New Brunswick

New Brunswick offers the world's highest tides, Acadian coast and forest, sea kayaking, hiking, and exploring tidal wonders. The Bay of Fundy and Hopewell Rocks, Fundy National Park, Kouchibouguac's beaches and lagoons, and the highlands of Mount Carleton anchor it.

Summer and early fall (July–October) are prime, with foliage in late September–October. Spring brings migrating birds; winter offers snowshoeing and skiing but is cold and snowy.

Moose, black bears, white-tailed deer, and migratory shorebirds (the Fundy mudflats are a globally critical staging area for millions of sandpipers) inhabit the province, with whales feeding in the rich Bay of Fundy.

The Acadian forest — a transition of boreal and temperate hardwoods — covers most of the province, meeting the dramatic tidal ecosystems of the Bay of Fundy and the warm beaches of the Northumberland Strait.

The Bay of Fundy's funnel shape produces the world's highest tides (up to 16 m), carving sea stacks like the Hopewell Rocks, while the Appalachian highlands (817-m Mount Carleton is the high point of the Maritimes) and extensive Acadian forest cover the interior.

The Mi'kmaq, Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik), and Passamaquoddy peoples inhabit this land. A center of Acadian (French) and Loyalist settlement, New Brunswick was a founding province of Canada in 1867.

Acadian culture and language, a deep tradition of tidal-flat exploration and sea kayaking, and forest and river heritage define the outdoors.

Protecting the Bay of Fundy's tidal ecosystems and the migratory-shorebird staging flats, conserving Acadian forest, and managing the Atlantic salmon's decline are key efforts.

Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John have airports; the Bay of Fundy and parks are reached by car. The province is compact and easily toured by road.

The Fundy tides rise dangerously fast — never get cut off on the mudflats or below the Hopewell Rocks; consult tide tables. Cold water, fog, and ticks are additional concerns.

Parks Canada and New Brunswick Parks manage the parks; tide-dependent access at Hopewell Rocks is posted daily.

Always check tide tables before exploring the mudflats.

Walk the ocean floor at Hopewell Rocks at low tide and watch the same spot fill at high tide (always check tide tables), sea kayak the Fundy coast, and tour in late September for fall color.

New Brunswick borders Quebec, Nova Scotia, and the U.S. state of Maine, linking the Bay of Fundy, the Acadian coast, and the Maritimes.