Grand Falls & Campbellton NB
Driving from Mars Hill, ME to Campbellton, NB | Visiting Grand Falls, NB | Hiking Sugarloaf Mountain, NB | June 2024
Today was the day that we were beginning our Canadian road trip! We had gone back and forth so many times on what we wanted to do this summer, knowing Curtis had several assignments throughout the summer, spread out around the East coast. We’ve wanted to go to Newfoundland & Labrador ever since we visited the other Canadian Atlantic provinces back in 2016, but at the beginning of summer it looked like we would only have 3 weeks to make that trip, and that didn’t feel long enough given the expense and time of ferrying there. And so we planned another trip while we were in Ohio that would cover an area that I had never heard anything about, and had never considered visiting. But once I started researching it, it made me so excited to see and experience it, that I knew it would be worth it. That area is the Gaspe peninsula of Quebec! From my research, it really sounded like an ideal spot for us. Mountains right next to the sea, much cooler weather than in the US, easier activities for Charlotte and beautiful scenic areas for her and I to hang out if Curtis wanted a longer hike, and the chance of seeing whales!
Planning this trip brought back so many memories of planning our Atlantic Province trip back in 2016. We hadn’t ever done a trip like that, and didn’t know anyone who had, so we had to do so much original research. That resulted in a much more rewarding trip than others we had taken where we were going places because others recommended them, or told us what to do and what to expect. We planned as much as we could, finding places to go, things to do, spots to camp, and yet some of our favorite parts of the trip were the times when we randomly decided to turn down a road knowing nothing about it, and finding breathtaking scenery at the end of the road. We’ve always looked back at that trip as one of our favorites, but right from the start I knew this trip had the potential to meet those high standards. And now that I’m ‘in the future’ getting to write about it, I can say this trip really did capture those good, nostalgic feelings, and gave us some amazing memories in more beautiful places!
Of course, the day before we crossed into Canada, we found out our plans had changed and we had a lot more time on our hands. There was a brief moment of wondering, do we scrap all these Gaspe plans and go to Newfoundland & Labrador instead? I already have lots of plans for that trip for whenever it does happen… But we were genuinely excited about the trip we had planned, and decided to stick to that. Someday we will make it to our final Canadian province, but this trip wasn’t meant to be all about going the farthest, the fastest, crossing off major bucket list items. This was meant to be both adventurous and relaxing, going lots of new places while also not adding a ridiculous number of miles to the van, and about exploring a region that we had only read about, not seen pictures of all over the internet.
We left Mars Hill and drove up to Fort Fairfield for our border crossing. We stopped at a gas station to top off the tank, throw away trash, and make sure we were ready to cross. This crossing wasn’t busy at all, just one car ahead of us, and we got through without any issues. And with that, we were back in New Brunswick! We made our way over to CA-2 and took that North to Grand Falls.
Our first stop in NB was to check out the Grand Falls Gorge. It was a little confusing figuring out parking, but we found a spot in a nearby park next to some tennis courts. It was also a bit challenging finding the gorge trail, but after walking North through a park, passing a splash pad and pool, we found ourselves on the trail, and eventually found a lookout trail to the right. Maybe our timing here wasn’t ideal, because when we came to the steps down to the lookout, we found that they were currently being painted, but the guy painting them was kind enough to let us walk down anyway to enjoy the view of the gorge. Continuing North towards the 130 bridge, we ran into construction and found out there was no way to cross under the bridge to see the falls. So instead, we returned the way we came, and walked a bit further South to the campground for more gorge views. All our little struggles aside, it was very impressive and worth the stop! Since we were stopped from going further North, we also decided to stop at the tourist information center off of 108 so that we could see the falls.
After that, we needed to stock up on groceries since we couldn’t cross the border with meat, fruits, or veggies. We first tried Walmart because it was familiar, but it didn’t have much food so we went to the Atlantic Superstore instead and got everything we needed. And with that, we were back on the road. We made our way to CA-17 and continued heading North. Along the way, we stopped at a rest area in Saint-Quentin for lunch and to stretch our legs. Curtis had thought about hiking to a peak along 17, and thought maybe it would even be remote enough to camp at, but when we made it to that area it didn’t feel like a good area to camp or comfortable enough for Charlotte and I to hang out while he hiked, so we continued on our way. He had a meeting to attend that afternoon anyway, so it just wasn’t meant to be this time.
For tonight’s camping spot, I had picked out a place that had great reviews and looked like it would be scenic. It was located behind an industrial park near Campbellton, NB. For a minute while driving through that area we started having doubts, but as soon as we arrived I knew it was going to be one of my favorite camping spots yet. It was right on the Restigouche River, with Quebec on the other side, and mountain views in every direction. At the main camping area, there are 4 picnic tables spread out, each with its own trash can, and a few other pullouts further down the road. When we arrived, all the tables were available, so we picked one and settled in. Curtis had his meeting, Charlotte took a nap in the shade, and I wandered around the marsh area. We didn’t realize at the time that it was low tide, but as the afternoon went on, the tide came in and surprised us by how high it got. It reminded us of the Bay of Fundy — not as extreme of course since that area is known for the biggest tides in the world, but it was just another thing that reminded us of that amazing trip.
While I was content to sit here and gaze at the water and mountains all afternoon, Curtis really wanted to hike to a peak. And since there was a bike path that he could take into town and to a nearby peak, he set off on a long walk, leaving Charlotte and I to enjoy the site along with the comforts of the van. She and I took our own little walk on the bike path, then returned to the van to make some dinner. Another couple traveling from Montreal in a van arrived later that evening, and I chatted with them for a while. Other people filtered in and out throughout the afternoon, some fishing, some to just sit and also enjoy the views. Overall, it was an excellent spot, and the perfect way to begin our Canadian road trip!
Curtis: Once I realized that there was a good network of bike paths and snowmobile trails connecting the marsh where we were to Sugarloaf Provincial Park, I threw caution to the wind and went for it. It was much later than I would have liked for such an ambitious hike, but the bike trails were relatively flat. The only thing I really could have asked for more would have been actual hiking boots and a bike! (Seriously though, the number of times when a bike would have been extremely useful on this trip is significant).
Along the way I passed a couple of informational boards explaining that I was actually hiking part of the New Brunswick Trail (Sentier Nouveau-Brunswick), a collection of rail trails, hiking paths, and road walks that cross the province. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a long distance trail, but I sure was appreciative of it. My route took me through Atholville before going over a small ridge along the side of the freeway. After 4 miles I had finally made into the Provincial Park and to the base of Sugarloaf and the beginning of the actual climb. Fortunately, I did those 4 miles in just over an hour, probably some of my fastest walking to date!
But I lost all of that speed on the climb up. The last half mile to the peak climbs up 600 feet and included a ladder section to bypass some of the steeper boulders. But the view from the top was worth the climb. Sugarloaf doesn’t meet my prominence cutoff but it still rises abruptly from the coastal plain. Supposedly it is a volcanic remnant and quite old geologically speaking. From the top I could easily see up and down the Restigouche River and into the surrounding highlands that make up the Gaspe peninsula.
I ended up spending quite a bit of time on the summit wandering around and looking for a letterbox (which I sadly did not find – I’m still missing a NB box) before heading down. The walk back was uneventful and maintained a very similar pace. And I made it back to the van just before dark having hiked 10 miles for one small summit! You can see my AllTrails recording here.
Jess: After Curtis returned, I made some dinner for him, and we relaxed outside until we were ready to move in to the van. The sunset from this spot was also everything I was hoping for, with the skies remaining pink long after it disappeared behind the mountains.
We had a slow morning the next day as it was raining, Curtis had another meeting, and we were quite comfortable here. We considered staying longer, but ultimately decided to move on to do some hiking and to enjoy another scenic campsite. But I know I’ll be dreaming of the day when we can find a reason to return to this spot!
