New Brunswick

After leaving Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, our next destination was New Brunswick and the historic Algonquin Resort in St. Andrews, the Bay of Fundy and Moncton. This meant an early morning to allow us time to make the three-hour drive as well as cross over the Canadian border. You do have a few extra options for this drive including taking the Route 182 Scenic Byway from Hancock to Cherryfield. Or adding an hour to visit the West Quoddy Lighthouse up close.

We will warn you this drive will remind you of the field in the movie Shawshank Redemption (where the stone wall leads to a tree outside of Buxton). We tried to find the actual field but turns out it was actually in Ohio and the tree itself died a few years back. But that won’t stop you from seeing a number of areas which look just like it.

Most important was we wanted to visit Minister’s Island as our first stop. This island was the summer home of Sir William Van Horne and is only accessible by a land bridge for three to four hours per day. They will not let you onto the island if you arrive too late so it’s important to check the tide charts to be sure you arrive at the right time to make the drive over the ocean floor or to get bikes to bike across. One item we didn’t have time to plan was to pick up a lunch and enjoy a meal on the many picnic tables with beautiful ocean views. If you do have time to pick up a lunch, we loved Lumberjack’s Cafe in town which makes sandwiches with fresh-baked bread. So good, we went there two days in a row.

Or if you are staying at the Algonquin Resort, they offer bikes where you can check in and bike over to the island. Once you are there, it only takes a few hours to tour the maze-like, fifty room summer house/museum, the barn and the bath house where you can walk down to the rocky coast. Maybe it was the day we were visiting but the green lawns, dark blue water, sunny day and cool ocean breezes made for an idyllic day.

Since the tide was earlier the day we visited, we stopped for sandwiches on our way to the resort and then spent the afternoon enjoying the pool and the beautiful patio stretched across the front of the iconic hotel. We were also surprised at how late the sun sets further north so we had more time to enjoy Millionaire’s coffee (try it, please) and Maple Creme Bacon Fat Cookies while playing one of the many board games spread around resort as the sun set.

The next morning was an early arrival for the VIP Zodiac Speed Boat tour with Jolly Breeze Whale Adventures. Visitors can book either the tall ship or the faster zodiac boat. But the zodiac clearly acts as a scouting boat for the tall ship as it travels faster searching the waters. It was also really fun to get dressed in the full body survival suits (it’s not that scary but they do keep you warm) as we headed out on a completely waveless, sunny day.

Our first stop was to watch the harbor seals staring at us as we stopped; followed by a bald eagle perched atop a buoy and then out into the waters to find two Minke whales diving and surfacing back and forth across the channel. The tall ship joined us shortly after – and then we were able to stop again and see a baby bald eagle who had not flown yet in its nest along with a pack of porpoises who played under and alongside the boat. Our captain was kind enough to make one last stop out to the Old Sow Whirlpool – one of the largest natural whirlpools in the Atlantic. Truly an amazing way to spend your first day out on the ocean.

As we mentioned, we stopped again in town for sandwiches (a second time) and were very lucky to find the Rev3 triathlon was in town that weekend. While this added more people to the town, we were told it was one of three times a year they closed the Water Street downtown to traffic and had music playing for the runners. Even after our adventure, we wandered the open streets (avoiding the occasional runner) and shops while people cheered for family members with classic summer music playing in the streets (think Beach Boys and Creedence Clearwater Revival). As we mentioned in our itinerary, festivals are a common occurrence during the summer months.

For dinner, we had to decide between the popular Clam Digger or the patio of the Algonquin Resort which we opted again for the latter and another board game and glass(es) of wine. The next morning was an early departure to explore the Bay of Fundy.

Our first stop was the Fundy Trail Parkway and the overlook to the Flower Pot Rock. The first of many we would see. Another short drive and we were at the St. Martin’s Sea Caves. Again, this area has the largest tides in the world so be sure to check the tide charts for Ministers Island, St. Martins Sea Caves and Hopewell Rocks so you can arrive at or near low tide. The St. Martin’s Sea Caves were a short walk across some rocks in a stream to stand inside of these massive tunnels dug out by the sea.

Further down the road was the Salmon River and the Salmon River Suspension Bridge. Of course, you could spend an entire day visiting the many sights in just this parkway, but we were trying to tackle as much as possible in a single day. A quick walk down the riverbed led to the suspension bridge and the panoramic views on each side of the crystal clear river and trees. Please note, this is a one way drive so as far as you drive in, you will have to drive back out to get to the next destination.

It was then a few hours back out to the road and onto Cape Enrage and the Hopewell Rocks. If you are hungry after the drive, there is a popular stop at Kelly’s Bakery in Alma famous for their over sized sticky buns. Cape Enrage sits on a cliff side and you can walk up to the lighthouse, have lunch at the Cape House Restaurant or even take a ride on the single zipline run. During our visit, there were wind bands coming in from a hurricane which was out in the Atlantic so it was a sunny day but there were 60 mph winds. So much so we had to remove our hats to walk to the light house. However, it made it so much fun walking in gale force winds and seeing crashing waves at a place aptly named Cape Enrage.

Another fifteen minutes down the road leads to the famous Hopewell Rocks. We timed our last stop at the lowest tide so we could walk out onto the ocean floor to see the mammoth flower pot rocks. Travel Tip – for some reason, all of the visitors congregate at the first set of rocks. But simply walk to the left a bit and there are a number of the same formations which you can have all to yourself.

Afterwards, it was on to our stop for the night in Moncton at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Beausejour on Main Street in the heart of downtown. Like the Algonquin resort, this hotel also has an indoor water slide to enjoy which was quite enjoyable after such an active day of exploring.

Dinner was right around the corner at the Tide & Boar Gastropub famed for their Boar Poutine (with pulled pork), fish and chips and polenta fries. On the day of arrival, it was the first day of the Inspire Festival where the city donates 35 building walls to artists from around the world and they celebrate for a week with live music, a color run and festivities. There is also a clear sign of their Celtic heritage with pubs along the main street (The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse, St James Gate Pub, Tide & Boar, etc.) so we couldn’t pass up having a few Guiness’s and enjoying nightly live music at the St James Gate Pub with its arched cave, leather seats and singing patrons.

Overall, the main street of Moncton along with the Inspire Festival reminded us a bit of a small Austin-type hip vibe but combined with an Irish influence making it a fun place to spend the evening. We also planned to stop again in Moncton on our way back as this city is so centrally located to all of the Maritimes. We were fortunate as we’d also be there for the last day of the Inspire Festival to see the completed murals; combined with a dinner at the AAA Four Diamond Windjammer steak house at the hotel.

The next morning was on to Prince Edward Islands (aka PEI) but not without first stopping at the Largest Lobster in the World in Shediac at the Visitors Center for the perfect photo. Then it was over the Confederation Bridge and on to PEI.

And for more details on surrounding areas see our full itinerary for the Maine and the Maritimes or destination notes for Bar Harbor, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Cape Neddick.