposing 1828 Palladian mansion on the south bank of the St. John River is the official residence and office of New Brunswick's lieutenant governor. Guided tours take in elegantly restored state rooms and art galleries exhibiting New Brunswick art and crafts. The 11-acre grounds, once a 17th-century Acadian settlement, border an early Maliseet burial ground. It's also the venue for a number of festivals and other events every year.

Pioneer and early Victorian artifacts are the basis of a collection that includes memorabilia of Ron Turcotte, the jockey who rode Secretariat to Triple Crown victory in 1973, a wedding cake made in 1940, and the balance beam used by daredevil Van Morrell, who crossed the falls on a tightrope in 1904.

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.

The 1,049-acre park has camping, a restaurant, playgrounds, a 9-hole, par-36 Geoffrey Cornish golf course, a 1-mile beach, and six hiking trails, one of which follows a carriage and logging trail once used by the Roosevelts.

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.

Accessible by bridge from Île Lamèque, Miscou, on the northeastern tip of New Brunswick between the Bay of Chaleurs and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, has white sandy beaches, and the dunes and lagoons are good places to see migrating bird species.

The center preserves a superb example of a coastal ecosystem that protects the exceptionally fertile oyster beds in Bouctouche Bay, a salt marsh, and an important 12-km (7½-mile) sand dune. Hiking trails and an 800-meter (½-mile) boardwalk with ramps and stairs to the beach make it possible to explore sensitive areas without disrupting the environment of one of the few remaining great dunes on the northwest coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and electric vehicles provide tours for visitors with mobility issues. An outstanding interpretive center puts the ecosystem in perspective with nature exhibits, a film presentation, a saltwater aquarium and seasonal special events. The staff regularly conducts guided walks. Swimming is allowed.

The marine ecosystems of the southern New Brunswick coast are preserved in this lovely 600-acre park on a peninsula close to downtown, where a salt-marsh boardwalk, eight walking trails, a seal observation deck, and a lookout tower make bird- and nature-watching easy. Many shorebirds breed here, and it's a staging site on the flight path of shorebirds migrating between the Arctic and South America—a wildlife tracking system here feeds data to Bird Studies Canada as part of an important research and conservation project. The Children's Forest has a playground and there are picnic sites and gas barbecues. Various educational programs, guided walks, and activities are offered. Motor vehicles are excluded on Saturday before noon.

This museum is composed of several buildings: Keillor House, an early Regency stone house built in 1813 that contains thousands of artifacts relating to mid-19th-century life and where docents are in costume; Coach House, which contains a fascinating collection of artifacts from the Dorchester Penitentiary; and, just a minute away on foot, the St. James Museum, set in a former church and containing the Beachkirk Collection of equipment used in the manufacturing of textiles, including antique looms; you can sometimes see demonstrations of carding, spinning, and weaving, and there are also blacksmiths' and carpenters' tools. Special events are held at the museum throughout the year.

Laid out in a Union Jack pattern, King's Square is a green refuge in the heart of the city, with a number of monuments and a two-story bandstand that hosts summer concerts. The mass of metal on the ground in the northeast corner is actually a great lump of melted tools from a neighboring hardware store that burned down in Saint John's Great Fire of 1877, in which hundreds of buildings were destroyed. It's a great place to picnic on food bought at the City Market across the street, but you might not want to linger here after dark. From the west side of the square, King Street, the steepest, shortest main street in Canada, heads down toward the waterfront, with a variety of shops and restaurants along the way.

This Acadian culture theme park re-creates the world of La Sagouine, an old charwoman-philosopher created by celebrated Acadian author Antonine Maillet. It's a make-believe island community that comes to life (in French) in daylong musical and theatrical performances, with dinner theater/musical evenings July through September. There are also four performances in English Wednesday to Sunday, from June to September. Tours are available in English and French, and the Friday-night jam sessions are accessible to English-speaking visitors, too.

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.

New Brunswick has its fair share of superlatives, but this Hartland attraction may be the most surprising. In what is otherwise a rather sleepy little town, the St. John River is spanned by the longest covered bridge in the world—1,282 feet long. A national and provincial historic site, the bridge opened in 1901 and is still used by traffic crossing the river between Routes 103 and 105---maximum vehicle height is 13 feet 9 inches; maximum weight 10 tons. Through the openings in the side walls, passengers can enjoy nice river views in both directions. There also is a safely separated walkway that you can walk across. A fun fact is that of the total 131 covered bridges in Canada, New Brunswick has 58.

There's only room for traffic going one way at a time across the bridge, and there are no traffic lights; so stop and check whether there's anything coming the other way and wait your turn if necessary, then turn on your headlights before driving across.

Established soon after the United Empire Loyalists arrived in 1783, the cemetery features a magnificent beaver-pond fountain, created to depict the hard work and tenacious spirit of the city's founders and those who followed them. Brick and granite walkways lead from the memorial gates through the restored gravestones—the oldest is that of Coonradt Hendricks, dated 1784—and crypts amid shady trees and flowers. Closed in 1848, the cemetery was sadly neglected until 1995, when the Irving family restored it as a gift to the people of Saint John.

The former home of the Merritt family, wealthy Loyalist merchants, this imposing Georgian structure was built in 1817 and, as one of the few survivors of the great fire of 1877, is a designated National Historic Site. It is furnished with authentic period pieces, including a working piano organ and the original kitchen equipment. Visitors can explore on their own or join a guided tour, and visits may be possible by appointment during the closed season.

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.

Surrounding the giant pond created by the Mactaquac Hydroelectric Dam on the St. John River is Mactaquac Provincial Park. Its facilities include an 18-hole championship golf course, two beaches, two marinas (one for powerboats and one for sailboats), supervised crafts activities, myriad nature and hiking trails, and a restaurant. There are also guided walks on summer Wednesdays through a nature reserve to beaver ponds. Reservations are advised for the more than 300 campsites in summer. Winter is fun, too, with trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and sleigh rides are available by appointment (506/328--7030). The toboggan hills and skating/ice hockey ponds are even lighted in the evening. There's a TreeGO attraction ( 877/707--4646;  www.treegomactaquac.ca) in the adjacent Centennial Park.

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.

The waterfront area at the foot of King Street is where the Loyalists landed in 1783. Today it's a lively and appealing area—the site of restaurants, pubs, and a venue for festivals and street performers—but it still conveys a sense of the city's maritime heritage. There's access to the Harbour Passage Trail; a floating wharf accommodates boating visitors to the city and those waiting for the tides to sail up the St. John River; and there's a beach area with imported sand and volleyball nets.

A National Historic Site of Canada, Marysville is one of the country's best-preserved examples of a 19th-century mill town, centered on the large, brick, 1883–85 cotton mill on River Street. Its architecture and social history are amazing and can be appreciated with the help of a self-guided walking-tour booklet available at the Fredericton Regional Museum. Marysville itself is on the north side of the St. John River, about 10 km (6 miles) from downtown Fredericton via Route 8.

Two important First Nations archaeological sites, the Augustine Mound and Oxbow national historic sites, are at the heart of this park, "Where Spirits Live"—where the Mi'kmaq have lived for more than 3,000 years. In the museum, enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff are on hand to answer questions about the exhibits, and there's a good film about the history of the site. Outside, there are a number of walking trails to explore, and events include drumming circles, traditional dancing, and the annual powwow in June. First Nations experiences on offer include traditional foods, tipi retreats, storytelling from Mi'Kmaq elders around the firepit, and guided walks.