This post could be titled “Things We Do for Friendships.” But we did more than hang out with good friends during our Fall 2025 Getaway side trip to New Brunswick. So I opted for a broader title.

Anyhow, after a couple of days exploring Charlottetown and environs, we headed generally northwest from city centre. Our first stop was at a franchise restaurant chain called Pür & Simple. They specialize in breakfast and brunch menu items. This was by far our best Fall 2025 Getaway breakfast up to this point. I just learned there’s a Pür & Simple location about a block from our favorite Costco location in Calgary, so that’s food for thought. 😉

Service was a bit slower than expected. Maybe things were still opening up because we arrived right at opening time. Or maybe everything is made from scratch? Regardless, we were later departing Charlottetown than planned. To make up for it, we skipped our first planned stop: Argyle Shore Provincial Park.

Island Chocolates

In fact, our only stop before meeting friends for lunch was at Island Chocolates in Victoria-by-the-Sea. Since learning about bean-to-bar chocolate several years ago, we look for bean-to-bar chocolatiers when traveling. The Island Chocolates website doesn’t go into much detail about their bean-to-bar offerings, but we figured it was worth a chance.

We were right! Almost an hour after arriving, we had no choice but to say goodbye to Eric Turner, the energy behind Island Chocolates’ niche in bean-to-bar chocolate. He’d shared details from his 17 trips (to-date) to Ecuador, where he’s helped local cacao farmers form a cooperative that now adds value by processing cacao into chocolate.

He gave us samples of some of his chocolate festival entries; enthused about various kinds of cacao; allowed us to browse through his photo albums containing images from his many trips to Ecuador; shared pages from his favorite book about chocolate; and more. We truly enjoyed the conversation and the samples. Before bidding him farewell, we bought a few bars of dark chocolate and jotted down the name of the cacao cooperative so we can seek it out if we ever travel in Ecuador.

Gasthof

Our original plan included at least one stop to photograph the Confederation Bridge. But our extended conversation at Island Chocolates put us even further behind than our wait for breakfast. So our only pause was to pay the $20 toll to leave PEI via the Confederation Bridge. The only photographs we got were the ones I took through the side window!

We kept right on driving until we reached Gasthof Old Bavarian Restaurant just outside Sussex. We made it with 5 minutes to spare before our agreed upon meeting time. Our friends, whom we met on our Labrador and Torngat Mountains Expedition Cruise back in 2019, were already seated at a large picnic table. After exchanging hugs all around, we enjoyed great conversation, meeting one of their sons, the antics of their beautiful dog Jolie, and delicious food.

A good couple of hours later, grateful for the visit and after another round of hugs, we headed towards Sussex, where we planned to hike the Sussex Bluffs trail. But approaching the overflowing trailhead carpark, with maybe 200 cars, we turned around and left.

New Brunswick Fall Colour

Instead, we continued towards Alma, where we had a B&B booked for a couple of nights. With time to spare before our 4 o’clock check-in, we made a couple of stops for drone flights and fall colour photography.

Alma

We came across Alma when we were looking for accommodations near Fundy National Park. It was clean and quiet. Our hosts were attentive. And the breakfasts were tasty and generous. We would have preferred a harder mattress. And the internet speed was incredibly slow compared to what we get at home in Canmore.

As soon as we checked in to the Falcon Ridge Inn, Mr GeoK turned on the TV in search of the Blue Jays post-season game. He was in for the night! So I went for take-out pizza from Sopranos (better than Famous Peppers in Charlottetown, but not great). Then, while Mr GeoK watched baseball, I headed out to walk. The mosquitoes chased me back inside about an hour later.

Some fun facts about Alma:

• Home of the Fundy NP headquarters;
• Population of 282 (2001 census);
• Centered on the small delta of the Upper Salmon River and Cleveland Brook, where they empty into Salisbury Bay along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy;
• Originally called Salmon River Settlement, which grew up around a sawmill;
• Part of the Parish of Alma, established in 1856 and named for the then recent Battle of Alma during the Crimean War;
• In 1948, when the federal government expropriated land to create Fundy National Park, may homes were relocated;
• In 1966, the village incorporated;
• It later disincorporated after joining with nearby Hillsborough and Riverside-Alberta to form the municipal area called Fundy Albert;
• Today, the village relies on tourism, with lobster and scallop harvesting the other main economic driver;
• Notable citizens include Judson Arthur Cleveland (who ran his saw mill even in the worst economic times, providing livelihoods for may families) and Molly Kool (who in 1939 became the first female Master Mariner for offshore sailing in the western part of the world).

Side note – although we drove through Fundy National Park to reach Alma, we didn’t spend any time visiting any of the points of interest. Next time?

Fundy Trail Provincial Park

Once we decided to include a couple of days in New Brunswick in our Fall 2025 Getaway, we started looking around at potential one-day hiking, kayaking or cycling adventures. The kayaking places were closed in October. So was the cycle rental shop, but there was also an asterisk, inviting people to call and ask about October dates. So I did!

We booked a half-day of guided e-fatbiking with Kerry, owner of 2nd Wind Cycle. He planned a 20+ km (12.5 mile) route along the multi-use pathway running roughly parallel to the Fundy Trail Parkway. We’d hoped our friends would be able to join us, but they had other commitments that day.

With a 10 am start time, we had to drive the long way from Alma to St Martins, 188 km (73 miles) back out to the TransCanada and then down secondary highway 111. We stopped once to photograph fall colour, specifically the brilliant red of a blueberry barren.

We ended up arriving about 5 minutes late. Fortunately, no one else had booked, so only Kerry was waiting on us. It didn’t take long to fit the biktrix e-fatbikes, load the tail bags and start pedaling.

Fundy Trail Parkway and Multi-Use Pathway

Canadian Geographic published a great article about the Fundy Trail Parkway. The TLDR version = a 30 km coastal road purpose built for sightseeing, with a 40 km/h speed limit and 21 well-designed pullovers to access 20 lookouts, 12 observation decks and more than 20 hiking paths. Open from about mid-May through mid-October each year, an entrance fee applies.

Kerry’s cabin is less than a km from the entrance to the Fundy Trail Parkway through Fundy Trail Provincial Park. This short paved stretch was not busy in early October, and Kerry includes the admission fee in the cost of his half-day guided tour, so the only reason we stopped was to grab a photo of the sign.

I appreciated the short road ride, as the biktrix e-fatbikes are much heavier than our gravel e-bikes (>30 kg vs 14 kg / > 65 lbs vs 30 lbs). And where our gravel e-bikes are pedal assist, the biktrix e-fatbikes had a thumb activated throttle. So they took getting used to!

While the Parkway is 31 km, the multi-use pathway only runs for 10 km, to the Big Salmon River Interpretive Centre. Kerry only used the multi-use pathway some of the distance, switching over to the Parkway for a couple of stretches.

There are 10 lookouts and observation decks between the park entrance and the Big Salmon River Interpretive Centre. I simply don’t remember which photo(s) we took at which lookout. Here’s a sampling:

This series gives a sense of the riding conditions:

Fuller Falls

We did one very short walk on our outbound ride. The trail to Fuller Falls was mostly a long set of cable stairs to a viewing platform for the 15 meter tall veil fall down red sandstone. The stairs reminded us of the ones on the trail up Ha Ling in Canmore.

Big Salmon River

Our turnaround point was Big Salmon River, the end of the multi-use pathway. But we didn’t simply turn around and ride back. Instead, we made a quick stop to check out the interpretive centre, take a few photos, and eat lunch at Cookhouse restaurant. A 1970s vehicle restoration project was parked outside.

Lunch (extra cost) was really good and we enjoyed the photos and information posted around the restaurant describing the logging and sawmill activity in the area in the 19th century. This forestry activity supported the shipbuilding industry in nearby St. Martins, where over 500 ships were built.

The Big Salmon River suspension bridge, a favourite social media photo stop, was closed for repairs and upgrades so we didn’t even bother to ride over to take a look.

On the ride back, we continued our discussion regarding Kerry’s business plans, begun over lunch. I think we left him with a couple of good ideas drawn from our decades in business and our cycling experiences.

Overall, we enjoyed our guided ride. It was leisurely, so we didn’t really rack up any cardio minutes. But Kerry’s deep local knowledge added a richness to the experience that we appreciated.

St. Martins

Next, we backtracked to St. Martins to take a look at the sea caves. And we also wanted to try for a photo including St. Martins’ two covered bridges and lighthouse (visitor centre) in one composition. I think Mr GeoKs’ drone photos are the winners!

The red sandstone and coarse boulder conglomerate at St. Martins are about 250 million years old. The two formations can be seen in contact at the east end of the beach. Bay of Fundy waves pound relentlessly, a major force behind physical coast erosion processes. In sedimentary rocks like these, the erosion processes form caves which can be approached on foot at low tide.

The Vaughan Creek Covered Bridge is recently built (2022), on the same alignment as the original 1935 covered bridge. The new 32 meter (105 ft) covered bridge is one of North America’s rare double-barreled covered bridges, and includes a pedestrian walkway. The design resembles the traditional style of New Brunswick’s covered bridges and is sheathed in the same materials as the original bridge – local hemlock and cedar.

The Hardscrabble No. 2 covered bridge, built in 1946, is 22 meters (72 feet) long and has a pedestrian passage on one side. The lighthouse is a 1983 building constructed to serve as the St. Martins visitor centre and house the lantern room from the decommissioned 1883 Quaco Head Lighthouse. With all the mature trees around the lighthouse, I’m not sure it’s possible to get all three structures in one composition without using a drone. Maybe in winter, when there are no leaves on the trees?

Back to the Fundy Trail Parkway

By 3:30, we decided we’d better get back to the car and start our drive along the Fundy Trail Parkway. Although the 30 km scenic route takes less than an hour to drive, that time is without any stops. And our friends recommended we stop at every lookout and observation deck, so we were up against the 5 pm gate closing time!

We opted against any stops until we were past Big Salmon River, our e-fatbiking turnaround point. And even then we were very selective.

Walton Glen Gorge

Our longest stop was at Walton Glen Gorge, where we had just enough time for the 2.3 km (return distance) walk to the observation deck. The lookout sits about 40 meters above the bottom of the gorge, which is obscured by thick tree cover. Walton Glen Gorge has been called the Grand Canyon of New Brunswick. Having been to the Grand Canyon a few times, we think they are completely different.

NOTE – Visitor services were closed during our visit (except to collect admission fees at the entrance kiosks). So I couldn’t confirm the depth of the gorge. Some websites say 40 meters, another says 100 meters.

Return to Alma

We reached the end of the Parkway about 10 minutes before staff locked the gates at 5 pm. To this day we wonder, “What happens if you’re not out of the park before 5 o’clock? Do they do a sweep? Are you trapped? Or is only the entrance lane gated and locked?”

From there we had another 50 kms to reach Alma. The drive was slow – single lane behind 6 Ford Mustangs (various model years) out for a lazy Sunday drive. Fortunately, the scenery was lovely.

When we finally reached Alma, we drove straight to Octopus’ Garden Cafe and Bistro for supper. Mr GeoK enjoyed fresh pasta and I opted for a garden salad with grilled salmon.

Both meals were good, but we didn’t stay for dessert because the Blue Jays were playing game 2 against the NY Yankees! I got a head start on packing, but confess this is where my enjoyment of Blue Jays baseball began, and grew ever stronger all they way to game 7 of the World Series. What a classy group of guys, even in defeat.

In hindsight, I wish we’d stayed one more night in Alma. I would have filled day three with a walk on the beach, a 10-12 km hike or a side trip to Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park. Mr GeoK enjoyed multiple opportunities to fly his drone (outside National and Provincial parks). The fall colour was coming on strong!