Discover Moncton

In Moncton, a powerful wave of water moves upstream against the current in the Petitcodiac River: the Tidal Bore. It reaches the city twice a day. There are also park trails, natural areas and opportunities to learn about the city’s history. This makes it possible to shape your stay around a range of interests—whether you’re looking for a remarkable natural phenomenon, outdoor activity or cultural discoveries.

The Tidal Bore on the Petitcodiac River

If you’d like to experience the Tidal Bore, you’ll find the best views at Bore Park in downtown Moncton. The wave is a single, powerful band of water moving upstream against the current. That movement is what makes it an unusual sight to see on a visit to the river. Since the Tidal Bore reaches Moncton twice a day, it is a distinctive part of the cityscape—unlike a visit to a park, where you can choose your own pace and how long to stay.

The Riverfront Park on the Petitcodiac River also offers space to enjoy the outdoors: its trails are five kilometres long, and the green space covers more than 90,000 square feet. If you like to include trails and river scenery in your stay in Moncton, you can make the park a destination in its own right. Bore Park and Riverfront Park each offer a different reason to spend time by the river.

Park trails and natural areas

Moncton has about 79 kilometres of park trails and dozens of connected neighbourhood trails that can be used year-round. In Mapleton Park, trails wind through 122 hectares of wooded and open areas along the North Branch of Hall’s Creek. The area also includes a wetland and a lagoon. This landscape brings together open spaces, woodland and water without limiting your stay to just one kind of nature experience.

At Jones Lake, a 2.74-kilometre trail circles the lake, and there is also a canoe launch. The lake is connected to Centennial Park. At Centennial Park, hikers and cyclists can choose from both gravel and paved trails. This gives you a choice of surfaces when planning your time outdoors.

Irishtown Nature Park reveals another side of the landscape: Acadian forests meet varied terrain, wetlands and a lake. Separate trail systems are available for walking, hiking and cycling. If these activities are part of your trip planning, the different park areas can help you decide which Moncton experiences to focus on.

Culture, history and an unusual experience

Resurgo Place is home to the Transportation Discovery Centre and a permanent Heritage Collection offering insights into Moncton’s unique history. If you’d also like to learn about the city’s development during your visit, it offers a cultural counterpoint to the trails and riverfront areas. Visits to the Free Meeting House are available on request at the Resurgo Place admissions desk. During business hours, the desk is located next to the Free Meeting House.

Thomas Williams House is designated a municipal historic site. At Magnetic Hill, visitors can put their car in neutral at the foot of the hill and let it roll backwards uphill. This unusual experience is quite different from visiting a collection or walking around a park, and offers another way to discover Moncton.

Visit the market and discover local products

Moncton Market is a Saturday morning market. It offers locally roasted coffee, breakfast, sweets and baked goods, as well as fresh apples, farm-fresh eggs and vegetables. You’ll also find artwork, handmade soaps, hand-knitted items, leather accessories, woodwork and jewellery. A market visit brings together food and handcrafted goods; it may appeal to you if you’d like to explore local offerings as well as parks and attractions.

Choose the right vacation rental for your trip

When choosing a vacation rental in Moncton, it’s worth starting with the experiences that matter most to you: the Tidal Bore and riverfront areas, nature trails and parks, cultural insights or the Saturday morning market. The city offers a range of themes rather than a single type of trip. If you’d like to combine several interests, the places mentioned above can help you put together a personal itinerary and find the right accommodation for your trip.

The destination pages for Memramcook, Sackville, Cap-Pele, Murray Corner, Shediac, Melrose, Beaubassin East and Dieppe also offer more places to discover.

For an overview of the wider area, see: Westmorland County.