Autumn Adventures: Reversing Falls in New Brunswick

We cruised into Canada from Portland, Maine, to the province of New Brunswick. We got off the ship and immediately boarded a tour bus to explore Saint John.

Our first stop was the City Market, which was filled with containers of maple syrup, fresh produce, and some small souvenir items. I walked through the market to the other side and saw a beautiful park where all the leaves were autumn colored.

Sunrise over Saint John

Saint John City Market

Park in Saint John

After admiring the lovely, little park, we headed back to the bus. We drove to Fort Howe, looked at the harbor, and then continued to the Reversing Falls. The Reversing Falls is a natural phenomenon where the flow of water appears to "reverse" direction in the Saint John River due to the powerful tidal forces of the Bay of Fundy. While this was super cool to witness, there was a paper factory right at the river that was kind of an eyesore. This juxtaposition reminded me of Vermillion Falls in Minnesota because it was something so beautiful and natural next to a factory billowing out smoke.

Reversing Falls

Reversing Falls

Irving Pulp Mill

Next on our journey, we drove to the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world, with water levels changing as much as 52 feet (16 meters) between high and low tide. At high tide, the water from the Bay of Fundy floods into the Saint John River, flowing upstream against the river's normal current. As the tide recedes and the water level drops, the flow of the river returns to its normal direction, creating the illusion of a "reverse" flow. This occurrence is best seen at the previous stop we had, the Reversing Falls.

Bay of Fundy

Bay of Fundy Rock

Bay of Fundy Today's Tide

Walking around the Bay of Fundy was fascinating because, during low tide, you can walk on the ocean floor. After some exploration, we headed to The Caves Restaurant, which is right at the Bay of Fundy. Their chowder was highly recommended, so I had to give it a try, and it was so tasty!

After having lunch, we drove a short distance and paused at an information center resembling a lighthouse. This was close to a dock, but due to the low tide, there was no water, leaving several boats resting on the ground. We explored a few small shops and decided to enjoy some delicious ice cream at Octopus Ice Cream.

Lighthouse Visitor Centre

Boats Docked at Low Tide

Octopus Ice Cream

Then the bus continued back to the city. Once we were back in the city the hunt was on for a Tim Hortons. I've always wanted to go to Tim Hortons and I saw that they had really cute ghost mugs so I had to try and get one. We found the Tim Hortons but, unfortunately, they were out of mugs, so instead I got a ghost themed bucket full of donut holes. It was amazing!

Saint John, New Brunswick

Tim Hortons

Container Village Saint John Port

We headed back to the ship, walking through this shipping container shopping mall. Our next stop was Nova Scotia.