Fredericton and the World's Longest-Covered Bridge

From Quebec City, we visited waterfalls and drove through the 1,282-foot-long Hartland Covered Bridge before arriving in picturesque Fredericton.

(If you’re planning a road trip from the Midwest to Canada, you can visit Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia all in one drive. So here was our amazing Canadian adventure!)

Rivière-du-Loup Falls

From Quebec City, we headed north on the A-20 to Rivière-du-Loup. This is a scenic drive that includes occasional views of the St. Lawrence River. Also, rocky ridges called monadocks are made up of metamorphic rock that resisted glacial erosion.

*Picnic lunch with a waterfall at Chute de Rivière du Loup Park.*

Our main stop for the day was at the Chute de Rivière du Loup Park near downtown Rivière-du-Loup.

Here you can see a 108-foot waterfall along with a power plant for the electricity generated by the falls.

We stopped and had lunch at a picnic table near the falls.

From the small parking lot, you can cross a bridge to the part of the Waterfalls Park where there are trails through the woods.

This was only a lunch stop for us, if we had more time we would have explored the area.

It was a little tricky to drive through town to get here, but this was probably my favorite stop on the drive.

We were there in the late morning, so we had the place to ourselves.

*By the power plant, you can get a closeup of the falls along a walkway.*

Admission: Free

Address: 1 Rue St. Magloire, Rivière-du-Loup, QC G5R 3C5, Canada

New Brunswick’s Grand Falls

Next, we stopped at the Malobiannah Tourist Information Center on the shoreline of Grand Falls.

This waterfall has a 75-foot drop through a canyon.

At the visitor center, you can learn about the falls and walk out to the observation decks.

Further up the road, there are more hiking trails in the canyon, but we didn’t have time to do that on the day that we were there.

You can also enquire at the center about ziplining the canyon and other trails along the canyon.

Hours: 7 am – 7 pm, daily

Admission: Free

Address: 25 Chem. Madawaska, Grand Falls, NB E3Y 1C6, Canada

Ice Cream Stop: Dari Delite

We stopped for ice cream near the falls at Dari Delite.

Hours: 12 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Address: 355 Bd Broadway, Grand Falls, NB E3Z 2K3, Canada

Entering the world's longest covered bridge. — ***Entering the world’s longest covered bridge.***

Hartland Covered Bridge

I had my husband drive across the bridge from the east side.

My son and I walked across the bridge instead, which was separated from the road. He raced to the other side which was quite a workout.

Andrew noted that you can see the water below between the boards.

NOTE: This is a one-way bridge, which means you have to check to see if anyone is driving on the other side before you cross. If you are uncomfortable driving, take Highway 130 across the St. John River and then south on Highway 105 to Hartland, where there is a parking lot for the bridge and a visitor’s center.

View of the bridge from the park by the visitor's center. — *View of the bridge from the park by the visitor’s center.*

Short History of the Bridge

The bridge officially opened on July 4, 1901, and was purchased by the government of New Brunswick in 1906. Lighting was installed in 1924 and a side walkway was added to the bridge in 1945.

Hours: 24 hours

Address: Hartland Hill Bridge Rd, Hartland, NB E7P 2N3, Canada

Fredericton

Next, we reached our destination which was Fredericton, which is the capital of New Brunswick.

*View of the cityscape and river from the hotel room*

We stayed the night at the Hilton Garden Inn Fredericton which allowed us to walk around downtown and walk to the farmer’s market the next morning. The downtown area has some historic sites and walking trails along the St. John River.

Hotel Address: 620 Queen St, Fredericton, NB E3B 1C2, Canada

*Prince Edward Island mussels, a delicacy in the Maritime provinces*

Isaac’s Way Restaurant

We had dinner across the street at Isaac’s Way Restaurant.

Hours: 11:30 a.m. – 9 p.m., Monday- Friday; 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday-Sunday

Address: 649 Queen St, Fredericton, NB E3B 1C3, Canada

River Walk

From the hotel, I walked along the river in a southeasterly direction.

I walked past the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Then I came to the historic Christ Church Cathedral built in the Gothic Revival style.

Next, I walked to the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge, which was formerly an old railroad bridge.

You can take in the views of the mighty Saint John River and Fredericton.

It started to rain, so I had to go back to the hotel.

Next Morning

We spent the morning exploring downtown and going to the farmer’s market, which I will talk about in the next blog.

MORE CANADIAN ADVENTURES

Hopewell Rocks and Fundy National Park Adventure

Walk on the sea floor at low tide among rock formations at Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park and explore the forested coast at Fundy National Park in New Brunswick.

After staying the night in Halifax we headed to Hopewell Rocks. We only stopped for lunch and had to manage our time for the drive based on the tides, which is important if you want to walk on the ocean floor.

PEI Ferry, Titanic, and Halifax Citadel Exploring

Take the ferry from Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia to go to Halifax to explore the Citadel and see the Titanic exhibit at the Maritime Museum.

Parlee Beach Fun and Prince Edward Island Touring

Shopping at Fredericton’s Farmers Market, and swimming at the warmest beach in Canada, Parlee Beach, before staying the night in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Two Days In Quebec City

In Quebec City, we explored the remains of a fort underground, toured the historic Old Town, and saw the nearly 300-foot Montmorency Falls.

Short Trip to Montreal

See a giant apple, drive by a Thousand Islands, tour the War of 1812 Fort Wellington, and check out the Olympic Park Biodome in Montreal! After stopping in Toronto, we headed to Canada’s second city, Montreal, and checked out more amazing places along the way.