Most of the things to do in New Brunswick, like the province’s population, are situated around its lengthy coastline. The waters surrounding New Brunswick are the warmest north of Virginia, but the province’s interior stream and river network also provide plentiful fishing opportunities with the Miramichi River’s salmon being especially legendary. New Brunswick’s streams are also popular canoeing destinations, but many kayakers prefer the challenge of navigating between Hopewell Cave’s rocks.

New Brunswick also offers plenty of land activities along its extensive cycling and hiking routes, at least two of which extend past provincial borders. The Le Petit Temis trail begins in Edmundston and ends in the Québec community of Rivière-du-Loup, while Mount Katahdin connects New Brunswick’s International Appalachian Trail with its more famous American neighbor.

Visitors will have to travel as far south as Virginia to bathe in waters as warm as the ones next to New Brunswick’s Northumberland Strait and Bay of Fundy) beaches. The Moncton-based Roads to Sea Guided Tours of these beaches are highly recommended for their informal and spontaneous style. Kouchibouguac National Park’s shallow and well-protected shores provide especially ideal swimming conditions.

Grand Manan Island’s Whales-n-Sails Adventures and St. Andrews-based Island Quest Marine organize Bay of Fundy whale watching tours. No other location on Earth gives visitors better odds of spotting these magnificent creatures than the Bay of Fundy, which counts the rare right whale among the more than 15 species who take up residence in its waters.

Than legendary ornithologist John James Audubon ranked Grand Manan Island among his favorite bird watching retreats and you can do the same on Sea Watch Tours, New Brunswick’s longest operating eco-tour company, which has offered Grand Manan Island bird watching adventures since 1969. Sackville Waterfowl Park also offers guided tours of the wetlands where over 160 bird species soar above 200 unique kinds of plants. All participants receive lightweight binoculars for a better look at the birds and each tour concludes with a question and answer session, accompanied by lemonade and ginger snaps served on the Sackville visitor center deck.

An equally famous angling destination, many lodges along the Miramichi River offer guided salmon fishing tours like Upper Oxbow Outdoor Adventures. The Miramichi is just one of the nearly 20,000 miles of flowing streams and waters within New Brunswick. Bay of Fundy deep-sea fishing tours from local operators like St Andrews Sport Fishing are another popular way to catch a bite in New Brunswick.

Eastern Outdoors has been one of New Brunswick’s most reputable Bay of Fundy kayaking tour operators since 1979, offering lessons and safety clinics in addition to scenic excursions across landmarks such as Grand Manan Island and Hopewell Cave. The FreshAir Adventure sea kayaking company is based out of a historic 160-year-old building at the Alma estuary opposite from Fundy National Park.

Fundy Footprints hiking tours from Baymount Outdoor Adventures Canada are an excellent choice for visitors that prefer activities on dry land like hiking. Some of New Brunswick’s most scenic hiking and cycling trails include the Acadian Coastal Trail along the province’s east coast, the Fundy Trail Parkway along the Bay of Fundy’s shores, and New Brunswick’s International Appalachian Trail that stretches all the way to the border of the United States.

Miramichi’s Country Haven Lodge organizes excursions to Mount Carleton Provincial Park in the isolated middle of northern New Brunswick. This outstanding provincial park is one of Atlantic Canada’s best mountain climbing destinations. After conquering the 2,690-foot summit, which is the highest peak in all three Maritime provinces, visitors can look down upon more than 10 million trees in New Brunswick’s forested interior.