When most people think of Eastern Canada, they think of Ontario or maybe even Quebec, but there are another four eastern provinces that barely ever get a mention. Until of course you meet a Canadian from one of them and they give you ideas for beautiful things to see on a road trip in New Brunswick and the other eastern provinces.
I’ve met Canadians from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick on my travels. They have all spoken very highly of the beauty of their homeland. I just had to see it for myself!
But how do you get from Vancouver in Western Canada to New Brunswick in Eastern Canada?
Getting to New Brunswick in Eastern Canada the Cheap but Complicated Way
Step 1: Get cheap flight to Boston, Massachusetts in the US.
Step 2: Hire a car, because road tripping is the best way to see Eastern Canada. It’s also cheaper to hire a car in the US!
Step 3: Drive 500 (ish) kilometres through the scenic states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
Step 4: Fill up your car’s fuel tank before the border, because Canada fuel prices are insane.
The price of all of these things together is still less than half the price of a flight to any of the eastern provinces. Crazy, right?
Saint Stephen to Saint George – Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada
From International Avenue in Maine, a quick drive across the river that is the border brings you to the Canada Border Agency in Saint Stephen.
It’s like a drive-up immigration window. They look at your passport, ask a few questions. Then get excited that you’re excited about a road trip through their eastern provinces and send you on your merry way. Easy, eh!
About a 30 – 40 minute drive from there, you’ll come across the Saint George exit. Taking the north road of this exit brings you almost immediately to Lake Utopia in Charlotte County.
Charlotte County’s Mysterious Lake Utopia and Famous Wood Sculptures – Interesting Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada
Since the 1800s, there have been numerous reports of a mysterious, large sea creature in Lake Utopia.
I was not lucky enough to catch this elusive creature. But on my way to the Black’s Harbour from the south exit road, I saw another creature. Sort of.
A Pennfield man makes wood pile sculptures with his unused fire wood in his front yard each year. Apparently they get bigger and better all the time. This is Fish Stix.
Beautiful Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada – Black’s Harbour on the Atlantic Coast
I was heading to the village of Black’s Harbour to see about a ferry to Grand Manan. Grand Manan is an island so far off the New Brunswick coast that it’s actually closer to the US.
It’s known for it’s abundance of wildlife, making it a destination for birds watchers and whale watchers.
I eventually decided against it, because the schedules combined with the almost 4 hour round trip left minimal time for exploring.
Also the round trip price of CA$50 seemed a little excessive. I had other ferry trips planned in other provinces anyway.
City of Saint John – Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada
If you’re coming from Maine, Saint John is the first major town you’ll find in New Brunswick. When I say major, it’s not particularly huge, but it is the second largest city in New Brunswick.
I also like to call it the city of fog. Every day, without fail, a thick fog rolled in after dark. It has something to do with the cold air from the Bay of Fundy meeting the warm summer air.
Apparently this happens for most of the summer. Luckily it clears during the day, meaning you can enjoy the natural wonders of Saint John under clear skies.
Beautiful Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada – Irving Nature Park in Saint John
The Irving Nature Park is the gem of Saint John’s nature areas. You could probably spend days getting lost on it’s nature trails with occasional beach and salt marsh interludes.
Probably the best thing about this park was that there was almost no one around.
Getting Around the Irving Nature Park – Beautiful Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick
There is a dirt road you can use to drive to the start of the trails dispersed throughout the park.
I only passed one other car the whole day and only encountered a few people at the most popular lookout.
The rest of the time, I had the trails all to my self. So I got to see a lot of animals. Including my first ever siting of squirrels!
Hiking in the Irving Nature Park – Beautiful Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick
There are six different ecosystems to explore in the Irving Nature Park.
The eight walking trails in the park vary in length, but none are too long.
The trails are also mostly flat, which makes them good for a bit of a forest jog.
They’re also great for families with young children. There’s even a forest Fairy Land for the kids.
Interesting Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada – Reversing Falls in the City of Saint John
There’s something interesting that going on in Saint John that rarely happens elsewhere.
A river meeting a bay. Not far from the Saint John city centre, the Saint John River and the Bay of Fundy meet.
Now the two are in an eternal fight for supremacy which has created rapids known as the Reversing Falls.
Although, these days they are called the Reversing Rapids.
Wolastoq/Woolastook Park – Beautiful Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick
Adjacent to the Rapids is the place to get a dose of history and beavers.
Wolastoq mean ‘beautiful river’ in the language of the Maliseet, the First Nations people that historically inhabited the area.
It’s a lovely place to sit an contemplate.
Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada – Saint Martins Sea Caves
Less than an hour drive from Saint John, on the way to the Bay of Fundy, you can take a short detour to see the St Martins Sea Caves. I’d definitely recommend this detour.
Of course, the amount of cave you get to see is in direct correlation with the tide.
When I got there in the morning, you could see the caves, but couldn’t walk to them.
When I went back in the afternoon, you could walk into the caves.
There is also a small shop and diner at St Martins Sea Caves, but they are expensive and lacking variety.
I wouldn’t recommend it as a place to eat.
I would recommend a walk around the area though. You may see some things that will make you smile.
Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada – The Fundy Trail
The Fundy Trail is a 30 kilometre parkway that follows the coast along the Bay of Fundy.
At the entrance to the Fundy Trail Parkway, you will be given some brochures with information about the parkway.
You’ll also be given a map which shows you where all the lookouts and hiking trails are along the Fundy Trail.
There’s even a suspension bridge, called Big Salmon River #1, that stretches nearly 84 metres over the Salmon River.
Some trails along the parkway require a bit of up and down. But when the reward is a waterfall, it all seems worth it!
I stopped at all the lookouts, because why wouldn’t you?
Each lookout is somewhere between 100-160m in elevation That means they all have decent views over the coast.
They all have signs to indicate your elevation. Most lookouts are only a short walk from the parking area.
Fun Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick – Shediac Giant Lobster
Not far from Moncton, New Brunswick’s biggest city, is a settlement called Shediac.
It’s the self proclaimed lobster capital of the world.
Obviously the lobster capital of the world would be incomplete without the world’s biggest lobster. Or ‘Le plus grand homard du monde’ in French, if you were wondering.
This monster lobster weighs 90 tonnes, so I guess it’s not swimming away any time soon.
At 11 metres long and 5 metres high, this Lobster is so big it has a Wikipedia page!
Pirate Cove at Shediac – Fun Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada
There also seems to be a pirate problem in Shediac.
Arrrr!
Okay, not really. Pirates Cove/Lacrique du Pirate is the gift shop behind the giant lobster, but you have to admire the owners for picking a theme and making it their schtick.
It just adds that extra element of joviality to the place.
This tour of fun and beautiful things to see on a road trip in New Brunswick ends at the Confederation Bridge. But fear not! The next part of the Eastern Canada road trip adventure continues over the bridge into the province of Prince Edward Island. Stay tuned for that one!
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28 Replies to “Beautiful Things to See on a Road Trip in New Brunswick Canada”
I’m not much of a road tripper, but this is something I could get on board with! This looks like a great time.
With all of these places being within a few hours drive of each other, I think New Brunswick is a good place to do a road trip, even if they’re not your favourite form of travel.
I love all the hiking that goes along with this road trip! I bet if you timed it right with the changing colors of fall foliage the views would be stunning. Not going to lie, I am really into the idea of taking photos with that giant lobster statue! Too funny!
Hiking is normally one of my main aims when travelling.
I don’t know if I cold handle autumn in Eastern Canada. Spring was already a bit cold for me.
Some beautiful walks on that trip. I bet the fog rolling into St John made it atmospheric.
Just out of curiousity what colour are the squirrels? We get very excited when we see our native red ones (now only found in Scotland and places such as the Isle of Wight where the grey ones haven’t been introduced).
I’d never experienced such fog before that point, so it was certainly an experience.
The squirrels were grey and smaller than I expected.
What a great list of so many things to do! Canada is definitely calling my name 😄
Canada is so amazing. I’d recommend it to everyone!
Wow I can’t believe that whole drive with all the gas and everything was cheaper than flying! I’m glad, driving is usually my first choice but sometimes I book a flight just to make it “easier”….but flying right now is sketchy and confusing with COVID. Would much rather do it the way you did!
I think road trips are the best way to see most of Canada because their transport is expensive.
I once drove from Vancouver to Edmonton, then back again, 1000s of kilometres, and it was still cheaper than getting the train one way and I could control the stops!
Lol. Okay, so I was expecting to see the beautiful scenery from this part of Canada, but I had no idea how quirky/fun this area could be! From the fish stix, the loo signs and the giant lobster…there is so much whimsy and things to make you smile on this one! I love it!
You’ll love PEI and NL then. They take quirky to the next level.
Nicely compiled pictures. Totally enjoyed going through them. This route has so much to offer in terms of variety. Would like to explore it in the future.
Eastern Canada is all about variety and natural beauty.
Things looks like such a fun road trip! I’ve been absolutely loving road trips recently, and New Brunswick is a gorgeous place for a fun trip. It looks like there are so many fun things to see – like that giant lobster!
Sometimes road trips are the best way to really see a place!
That’s defintely true for Canada.
Apparently, I missed a lot of awesome things on our New Brunswick road trip a few years ago! How long did this take you? The sea caves look really fun. And lobster, of course!
Some of these things were accidental finds, but for the others I had some insider information from my friend who’s from NB.
Maybe about 3 days all up. I was able to do the sea caves and Fundy Trail all in one day, then Moncton and Shediac another day. I did the Alma area, including the Fundy National Park on the way back to Boston from Nova Scotia.
I love a good road trip! Especially the kind with hikes, caves, and giant roadside attractions! Thank you for this! Saving it for my next road trip through New Brunswick.
Road trips are the best way to see Canada!
Ha, the giant lobster would fit perfectly in my gallery of weird and funny monuments. Luckily, Canada has just reopened its borders to the US and it’s only an 18h drive from where I live.
It seems that Wolastoq would be a good place to visit too, even if the beaver monument appears to be much smaller than the world’s largest beaver in Alberta.
You would probably love the big prawn, pineapple, banana and guitar in Australia then!
Is love to go back to Canada again, but for me it’s a 12 – 18h flight.
New Brunswick and Eastern Canada are in my bucket list. Driving seems to be a great way of exploring this area. I love those tips on hikes and walks. The Salmon river suspension bridge looks interesting. :-)
Driving is defintely the way to do it!
looks like a pretty spectacular road trip! were the lobsters there any good?
It was quite lovely.
I did mot partake in any lobster eating, but I assume the lobster capital of the world would have great lobster.
I would LOVE to see Irving Nature Park and reversing falls on a New Brunswick road trip. We haven’t been to that part of the country yet! Mostly Alberta/Ontario/BC. Thanks for the inspiration!
I loved all the nature in New Brunswick!
Eastern Canada is pretty amazing.