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Driving New Brunswick’s Acadian Coast—Biking Kouchibouguac National Park

The Bay of Fundy and Fundy National Park might be the better known of the two national parks in New Brunswick, but Kouchibouguac (pronounced Koo-she-boo-gwac) is just as loved in the province. Only an hour north of Moncton, it’s a must-stop on the Acadian Route, especially for bikers and beach lovers. The national park has 60 km of hard-packed gravel trails, not unlike the carriage path trails in Maine’s Acadia National Park. This includes a sweet 6 km singletrack mountain biking route along Major Kollock Creek. 
 
I rented a bike at Ryans near spacious campsites nestled into the Acadian forest. There are no speeds on the bike because there are very few hills to endure. I cruised along the Kouchibouguac River smelling the sweet pines and spruce. The river is popular with paddlers in summer, coming to see the otters and osprey diving for fish. Also in the park, it’s not unusual to run into black bear, moose, and beavers. At La Source, site of a former well for villagers that used to live in the area, I returned past Ryans to the highlight of the park, Kellys Beach. Arguably, the most exquisite beach in the entire province, Kellys is a six-kilometer stretch of white sand that dips down into the surprisingly warm waters. To reach the coveted coastline, you walk on a long boardwalk over a lagoon, marsh, and dunes. After you’ve had your fill of sun and sea, return to Ryans to drop off the bike and grab a beer at the outdoor patio of Ryan’s Landing. The perfect ending to a perfect day.
 
I’ve had a blast driving the Acadian Route. Thanks for coming along for the ride. I’ll be at a classic Maine coastal resort, Linekin Bay, on Monday and Tuesday, back on Wednesday with one bonus blog on New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy. In the meantime, stay active!
 

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Visiting Yosemite National Park in Winter

Head to the Grand Canyon or Yosemite National Park in summer and “forever wild” might feel more like “forever congested.” Come winter, these same parks are virtually uninhabited, almost returning to their original state. Cold weather can add a sense of wild enchantment—a layer of frost on the Canyon’s North Rim, icicles hang from Yosemite’s granite grandeur, the mixture of fresh snow and the briny Atlantic at Acadia. So grab your hiking boots, snowshoes, or cross-country skies and check out the country’s most scenic spots the way Muir and Abbey did, alone in their own private playground.  

 
First stop, Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is a winter wonderland where you can play amidst sheer granite cliffs and domes, iced-over waterfalls, and towering trees. To truly savor the feeling of being alone in a national park, make snow angels at the roots of 200-foot sequoia trees in Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove. A 2-mile snowshoe trek in and you’re staring at these titanic trees, their shaggy orange bark a striking contrast to the frigid whiteness that envelops the rest of the forest. Cross-country skiers cherish the ten miles of groomed track that leads to 7,000-foot high Glacier Point. Here, a backcountry hut offers accommodations and a thrilling view of the Yosemite Valley. The sheer walls of the silvery Half Dome plunges some 4,500 feet down to a handful of figures swirling on the luminescent orb otherwise known as the Curry Village ice rink. The park is also home to one of the oldest downhill ski areas in California, Badger Pass, built in the late 20s in a bid to get the 1930 Winter Olympics. The bid failed but the resort, with a vertical drop of only 800 feet, is now one of the best places in the West to learn how to ski. At night, take refuge around the massive fireplace in the Ahwahnee Hotel’s Great Lounge. This spacious lodge was built of heavy timber and stone in 1927.  
 
(Photograph by the talented Benny Haddad)
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Top 5 Travel Days of 2015, Exploring Cappadocia

When Mount Erciyes poured lava over central Turkey thousands of years ago, the volcanic ash formed a surreal, lunar-like landscape consisting of cone-shaped “fairy chimneys” and layers of soft volcanic rock called “tufa.” Early Christians found the pervious terrain ideal for escaping persecution by Romans and Arabs. When wet, the tufa could be easily carved like soap to make caves out of the pinnacles as well as underground cities descending hundreds of feet below the surface. Tunnels were carved into the soft volcanic rock that venture a mind-boggling 7 and 8 levels underground. They lead to rooms that were used to sleep, eat, pray, along with advanced ventilation systems and a well to retrieve water.

 
This past July, Lisa and I returned with the kids to Cappadocia to revisit this otherworldly terrain. One of our favorite jaunts was a hike with guide, Mehmet Gungor, accompanied by his dog. We were all by our lonesome in the stunning Rose Valley, hiking in and out of caves. Early the next morning we took a magical hot air balloon ride over the terrain and then toured the underground cities. We rented a car our entire time in Cappadocia and it was easy to drive through this rural part of central Turkey. We made it to the mountain town of Güzelyurt, where we found more underground cities and churches from over a millennium ago. We never felt unsafe driving on the backcountry roads of Cappadocia. On the contrary, surrounded by spectacular scenery and very little traffic, it was a great part of the world to cruise. 
 
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Driving Iceland’s Golden Circle? Be Sure to Stop at Friðheimar

When told that we would be making one last stop on our Golden Circle route, at a greenhouse, most of the people on our tour scoffed at the idea, simply wanting to get back to our hotel in Reykjavik. It sounded like some hokey add-on, like visiting a gift shop owned by the bus driver’s brother. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Friðheimar is no ordinary greenhouse, but a massive year-round tomato and cucumber growing operation that yields close to a ton a day of crop thanks to the geothermal energy. I met the owner, Knútur Rafn Ármann, popped a tomato in my mouth (delicious), and then was treated to a sublime cup of tomato soup garnished with cucumber salsa and paired with fresh baked bread. It was probably the best dish I had in the country. Afterwards, we watched Knútur’s son and daughter (he has five children) ride the Icelandic horses he breeds. Friðheimar is open to the public for greenhouse tours, meals, and, in the summer, a 15-minute horse show. It’s the ideal way to end your trip on the Golden Circle. 

 
Thank you, Iceland! I’m off to the Lake Geneva region of Switzerland where I’ll be reporting live from Lausanne, Montreux, and Vevey. Please stay tuned next week! Thanks, as always, for checking in to ActiveTravels! 
 
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Adventures in the Florida Keys, Stand-Up Paddleboarding in Islamorada

Pull over at Marker 88 in Islamorada on the bay side of the Keys and you’ll find a van. This is the home of Annette Robertson, the premier stand-up paddleboarding instructor and guide in the region. Miami Dolphins great Jason Taylor and his family are just one of the many clientele who regularly make the 90-minute trek south of Miami to spend the day on the bay paddleboarding. While I’ve seen my kids play around with paddleboards, I’ve never tried it until now. Annette was the perfect instructor, showing me how to balance and find my sweet spot on the board before we started on our merry way. We paddled along the shoreline on the calm waters, looking below to find fish. Annette has seen turtles and sharks on her numerous jaunts to the nearby mangroves. Rent paddleboards from her and go out as long as you like. It’s a great workout for your core. In fact, Annette has started to offer pilates and yoga classes atop the boards. So be sure to ask. 

 
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Kitesurfing Aruba’s Boca Grandi Beach

Spend a week on Aruba’s Palm or Eagle Beaches, like I just did with my family, and you get used to the steady breeze and the swaying palms. But this is nothing compared to what you witness on the eastern shores of the island, where winds are far more severe and the waves crash ashore, spewing foam into the air. That doesn’t deter the best kitesurfers in the world from descending on Boca Grandi Beach on the southeastern tip of the island. While cruising around Aruba, we stopped at Boca Grandi and were mesmerized by kitesurfers zipping across the bay at incredibly fast speeds, catching air for a good five seconds, and turning their boards around with the slightest of ease, while the choppy sea swirled around them. This is not a place I would learn the sport, but if you already feel comfortable kitesurfing, I would certainly make my way down to Aruba for its consistent wind. Judging from the smiles plastered on these kitesurfers’ faces, they loved every minute of it. 

 
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Dogsled Umbagog Lake on the Maine-New Hampshire Border

Polly Mahoney and Kevin Slater, owners of Mahoosuc Guide Service have chosen a good base for their dogsledding operations. They live on the outskirts of Grafton Notch State Park in the heart of the Maine woods. Almost every weekend in winter, the couple, with 15 of their dogs, drive some 30 miles to the remote shores of Umbagog Lake. Here, guests learn the basics of the sport: standing on the back of the sled and shouting the magic words “Let’s go!” to see the dogs romp through the snow or yelling “Whoa!” to slow them down. You’ll take turns dogsledding and cross-country skiing on iced-over lakes, fringed by mountains of pines. At night, you’ll sleep in heated tents on a floor of cushiony fir needles, only to awaken to the sounds of the dogs howling in the predawn hours.

 
Mahoney breeds her own type of dog, which she calls a Yukon husky. A native Mainer, she spent a decade learning her trade in the Yukon bush. She returned home and met Slater at a nearby Outward Bound center when he was in dire need of a skilled dogsledder. Two and three-day outings start at $575 and include food, tents, sleeping bags, even cozy parkas, mukluks, and leg gaiters. If winter camping sounds too ambitious, ask about their cabin-to-cabin option in late January, where you stay at three classic Maine sporting camps now run by the Appalachian Mountain Club.
 

2 Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing some of New Brunswick’s gems, Steve…love seeing things through your eyes. I have lots of great family camping memories from Kouch!

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