86 Best Sights in New Brunswick, Canada

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.

Overlooking the marshes, fields, and birding sites of the lovely Memramcook Valley, this historic site commemorates the survival of the Acadians and celebrates the renaissance of Acadian culture. This monument is in the original home of St. Joseph's College, the first degree-granting French-language institution in Atlantic Canada, founded by Father Camille Lefebvre in 1864. A permanent interactive exhibit, "Reflections of a Journey—the Odyssey of the Acadian People," provides an excellent overview. Guided tours are available.

The most remote of New Brunswick's nine provincial parks is a vast area of unspoiled wilderness. It is centered on Mount Carleton, at 2,690 feet the highest point in all of the Maritimes. From its summit you can look out over 10 million trees, and it is particularly worth the climb in the fall for the dazzling patchwork of colors below. Rich in wildlife, including moose, white-tailed deer, lynx, marten, and porcupines, the park is also a Dark Sky Preserve, so an overnight camping trip on a clear night would be well rewarded. Most people come to hike the trails or mountain-bike on old logging roads, and there's canoeing on several lakes. Check out guided hikes and other park events

For a quick stop for something quirky, from Woodstock you can take Route 105 along the St. John River toward Nackawic---known as the Forestry Capital of Canada---to see "the world's biggest axe." The 60-foot-tall axe is lodged in a concrete stump in a small park by the river.

In the Edmunston suburb of St-Jacques, roses, rhododendrons, alpine flowers, medicinal plants, and dozens of other annuals and perennials bloom in 10 gardens. Khronos: The Celestial Garden has an astronomical theme, complete with a contemporary stone circle. The music of Mozart, Handel, Bach, and Vivaldi often plays in the background. Two arboretums have coniferous and deciduous trees and shrubs. Mosaiculture plantings on metal frames placed throughout the gardens illustrate legends and cultural themes. Children (and adults) enjoy the phasmids (stick insects) and beekeeping exhibits.

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.

Dating from 1833, this splendid galleried former court house was restored after years of neglect and misuse and was opened to the public by H.R.H. Princess Anne in 1986. Guided tours are available in summer, and occasional special events include an annual Christmas concert.

This outfitter operates a pontoon boat at the lower end of the gorge, offering a fascinating perspective of the cliffs and wells, from May through October; rides are C$50. Zip-lining, rappelling, deepelling (like rappelling only you are facing downward), and kayaking are also offered.

The oldest art gallery in Canada, first opened to the public in 1895, is on the Mount Allison University campus. It houses nearly 4,000 works of 19th- and 20th-century European, American, and Canadian artwork in its permanent collection, and there are usually rotating exhibits as well.

On the western end of Cap-Pelé, this fine, sandy Blue Flag beach slopes gently into the warm waters of the Northumberland Strait, so it's very popular with families. A boardwalk runs through the adjacent salt marshes where waterfowl nest. The beach complex includes a restaurant and lounge with live music in the evening, and cottages are available for rent year-round. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; swimming; walking.

Off King Street one block back from the waterfront, this street is full of historic buildings, particularly around Princess and Duke streets, preserving some of the city's finest late 19th-century architecture. The Old Post Office, at No. 115, is a particularly fine example. This is no frozen-in-time monument, though—these buildings now hold shops, galleries, and restaurants so good and plentiful that the site has become a dining destination. The triple-bulb lamp known as the Three Sisters, at the far end of Prince William Street, was erected in 1848 to guide ships into the harbor. Next to it is a replica of the Celtic cross on nearby Partridge Island, where many immigrants landed and were quarantined.

The interior chamber of this imposing building, where the premier and elected members govern the province, reflects the taste of the late Victorians. The chandeliers are brass, and some of the prisms are Waterford. Replicas of portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds of King George III and Queen Charlotte hang here. There's a freestanding circular staircase, and the library (506/453–2338) owns a complete four-volume set of hand-color copper engravings of Audubon's Birds of America, one of only five sets in Canada. Wander in for a look around, or call ahead to arrange a tour.

Expanding by leaps and bounds, the museum's original building, Tilley House (a National Historic Site), was the birthplace of Sir Leonard Tilley, one of the Fathers of Confederation. It displays Loyalist and First Nations artifacts, early-20th-century medical equipment, Victorian glassware, and more. The nearby Queens County Courthouse ( 16 Courthouse Rd.) is part of the museum and has archival material and courthouse furniture as well as changing exhibits. The third site is Flower House in Cambridge Narrow ( 2270 Lower Cambridge Rd.), built in 1818 by artist Anthony Flower. It relates his family history and contains a collection of his art, alongside works by other New Brunswick artists. Another building, the historic Loomcrofters Studio, dating back at least to 1761, has now been moved onto the grounds of Tilley House.

This waterside public park recalls the area's former shipbuilding industry. It has a nautical-theme playground complete with a "Splash Pad" that sprays water from below and dumps it from buckets above. Shops sell local crafts, and there are several restaurants and docking facilities. An amphitheater showcases local entertainers most evenings and on Sunday afternoon in summer.

Encompassing 2,200 acres, this is one of the largest urban parks in Canada and is also one of the dozen or so highlighted elements of the Stonehammer Geopark, designated as such by UNESCO for its global geological importance. There are more than 55 hiking trails and paths through the forest, 13 lakes, several sandy beaches, a campground, and a golf course with an aquatic driving range. There are art and yoga sessions and many summer and winter activities available. Equipment rentals are at the Inside Out Nature Centre, and the Interpretation Centre organizes guided nature walks; it also has trail maps and information on events, which include open-air movie screenings and concerts.

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.

In the heart of the town, the park has more than 3½ km (2 miles) of boardwalk and trails through 55 acres of wetlands that are home to some 160 species of birds and 200 species of plants. Throughout the marsh, viewing areas and interpretive signs reveal the rare waterfowl species that nest here. There's an interpretive center, and guided tours (C$6, including info kit and a snack at the end) are available in French and English mid-May through late August. A self-guided tour is also available at the visitor center and some stores in downtown Sackville.

This hands-on science center, in the former York County Jail, is all about family fun, with more than 150 hands-on exhibits on its three floors. You can test your reflexes in the Batak Reaction Tester, have fun with flying machines in the wind tunnel, set off the rocket launcher, walk into a giant kaleidoscope, create a mini-tornado, and explore the museum in the dungeon. The Hurricane Simulator is a current favorite. Outside is Atlantic Canada's only outdoor science playground with a giant ship and human gyroscope (C$2 extra) among the learn-through-play structures. Various special programs are also offered.

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.

Across a causeway from Shippagan is Île Lamèque and Ste-Cécile Church. Although the church is plain on the outside, every inch of its interior is decorated with folk art, painted in the late 1960s by the priest and two students. Each July, the International Festival of Baroque Music takes place here.

A working artisan soapery, Olivier includes a museum with a fascinating array of bathtime memorabilia, from old bars of soap and soap-making equipment to tubs and basins. There's a skin-care art gallery, featuring paintings commissioned for soap labels throughout the years, and, naturally, plenty of soap and other skin-care products are for sale. By far the best attraction, however, is the soap-making demonstration, late June to early September at 10, 11:30, 2, and 4.

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.

The present church dates from 1880, when it was rebuilt after the Great Fire. Inside, over the west door, is a coat of arms—a symbol of the monarchy—rescued from the council chamber in Boston by a British colonel during the American Revolution. It was deemed a worthy refugee and given a place of honor in the church. Guided tours are available during July and August, and there's a self-guided tour at other times.