Moncton with family | Where cars roll uphill and a river flows backwards

Just a stone’s throw from Prince Edward Island lies the town of Moncton. Okay, it’s about a 1.5-hour drive, but for Canadian standards that’s just around the corner. Moncton is the secret capital of New Brunswick and I’ve never heard of this cozy little town before, let alone read anything about it. That’s exactly why we visited it. On Google Maps I discovered this little spot of land that totally surprised us for the better.

We have undertaken a few nice trips, I have my own I got to know the beach here and, oh my God, there is an absolutely magical place here that defies every physical law of this Earth.

This post is doubly enjoyable to me because it hopefully brings you closer to a place you would never have otherwise visited. Or, if not by chance, like us, it will inspire you in some way. Therefore, I wish you a lot of fun while reading and good inspiration.

01. From the island directly to Moncton City in New Brunswick

After spending a few fantastic days on Prince Edward Island, we head south and drive over the 12.9 km long Confederation Bridge straight to New Brunswick. New Brunswick, by the way, means „New Braunschweig“ in German, but that’s just an aside. Back to Moncton, where we rented an Airbnb not far from the city center.

In Moncton, there are about 102,682 people living in 2026. That’s about 20% more than in the capital, Fredericton. We notice that there is significantly more writing in French here than in Nova Scotia and PEI. This is because New Brunswick is the only bilingual province in Canada.

The city itself seems gloomy and deserted at first. We arrive on a Wednesday afternoon and it is raining. There used to be a lot of industry and also military here. However, both of these disappeared in the 80s. Therefore, you can still find some empty buildings and halls here today. However, this does not detract from the cityscape in any way. A lot of street art adorns the typical North American streetscapes. Here, you buy things just like anywhere in North America in malls that are located outside the city center. There is little foot traffic.

Nevertheless, the city has its charm. With colorful houses and rainbow-colored zebra stripes, artistic happiness and joy are brought into the cityscape. During our stay, we also discover some exciting places. The first is in Moncton itself, and the lady at the Visitor Centre tells us about it.

02. Tidal Bore | When the chocolate flow flows backwards

I know, I know, this headline needs to be explained. Moncton is located on the Petitcodiac River. This river draws its water from the Bay of Fundy, which has the largest tidal changes in the world. That is the reason why the Petitcodiac River changes its water level every day from almost zero at low tide to several meters at high tide.

The fact that the riverbed is completely muddy makes it affectionately known as Chocolate River, or Chocolate Flow. And now comes the exciting fact that I have never seen anywhere else. Twice a day, this large and wide river changes its direction of flow. If it flows from left to right in the morning, that can already be different in the afternoon. But how does that happen?

The Tidal Bore is a wave that rolls up the Petitcodiac River twice a day. We hear about the spectacle and in Moncton Bore Park you can see the times on a board that show when this spectacle takes place daily. There is also the option online at moncton.ca. It is of course different times every day and you should also be there at least 30 minutes earlier, as the tide does not follow the clock.

The wave itself is only a few cm to about 75 cm high. The latter is at full moon, when the tide change is greatest. We had expected a much higher wave, as we were told in the Visitor Centre that a surfer had set a world record a few years ago. He surfed the wave for 29km.

In the video you can see that the wave itself is rather modest in size. Nevertheless, it is 170 billion tons of water that is moved here twice a day. An incredible amount. When the wave arrives, the riverbed fills up completely with water within 2 hours and becomes a large current. The water direction changes because the water no longer flows in the direction of the sea, but in the opposite direction. That was the actual spectacle for me. You can clearly see that it flows from right to left before, and after this tiny wave it is exactly the opposite.

There are hotels in Moncton that actually get room bookings all year round just because people want to see this spectacle. But if you’re in New Brunswick, a trip to Moncton is really worthwhile.

03. Trip to Shediac and Bouctouche | Giant lobsters, colorful houses and a secret garden

About 30 minutes north of Moncton lies the picturesque and very touristy town of Shediac. Here the Acadian coast begins at Saint Lawrence Bay. The Acadians were, by the way, the French settlers who came to Canada in the 17th century. Their flag is the French flag with a yellow star.

Shediac is the world’s lobster capital and it’s not to be missed. Here you can marvel at the giant lobster. For a mere 170,000 dollars, this 80-ton lobster was built on the main street. The kids have fun climbing the many steps to the top. We won’t look at the place itself, as it consists mainly of lobster restaurants. We’ll have a delicious soup with a Korean tonight, which of course also contains fresh lobster.

Right next to the Giant Squid is Rotary Park, which has many nice shops and boutiques. We stock up on souvenirs and enjoy the view from the shops, over Northumberland Strait, the sea route between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

After lunch we drove to Bouctouche, about 30 minutes north of Shediac. In this small town on the Black River there is the Irving Arboretum. It is a huge garden with over 5’000 trees from all the northern climatic zones of the world. We enjoy the forest and walk down a well-maintained path to the Black River. There is an adventurous wooden bridge over the river. Since it is low tide, the rather wobbly and unstable bridge doesn’t bother us. Back in the garden we enjoy the fresh Canadian air and the many, many trees that we don’t have in Malta.

There is still a small stone chapel here in the style of a Scottish village church, which we will leave to the right. Because we are having dinner with a Korean man in Shediac. That is more important for a hungry family. Back in Moncton, we still watch the new Moana movie. The kids love Moana and haven’t seen the version with actors yet.

04. Magnetic Hill | The hill that tricks gravity

This place in beautiful Moncton is probably the most magical place I have ever visited. Therefore, I have to mention it here in my New Brunswick travel report, because when I think back to this place, I am still equally amazed. And I bet you haven’t heard of this place either.

We’re talking about Magnetic Hill, a place where your car actually rolls up the hill backwards. Every physical law forbids that, but that’s exactly what happens here. And I tested it because I didn’t want to believe it. If you drive up to Magnetic Hill, you’ll come to a small barrier right next to the zoo. There you pay 10 CAD, which is about 6 EUR (in 2026). After that, everything is taken care of. Otherwise, there would certainly be accidents happening here on a regular basis.

When we get there, however, nothing is happening and we can immediately drive down into the valley. There is a white marker there that we will stop at. Now I switch to neutral, release the handbrake and get off the accelerator pedal. The incredible thing happens. The car starts rolling backwards towards the barrier again. Up the mountain!

In this place, the farmers have gone crazy in the past. Their carts have rolled off by themselves like magic. No one could figure out what was going on. And I find it sensational too. There is nothing artificially created here. Everything has been created by nature. Only the field path has now been paved.

Spoiler Alert and the physics behind it:
As an engineer, of course I don't accept this magic. A physical explanation is needed; otherwise I can't sleep at night. What exactly happens on Magnetic Hill? Why does the car roll uphill?

Your brain prefers to orient itself in its perception based on the environment rather than on your inner ear and your sense of balance. It wants to perceive familiar structures and, in this case, a familiar landscape as reality. A road that leads down the mountain, with trees and shrubs that fit exactly into the picture.

Nature has designed the landscape around Magnetic Hill so that you don’t actually notice that you’re actually going uphill rather than downhill when you drive to the basin. The basin is actually more of a very small hill. The highest point is right at the white marker. Now that you’ve rolled the car, it slowly rolls back down to the starting point.

If you were to pour water next to the car, it would also run downhill towards the starting point. Of course, this is an optical illusion. Since you briefly press the accelerator and the slope is so minimal, the car moves uphill towards the marker. You wouldn’t even notice it at the moment. The illusion is perfect.

Afterwards, we even left the starting point and you don't even realize that the road actually leads uphill. It's a very strange feeling. Despite a physical explanation, it's a bit magical.

This place was definitely a highlight when we visited Moncton with our family. However, there is much more to experience here, as mentioned in the following section.

05. Magnetic Hill Zoo and Boardwalk | A day for the children

At Magnetic Hill Zoo and on the adjacent boardwalk with go-karts and a butterfly house, you can easily spend a whole day. We were here for a good 6 hours in total and had a lot of fun and action.

Magnetic Hill Zoo is the largest zoo in Atlantic Canada. These are the four provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The zoo houses over 400 animals, from African lions to reptiles and native animals such as deer and bears.

The zoo was once a farm and a sanctuary for injured native animals. In 1979 the city of Moncton took over this farm and bought exotic animals to create a zoo from them. The enclosures and cages in which the animals are kept look lush and natural. It makes a good impression and the injured animals will continue to be cared for here.

This is where we meet Sherman, an African spur-thighed tortoise who sits in a wheelchair. Well, rather than that, she has two wheels on the left and right that help her when she walks. Sherman had a type of tumor in her spine in 2019 and has been unable to move her hind legs ever since. The zoo got Sherman from Ontario and took care of the tortoise, then already 24 years old.

For our kids in particular, this was very exciting and educational. They had never seen a disabled animal before. Sherman made a good and happy impression and the kids admired him as he rolled through the grass with joy.

The Boardwalk and Butterfly World

Just a few minutes away from the zoo, on Mountain Road, you’ll find „The Boardwalk“ and the Butterfly House. For me, it’s like a small amusement park. First we look at the Butterfly House. It costs a few dollars to enter and from the outside it looks really small. Inside, however, hundreds of butterflies are flying around, which you’re allowed to feed with oranges and melons yourself.

The Butterfly World houses many tropical butterflies such as blue morphos, zebra butterflies and Asian comet butterflies. If you are quiet, they will often land on you and provide company for a short time. There is also a small box with dolls inside and you can follow the butterflies hatching up close. This was a special moment for our kids.

Then the real action starts outside on the boardwalk. There are so-called bumper boats, like water scooters, and a large go-kart track. It’s cool and we all go for a ride together. Our little girl rides with me in the car. Mom and the older ones each drive in their own car. These go-kart rides will stay with us for a long time. It was a great time for all of us.

Magnetic Hill is a must-see if you visit Moncton with your family.

06. Hopewell Rocks | Walking on the seabed

About 40 km south of Moncton is a place that most impressively shows the tidal differences of the Bay of Fundy. It is Hopewell Rocks. Here you can walk down a three-story staircase onto the seabed. Of course, this is only possible during low tide. Since we often lived in Canada during the day and simply explored the area curiously, we did not check the tide times (which is a great word) beforehand. We just drove there and started running.

It was all the more wonderful that we arrived at low tide, that is, when the water level is at its lowest, and we were actually able to walk to the bottom of the sea. That was a cool feeling. Because during high tide, the water here is up to 16 meters higher. That means stairs and many of the rocks and boulders we saw are then underwater.

Even the Bay of Fundy looks simply chocolate brown in these places. It’s muddy water and we even see a few kayaks cruising around on this chocolate.

A Mi'kmaq legend states that the rocks were once inhabited by Indians attacked by whales. Mi’kmaq They are the First Nations of Canada, so to speak, the indigenous people and the first people to have settled here.

If you are in the area for longer, you can actually stay in the park all day; your ticket also covers the next day. This is perfect for seeing both the low tide and the high tide here. Since this is a provincial park and not a national park, we had to pay admission here. That was about 30 EUR for the family.

07. Dennis Beach | The most beautiful beach in the world with the most beautiful name in the world

My personal highlight in New Brunswick was the beach named after me just before Hopewell Rocks. Dennis Beach! What a great idea and of course we spent a few hours on this wonderful beach.

There were only planned a short stop and two photos. But Dennis Beach is simply huge. (Editor’s note: At low tide!) On top of that, there is no easy access to my beach. If you walk from the parking lot over a small path, you end up at a rope. Haha, yeah, that’s right. It’s a rope that you should hold on to if you want to walk down the really steep path to the beach.

There is no other way in. That’s why there’s really not much going on here. We see a group of teenagers playing beach volleyball and about 5-6 surfers. That’s it. Since we’re here at low tide, we can walk for miles and the entire bay is huge, opening up a very expansive view of the Bay of Fundy.

We find a cozy spot in the sand and I get ready with the kids to explore the rocky part at the southern end of the beach. There, huge red rocks rise up, which we can climb up without any effort. In the distance we see a small waterfall. Since Dennis wants to see the whole Dennis Beach, we head there. The water flows out of the forest into the sea here and at low tide, the waterfall forms here. It is only about 3 meters high. None of us is brave enough to completely immerse ourselves in this seemingly frozen water.

Nevertheless, the view is superb and the cooling off on this rather warm day is also pleasant. After all, we have to walk back about 1.5 km barefoot *sweat*. When the tide is high, the beach is tiny. It’s just a small strip of sand and you can’t get over the rocks. Therefore, a visit here at low tide is worth it. The beach is also considered a secret tip by the locals. I only discovered it by chance because of its name, so mine.

08. Fundy National Park | Where the forest reaches to the sea

Since the national parks in Canada are free from June 19 to September 7, we’re going to the park for a quick visit. First we visit the small town of Alma, which is located outside the park. There, all the ships and boats are lying on the sea floor and we sit down in a delicious restaurant right on the water. Or rather, where there is water when the tide is high.

Alma is a small fishing village and packed with countless souvenir shops. We grab a few fridge magnets and discover that among the many lobster and fish gift shops there is even a shop that sells moose souvenirs. This is the first time it’s not just about lobster here. If you love lobster, however, Alma is the perfect place for you.

In Funy National Park, we then head to the Dickson Falls. This waterfall is not huge, but the path to it is wonderful. It is the most famous waterfall in Funy National Park and at the same time, the one you can reach the easiest. Therefore, it is ideal for families. A 1.5 km long circular route takes you right past the waterfall. Along the route, there are many information boards that make the approximately 30-60 minutes interesting, especially for the kids.

Overall, this was a successful day trip from Moncton with the family. We connected the last 3 points together. So we started in Moncton first at Dennis Beach, then to Hopewell Rocks and then via Alma to Fundy National Park.

07. Conclusion | Moncton with family and the Bay of Fundy

New Brunswick is a beautiful and green province. We also liked Moncton very much. It is indeed not the most beautiful city in the world, but it really reminded me of my hometown in Germany. Newry in Northern Ireland, we remember. But we discovered so many beautiful things there, experienced exciting adventures, and made friends with many really nice people.

We had a great week there and really enjoyed our time. The Bay of Fundy and all its effects on the region were super exciting. The Tidal Bore, Magnetic Hill, and the zoo all made this trip a perfect stop on our 2026 Canada trip. My New Brunswick travel report will continue, as we will be visiting the capital Fredericton in a few weeks.

Impressions and photos of Moncton with family

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