New Brunswick is a charming Maritime province located on Canada's Atlantic coast, with beautiful landscapes and unique experiences. As with all of the Canadian provinces, it has its own character, quirks and history which make it a fabulous place to visit. Here are a few fun facts to whet your appetite.

 
The Bay of Fundy Tides

In three words….”Biggest, Highest, Deepest”….

The tides in the Bay of Fundy can rise an unbelievable 52 feet. To put this into context, the average tidal range worldwide is 3.3 feet! About 160 billion tonnes of seawater gush in and out of the bay twice a day, and this more than the combined flow of all the rivers in the world. Mind-boggling!
They are best experienced at The Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park, where you can walk around giant sea stack monoliths at low tide then watch the tide rise up around them. Come high tide, you can weave a kayak around the very rocks you were gazing up at.

 
Hopewell Rocks

Known as the flowerpot rocks due to their distinctive shapes, it took thousands of years for the sea to carve the wonderful Hopewell Rocks.
At low tide you can walk on the ocean floor, explore coves, and look up at these extraordinary sandstone formations topped with trees. At high tide, these enormous rocks that once towered over you are now barely peeking out above the surface. It takes just over six hours for high tide to become low, and another six for low to become high, so in just one visit you can experience the power of this ancient clock.

More on the Bay of Fundy….

The Bay of Fundy is a pristine sanctuary for all kinds of wildlife, and some of those are rare and unusual, such as the rare North Atlantic right whale and the harbour porpoise. Immense blooms of plankton provide a vast feeding ground for up to 15 species of toothed and baleen whales, including finbacks, humpbacks and pilot whales.

Saint John is on CNN Travel’s Must-Visit List for 2024

It’s the only Canadian city on the list and is in great company on this diverse but select listing with Galcia Spain, Texas Hill Country and Tainan Taiwan. CNN Travel include two of our favourite places in Saint John: The Saint John City Market, a National Historic Site of Canada, built 1874-1876, and filled with shops and food venues. And Saint John Arts Centre, set in the city’s historic Carnegie Building.

Lighthouses

New Brunswick has more than 60 lighthouses and is famous for its inland lighthouse system along its inland rivers, such as Bayswater Lighthouse. This is on the River Valley Scenic Drive which also includes covered bridges and cable ferries, so a lovely taster of the province. Many of the lighthouses are wooden “salt-shaker” towers, including Dixon Point Lighthouse (which also has a great view of the Bouctouche Dune Lighthouse) and the Richiboucto Head Lighthouse which is close to Cap Lumiere Beach, a great place for a picnic. Quaco Head Lighthouse stands in a beautiful location with an excellent view of St. Martin’s Beach and the Fundy Trail coastline. There’s a museum here, and it’s also a lovely place for a picnic and birdwatching.

 
Seafood

Lovers of seafood and fish are going to be in seventh heaven in New Brunswick. As a Maritime province, bordering the sea and the Bay of Fundy, fish and seafood has always been an important part of life and today, locally-caught seafood is as much for locals’ tables as it is for export. Lobster, snow crab, oysters, shrimp, clams, caviar, and fish—is on the menu across the province.

Shediac is home to the World’s Largest Lobster statue 34 feet long and 15 feet high, weighing in at 90 tonnes! A great photo opportunity.

And finally…the quick fire round!

Due to the high tides, the Saint John River flows backwards twice per day. This has created Reversing Rapids, one of the most popular natural attractions in Saint John.

At Magnetic Hill in Moncton, water (or a car placed in neutral) appears to run uphill due to an optical illusion.

It’s the third smallest province of Canada covering 28,150 square miles and accounting for just 0.7% of Canada’s area.

83% of New Brunswick is covered in forest, and the Appalachian mountains cover its northern half - one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world.

Suggested Holidays

Escorted Tours:
Atlantic Maritimes Tour
Landscapes of the Canadian Maritimes
Great Atlantic Canadian Experience
 

Self-Drive Itineraries:
Self-Drive A Taste of the Maritimes
Self-Drive French Culture Lobsters and Lighthouses
Self-Drive Explore Atlantic Canada
Experience New Brunswick

Maritime Canada by Motorhome