Kouchibouguac National Park

 20th September 2022

Our plan for the day revolves around what is open, as it seems te tourist season in Bouctouche closes early. We were going to see the Kent Museum, but it is closed. Also Le Pays de la Sagouine, a theatre complex on an island connected by road to the shore is also closed. It is a scenic spot that I managed to photograph from near our hotel.

Also, to make life interesting, it seems that Atlantic Canada may be in the path of Hurricane Fiona, with a possibility of landfall on Saturday. We are hopeful we may be in a protected area when it hits, but either way we may have some unsettled weather later this week. Halifax seems to be a magnet for hurricanes, the last time we tried to go there the ship bypassed the port because of a hurricane.

Le Pays de la Sagouine

The best option appears to be a visit to the Kouchbouguac National Park, about 40 km North from Bouctouche. The weather forecast for today is a bit iffy, but we are hoping for a fine but overcast morning, and probably some afternoon rain.

We set out for the national park at a bit after 9.30 am.

On arrival it was pretty quiet with only a few cars at the visitors centre, so we were able to get some advice on the best things to see and do, and have a look around the exhibits in the centre. Overall it was very well presented, the staff very helpful and there was a lot of interesting background to look through. Of particular interest was a specimen of the largest mosquito that lives in the park, a life sized preserved insect was enclosed in a glass case and it was about 90mm long. Too much reflection off the glass made it impossible to photograph but it was a big insect.

Park Visitors Centre

A number of walking trails, all of short duration were recommended and marked on a map for us, with the other main attraction being Kelly's Beach, apparently a popular place to swim.

The first trail we stopped at for a walk was the Pines Trail. This trail followed a path through a forest of white pines and various other species. White pines were sought after in the early days of tall ships where the white pine was ideal for construction of masts.

In amongst the pines some of the deciduous species are starting to show autumn colours

The trail is in good condition and flat making walking easy

Leaves just starting to turn, some still half green / half red

The Pines trail was only around 1km long, and after a short drive down the road we came to the next recommended track, the Migmag Cedar Trail, named after the First Nations people from this area.

Near the car park we are greeted by a large copy of a wigwam, which is used for cultural purposes and functions. Ironically it is made from aluminium, but is quite large and has seating inside its surrounds.

Moving on to the trail entrance the information board tells us that the white cedar was revered by these people for its medicinal properties. The cedar grows in a swamp environment and much of the trail through the forest is on a boardwalk. There are lots of other species of trees interspesered with white cedars.

Board walk through the forest

Halfway along the trail there is a rest spot. These red chairs are everywhere

A stand of White Cedars

Next stop is the Salt Marsh trail. Once again board walks are used to give access through these marshy areas. You emerge from a short walk through the forest to this fairly barren marshland. Apparently the locals used to harvest and dry this grass to feed their cattle.

Our last walking trail is the bog trail, which takes us through a huge expanse of peat bog. The bog apparently is growing and is slowly engulfing the surrounding forest which struggles to survive in the acidic environment created by the bog. 

Walking along the entrance path to the bog we noticed there tiny mushrooms.

A short walk along the trail leads to this lookout tower

From the tower, the huge expanse of the bog is clear to see. It is enormous, dotted with stunted trees and swampy pools. There are very few tourist here, so we pretty much have the place to ourselves. The bog is estimated to be about 6.5m deep, almost the same as the height of the observation tower.

From the tower we see another tourist setting up a drone to survey the bog. Probably illegal !

The boardwalk trails through the bog, almost being overgrown by it in places

The outer edge of the bog is the wettest and is covered in sphagnum moss, which in this case is red

Further in to the drier part of the bog there is some amazing plant life

And some wet patches

There are also plenty of Pitcher plants

Having completed the recommended bush walks, the only place we have left to see is Kelly's Beach. It sounds very much like the sand dunes we visited yesterday, and the team have had enough walking for the day, so it was just a quick stop to have a look and head home.

There was a kiosk that was closed

And a very long boardwalk to the beach (which we didn't bother to pursue

The rain set in this afternoon, so we had a relaxing afternoon back at the hotel, having a rest and doing a bit of reading.

We went back to the same restaurant as last night for dinner and tried a few more Arcadian dishes.