Castle and Time Passed By
Moncton, New Brunswick is one of the bigger cities in the province. The community is rich with old architecture including castles, heritage homes and nearby historic forts. It is an ideal destination for people visiting New Brunswick who are interested in museums and history like the Acadian Museum, Lutz Mountain Heritage Museum, Settlers Landing, Moncton Museum and the Thomas Williams House.
However.. on my visit, I was more interested in the local adventures. Bro ( my partner in the tourism business ) had already visited Moncton and had done most of the researching already. But I did not want to travel across Canada without visiting Moncton. A missed opportunity does not sit well with me as I try to limit the amount of regrets and “I should ofs” during my adventure across Canada. I already had a short list of adventures I wanted to explore and most of all.. I wanted to check out the Hopewell Rocks located east of Moncton (next Blog post).
Moncton is centrally located, a short drive to many different destinations including the Hopewell Rocks. Other destinations which are short day trips from the community include Cape Enrage Lighthouse, Murray Beach, Fundy National Park (previous Blog post), Parlee Beach and Kouchibouguac National Park.
Waterfront Pathway
Locally in town there are two great wilderness parks I decided to explore – Mapleton and Irishtown Parks. Both are popular for walking, jogging, strollers and biking. Mapleton Park is the more developed park. The park is a wetland park ideal for birdwatching. There are trails leading to a duck pond where there are viewing benches and shelters for picnicking. Irishtown Park is more of a wilderness park exploring along the shorelines of a local reservoir. I spent one day exploring most of the trails in both parks.
Downtown.. I parked the jeep and roamed around town on foot until I found a quaint little cafe with an outdoor patio. I positioned myself in a people watching position while I relaxed in the sunshine sipping on a coffee reviewing my notes. “Whats next,” I questioned?
The waterfront was next. It was close and the day was beautiful so why not. Along the wetland waterfront was a boardwalk trail. It was a good way to explore the downtown core. I continued along the waterfront as it led me out of town and into the wetlands.
There were bridges, raised footpaths, small towers, information boards and plenty of opportunities to view the birding wildlife in the city. People were jogging, walking, reading books and biking along the path. Me.. I was rocking to some tunes and enjoying the sights one step at a time.
Zip Line in Centennial Park
Back on the road I drove to the northwest side of town to check out Centennial Park. There was an event being celebrated. The bandstand was circled by crowds, music was playing and dancers were performing. Deeper into the park were some trails, a zip line attraction and a kids pool park. To say the least the park was a commercial experience with plenty of opportunity to spend money.
I did my duty and took some pictures. I crossed the park off my list to do’s. Now… all that was left on my list was Cape Enrage and the Hopewell Rocks. I felt a surge of excitement as I was looking forward to the highest tides in Canada and the flower pot rocks of the Hopewell Cape.