The greatest spectacle of New Brunswick, a Canadian maritime province sharing its western border with Maine, is the Bay of Fundy. It has the highest tides in the world, with 100 billion tons of seawater rolling in and out twice daily. If you go kayaking from shore, when you return you’ll be carrying that kayak on land from where you sailed earlier.
The coastal landscape is shaped by this volume of churning water. Hopewell Rocks are sandstone rock formations submerged at high tide, but at low tide you can walk on the ocean floor as they tower above. Jet boat past Reversing Falls, where the tides force water at the mouth of the St. John River to reverse its flow. In Fundy National Park, navigate the tidal mudflats by canoe. Offshore islands include Grand Manan, a favourite birdwatching spot of James Audubon, and Deer Island, with the largest tidal pool in the western hemisphere.
St. John, with its Old City Market is the largest city. Moncton features Magnetic Hill, a natural optical illusion making it seem as if cars are being pulled uphill. St. Andrews-by-the-Sea is a renowned golf center. The capital, Fredericton, was originally a British garrison. Near the capital is King’s Landing Historical Settlement, a reconstructed, 17th-century pioneering village.
Follow one of the designated scenic roadways such as the Acadian Coastal Drive. Along the way visit the recreated Acadian Village at Caraquet, go salmon fishing in the Miramichi River, see the white sand dunes of Bouctouche or photograph Cap-Pelé, a picturesque 1780 Acadian town with colourful fishing boats in the wharf and 30 fish smokehouses. Wintertime comes alive with a bunch of ice festivals, featuring sleigh rides, tobogganing, torch-light parades and snow tubing.