Fundy Highlands Tour

Two Snow Belts have always existed in New Brunswick but our most

southerly snow belt region, created naturally by the Caledonia Mountain

range, has never captured the attention of as many visitors, support of

the surrounding communities and Tourism department like the ‘White

Gold’ of northern New Brunswick’s Appalachian Mountain range has

since the mid-1990’s.

“Fundy Highlands” is the moniker dubbed to the southerly Snow Belt

most recently by National Tour Editor of Snow-Goer Canada, Craig

Nicholson who has visited New Brunswick for the past two seasons.

Craig stated in a recent national article, “One must-visit area is Zone 8,

what I am calling the Fundy Highlands. Located at the southern end of

the province along the Bay of Fundy, it’s book-ended by Saint John to

the west and Moncton to the east. This uplands region is truly an

undiscovered gem. With both elevation and Fundy effect snow working

for it, the Fundy Highlands share many of the best attributes of its

northern counterpart, including sledding that can last into April, but

with several significant advantages: it’s interlaced with many more trail

choices; it’s closer to major New Brunswick population centres; it’s

closer for riders trailering in from PEI or Nova Scotia; and its trail are

every bit as good as anything else in the province. Besides, where else

can you ride your sled onto the beach at the Bay of Fundy like we did

at Martin Head, or climb to the incredible lookout on Caledonia

Mountain via NB34 or stay at a neat place like Adair’s Wilderness

Lodge”?

Other trail highlights, not singled out in Craig’s story in this region

include scenes and vistas from NBFSC Trail #34 of the Kent Hills

Wind Farm, NBFSC Trail #864 that winds through Crooked Creek and

NBFSC Trail #816 to the Salmon River Shelter and NBFSC Trail #871

to the village of Alma’s services at the mouth of Fundy National Park.

Like all of the NBFSC’s 7000 plus kilometers of snowmobile trails, the

trails in the Fundy Highlands – NBFSC Zone 8 paper and interactive

Maps – are maintained by the volunteers of four NBFSC member clubs.

Starting in the far south-east, but just west of Saint John, the Fundy

SC grooms to meet the Goshen SC. Goshen SC’s trails connect to

Millstream SC in the north, (trail access to Fredericton) and to the

east connect with the SENBSA SC, who provide access to Moncton, by

trail.

The Fundy Highlands has all the services a snowmobiler needs;

accommodations, food spots and fuel right on the trails. Be certain to

stop at the two large Clubhouses, operated by SENBSA SC (NBFSC

Trail #34) and Goshen SC (NBFSC Trail #852), especially on the

weekends when touring. Both Clubhouse’s ‘grub’ is as good as trail food

gets.

Besides staying with and visiting NBFSC Corporate Partner, Adair’s

Wilderness Lodge (www.adairswildernesslodge.com) we encourage

riders who start and incorporate Moncton as part of their tour to stay

with the Hampton Inn by Hilton

(http://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/new-brunswick/hampton-

inn-and-suites-by-hilton-moncton-YQMNBHX/index.html ) at the end

of NBFSC Trail #646. The NBFSC’s Corporate Partner, Hampton Inn is

an excellent place to trailer to and depart from, as we did with Richard

Kehoe and the On the Snow Magazine (OSM) crew in March of 2013 to

access the Fundy Highlands.

From the Hampton Inn, in Moncton by vehicle, be sure to visit our

newest Corporate Partner, Green Diamond Equipment’s Head office

(www.green-diamond.ca) at 70 Commerce Street in the Caledonia

Industrial Park for all your John Deere needs and wants, Stihl garden

& yard products, and their latest hunting and/or fishing accessories

and gear, including some Duck Dynasty memorabilia. Next door, Dieppe

is also home to Corporate Partner, G. Bourque (www.gbourque.com) for

a large selection of sledding and riding accessories and all Arctic Cat

products and accessories. Polaris enthusiasts have Advance

Motorsports with Charlie Arsenault and team, Yamaha fans are close to

Atlantic Motoplex and the Ski-Doo faithful are serviced by Ian & Lisa

Mollins at Hi-Tech Power Sports.

The best way to plan your personal or group tour in the Fundy

Highlands is to acquire a 2014 NBFSC Zone 8 Trail Map, go online to

the NBFSC Interactive Map, in season to trip plan your ride or acquire

an I-phone or Android NBFSC Trail App(s) from our website for your

mobile phones.

The Fundy Highlands is truly a hidden Snow Belt!