Waterfalls in New Brunswick

[00:00:00] I am Mark, the New Brunswick traveler, and here we talk about New Brunswick stuff.

[00:00:13] New Brunswick's often referred to as a drive-through province, going to Prince Edward Island or

[00:00:18] Nova Scotia, but more and more we're becoming a destination province, where people are coming to spend the night, spend a week, or spend the rest of their life.

[00:00:32] There's so many great wonderful treasures and natural resources here that we can experience from the Bay of Fundy to Mount Carleton to all of the various things that are in between.

[00:00:45] On this podcast, I'll be talking about

[00:00:47] some of those natural wonders,

[00:00:49] be talking about some of the people

[00:00:51] that live in New Brunswick,

[00:00:53] past visitors that have come to New Brunswick,

[00:00:56] and maybe even some ghosts that I find along the way.

[00:01:00] So for now, let's get started.

[00:01:10] Last December at the Kiwanis Christmas Breakfast, I was sitting next to the

[00:01:15] St. John Mayor and her husband, Dr. Edward Reardon. Dr. Reardon suggested that I do a

[00:01:21] podcast on the Waterfalls of New Brunswick. So I began doing some research.

[00:01:27] The authority on the waterfalls of New Brunswick is Nicholas Gattard,

[00:01:31] who is an avid nature photographer, canoeist,

[00:01:35] hiker and waterfalls hound.

[00:01:38] He's published a book, Waterfalls of New Brunswick,

[00:01:41] which has pictures and information about 55 of New Brunswick's hundreds of waterfalls.

[00:01:47] His choice reflects a diversity of type and size, and the books divided into five sections,

[00:01:54] which follow the New Brunswick Department of Tourism and Parks scenic routes. The book has

[00:02:01] fantastic photos of each of these waterfalls.

[00:02:05] Even more helpful is a second book called A Guide, Waterfalls in New Brunswick.

[00:02:11] This is a smaller guidebook that can be easily carried in a backpack and has information on a hundred of New Brunswick's waterfalls. The second edition of the book was published in 2021.

[00:02:25] So the information is quite recent. I just purchased it at the Indigo store.

[00:02:30] What I share on this edition of the podcast relies heavily on what's contained in his guidebook.

[00:02:38] Links to the book and other things referred to on this podcast can be found in the show notes. The second tallest

[00:02:46] waterfall in the province is Fall Brook Falls which is 108 foot high. It actually

[00:02:53] flows all year and it's located near Holtville and if I were to travel there

[00:03:00] from St. John it would take about a two and a half hour trip directly

[00:03:05] north. This waterfall should not be confused with Falls Brook Falls which is

[00:03:10] located near Edmundston. It is 33 foot tall so certainly worth the trip if you're

[00:03:17] in the Edmundston area. Only a 30 minute drive to get there and a walk on the

[00:03:23] trail takes about 15 minutes to get to the falls.

[00:03:27] Again, it would be about a four hour drive for me to get there from St. John.

[00:03:33] The tallest waterfall in New Brunswick is 115 feet, but in the summertime it has very little water flow in it. Compare this with Hickory Nut Falls in Chimney Rock State Park in

[00:03:46] North Carolina at 404 feet, which is one of the highest waterfalls east of the

[00:03:52] Mississippi in the United States. I hiked up that trail along that falls a

[00:03:58] number of times when I lived there over 20 years ago. That waterfalls most famous for being

[00:04:05] featured in the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans with the final fight scene

[00:04:11] at the brink of the falls. If you're driving down highway two from

[00:04:16] Quebec the best waterfall to stop and see would be Grand Falls.

[00:04:21] One reason you can see it without having to hike a trail to get there.

[00:04:26] Secondly, it's the largest waterfall in New Brunswick. Not as tall as fallbrook,

[00:04:33] but a lot wider. At 75 and a half feet in height, it's still quite a significant

[00:04:39] view if you take the trail to the base of the gorge. The all trails app that I use when I'm on the hiking trail shows that it's being

[00:04:49] two and a half kilometers out and back trail

[00:04:53] which is generally considered an easy route

[00:04:57] and takes an average of 46 minutes to complete.

[00:05:00] There is an information center at the parking lot that will give information on the falls and maps of the trails, but if you have the All Trails app you'll

[00:05:10] have all you need there and if you read some of the reviews from that app you'll

[00:05:15] already know that there's 225 stairs to get to the bottom and of course 225

[00:05:23] stairs to get back to the parking lot.

[00:05:28] Takes a few minutes to drive off highway 2 and see the falls, and it's something that

[00:05:33] you should do, but taking the trail is totally up to you.

[00:05:39] I found it interesting that the waterfalls was not included in the second edition of

[00:05:43] the guidebook. The

[00:05:45] author indicates that about 60 of those listed in the original guidebook have been replaced

[00:05:51] in order to provide a level of water falling adventure for a broad spectrum of enthusiasts.

[00:05:59] Having both editions gives the enthusiast information on over 160 waterfalls in New Brunswick.

[00:06:08] Gattard mentioned that Grand Falls is reported to be the largest waterfall east of Niagara Falls.

[00:06:14] I made my first trip to Niagara Falls back in January 1966 on an extremely cold

[00:06:24] on an extremely cold winter day. This Indiana farm boy was quite amazed

[00:06:27] to see the huge vapor cloud that was rising up

[00:06:31] from where the water was crashing over the falls

[00:06:34] and to see a pile of ice just out beyond that waterfall

[00:06:39] that was as tall as 167 feet of the falls itself.

[00:06:49] After moving to the Toronto area, I had the opportunity to visit Niagara Falls a few times, even walking behind the water at one point.

[00:06:56] It's estimated the volume of the water that flows over Niagara Falls is over 3,000 tons per second.

[00:07:07] falls is over 3,000 tons per second. Well, we don't have any waterfalls in New Brunswick that has that kind of volume, but we do have the Bay of Fundy that has

[00:07:12] the highest tides in the world twice a day. The volume of water that flows in and

[00:07:18] out of the bay in one tide change is over 160 billion tons.

[00:07:26] Park Ranger once mentioned to me

[00:07:28] that it would take one year and nine months

[00:07:30] of Niagara Falls water flow,

[00:07:33] just to equal the amount of water that flows in

[00:07:36] and out of the Bay of Fundy in one tidal cycle.

[00:07:39] Now that is impressive and will be dealt with

[00:07:43] in a future podcast. If you're driving

[00:07:46] into the province from St. Stephen you should stop and see La Pro Falls. This

[00:07:52] is one of the waterfalls that you can see from the road. The waterfalls located

[00:07:57] at the hamlet of La Pro and spans the whole width of the La Pro River. There's

[00:08:03] an observation deck that gives an excellent view of the La Probe River. There's an observation deck that

[00:08:05] gives an excellent view of the falls. It's only about two miles off Highway 1

[00:08:10] and located about halfway between St. Stephen and St. John. The falls is part

[00:08:17] of Stonehammer UNESCO Global Geopark, which is a large region in southern New Brunswick with a geologic history going back one billion years.

[00:08:31] It was designated as a Geopark in 2010 and at that time was the first one in Canada.

[00:08:38] Now there's four additional ones. There will be a link to the Geopark website in the show notes.

[00:08:45] The pro falls as part of a provincial park with some hiking trails.

[00:08:49] The All Trails app shows that it's a short out and back trail that takes nine minutes

[00:08:54] to complete.

[00:08:56] The reviews indicate that it's just a walk around the parking lot.

[00:09:01] But Andrew McClain, the Backyard History guy, says that there are better trails nearby.

[00:09:07] One of the nice things about the All Trails app is that it will show those nearby trails as well,

[00:09:14] if you want more of a hiking adventure.

[00:09:17] I have to include raggedy-ass falls on this podcast.

[00:09:22] This falls just south of Fred Red Retinent located in the

[00:09:26] Oramucto River watershed. The watershed has an excellent website that gives a

[00:09:32] lot of information about many of the over 100 waterfalls that exist in the

[00:09:38] watershed along with details on the three covered bridges that are there and a

[00:09:44] lot of other information.

[00:09:46] Another online resource of New Brunswick Waterfall information is hiking NB

[00:09:52] that gives a lot of information about this waterfall as well.

[00:09:57] Raggedy Ass Falls is a series of five small waterfalls on Nutter Brook that in total have a drop of 33 feet.

[00:10:06] The trail itself is a short hike out and back and considered moderately

[00:10:11] challenging. There is a video showing the falls on hiking NB and the link will be

[00:10:18] on the show notes. The rocks can be slippery and are quite sharp. Might be

[00:10:24] the reason for the name of the falls after a person slid down those rocks on his rear end or something.

[00:10:31] There is a 24 inch borehole at the top of the falls and people tend to put coins in there for good luck.

[00:10:39] According to the Armukto River watershed information. When a person comes back a year later and checks

[00:10:46] the coins, the dates have worn off them. Something I want to check out myself.

[00:10:53] The waterfalls about a 50 minute drive north of St. John. The final group of waterfalls

[00:11:00] that I want to mention is along the Fundy Trail Parkway. The parkway is 19 miles

[00:11:05] long and has over 22 miles of hiking and biking trails. It opens on May 19th and

[00:11:11] will close for the winter on October 29th. The operating hours are from 9 a.m.

[00:11:18] to either 5 or 8 p.m. depending on the time of season. There'll be a entrance fee to get into the parkway,

[00:11:27] but it's well worth it.

[00:11:29] And I will have the link to the Parkway website

[00:11:33] on the show notes.

[00:11:34] Fuller Falls is the first of the four falls

[00:11:37] that you'll encounter when you come on to the Parkway

[00:11:40] from the village of St. Martins.

[00:11:42] You will receive a map when you pay the entrance fee and it's about

[00:11:45] 20 minutes from the village to the falls. A short well marked trail leads from the parking area to

[00:11:52] the stairs descending to an observation platform. The water falls about 16 feet high. The second one

[00:12:01] that you'll encounter is Long Beach Brook Falls, about seven miles

[00:12:06] further along the Parkway. The all trails app indicates the trail is a loop

[00:12:11] that's a little over a mile long and considered to be moderately challenging.

[00:12:16] It's a 15 minute walk to see the falls and if you come back out the same way

[00:12:21] instead of taking the entire loop, it's an easier walk.

[00:12:26] Reviews are mixed on the value

[00:12:28] of taking the time to see the falls.

[00:12:31] The third waterfall in the parkway is McLeod Brook Falls.

[00:12:36] It's about a 15 minute drive beyond Long Beach Brook Falls.

[00:12:42] The waterfall is in Walton Glen Gorge. This Brook and its

[00:12:47] waterfall were unnamed and little known until Bentley McLeod pointed it out to

[00:12:53] authorities in the 1940s, hence the reason for the name. The hike is a five

[00:13:00] minute one down a staircase to the base of the falls there's also a trail that can be taken that's a loop a little less than two miles long. It has

[00:13:11] very good reviews on all trails app. The other waterfall in the parkway is also

[00:13:17] in Walton Glen Gorge. From the Information Center you can take the trail

[00:13:22] to the Gorge Observation Platform,

[00:13:25] which is an easy hike of maybe 15 minutes over a very well maintained trail.

[00:13:33] There's a series of 65 steps to go down,

[00:13:36] but I found it easy enough to do so using the cables that were on each side

[00:13:42] as I later came up those same steps. There's a second

[00:13:47] trail that goes to the Pauls itself the St. John outdoor enthusiasts have

[00:13:52] organized some hikes that took this trail to what is called the eye of the needle.

[00:13:57] This is a six mile loop trail. It's a must-do trail for seasoned hikers and

[00:14:04] includes crossing the river,

[00:14:07] so bring some water shoes along with your hiking boots. A very good description of what you'll

[00:14:13] have experience on the trail can be found on the hiking NB website. Walton Glen Gorge is a

[00:14:21] spectacular view from the observation deck.

[00:14:25] The gorge has been compared to the Grand Canyon, but obviously much smaller.

[00:14:30] At over 300 feet deep and with vertical rock faces, it is an awe-inspiring scene.

[00:14:41] The waterfall is the tallest in New Brunswick at 115 feet, but it's a very

[00:14:48] seasonable one and the flow in the summer months is not significant if

[00:14:53] happening at all. There is a smaller waterfall off to the left of that one

[00:14:58] named Glen Falls and it flows year-round. I hope that the information

[00:15:04] provided in this podcast

[00:15:06] will inspire you to investigate some of the waterfalls in New Brunswick. In the

[00:15:12] show notes I have provided links to the various resources that I use when

[00:15:18] deciding which waterfall I will visit next. I look forward to sharing those

[00:15:24] visits with you in the future.

[00:15:33] From time to time I like to talk about the events that are coming up here in New Brunswick.

[00:15:39] Since 1984, King's Landing has welcomed guests in March to mark the coming of spring and

[00:15:45] partake in New Brunswick's delicious maple history. This event is a tradition

[00:15:51] many New Brunswickers hold dear and it's a must-do for first-timers too. At

[00:15:58] Maple the first taste of spring guests will enjoy a 19th century sugaring demonstration, delightful maple candy on the

[00:16:08] snow, fun horse and wagon rides, lovely scenery, and visits to select historic homes. Check

[00:16:19] it out. King's Landing, this coming weekend, the ninth and tenth of March, and the

[00:16:26] following weekend on the 16th and the 17th.

[00:16:36] It's been a real joy being with you today. I appreciate you taking the time to

[00:16:40] listen to the podcast. If you go to my website mbtraveler.com you can leave a comment,

[00:16:47] you can do a rating, and I look forward to seeing you back here again next week. And oh by the way,

[00:16:54] you can also buy me a coffee there on that website if you care to. Have a great day and a wonderful week.