WestJet Magazine Article

Day 1

Morning Start exploring Miramichi at Ritchie Wharf (1), a 19th-century shipbuilding dock. The boardwalk at the wharf is now lined with colourful cottage-style shops and a restaurant. Stop in at East Wind Gifts for barnboard sea-glass art (the glass is affixed to old barnboards).

Afternoon From Beaubears Island Interpretive Centre, take a boat ride across the river to the island location of two National Historic Sites. Actors in period costume (shipbuilders, fur trappers, etc.) take visitors on a historic tour. In the 1700s, the island was an Acadian refugee camp, and then a shipbuilding yard until the mid-19th century. Today, you can view an archaeological site where these ships were built.

Evening At 1809 Restaurant & Bar in the Rodd Miramichi River hotel, feast on chef Jesse MacDonald’s local fare, which includes lots of fresh seafood. From the dining room enjoy a view of the steel-arch Centennial Bridge while eating cedar-planked Atlantic salmon or confit duck croquettes.

Day 2

Morning Start your day in McNamee, a riverside village southwest of Miramichi, beginning with a four-hour fly-fishing expedition at Wilson’s Sporting Camps. Don waders (provided) and cast the river for salmon with guide Karl Wilson—his family has run the camp for 150 years—and learn how to land these huge silver fish.

Afternoon Drive 10 minutes to nearby Doaktown to go on a stand-up paddleboarding excursion on the Miramichi River; Storeytown Cottages offers rentals and guided tours. Drift past low-level rapids, isolated islands and the famed angling river’s deep salmon pools. You’ll likely have this part of the river to yourself, save for bald eagles flying overhead and moose feeding at the water’s edge.

Evening Once you’ve worked up an appetite, sit down for a three- or four-course supper at The Ledges Inn. The timber-frame building, situated beside the river, offers a rotating daily menu of delightful creations such as chef Luc Schoefield’s fresh lobster served in an edible pastry lobster trap. The pouding chômeur, a Great Depression-era cake cooked in maple syrup, is equally delicious.

Whalen’s Barn Music Series

On Thursday nights throughout the summer (June to September), head to O’Donaghue’s Irish Pub in Miramichi for acoustic guitar performances.

Pouding chômeur

This sweet dessert is made of maple syrup, milk, butter, flour and sugar.

Local events

Professional Lumberjack Festival (Aug. 19 and 20) Watch lumberjacks and lumberjills compete in events such as axe-throwing and underhand chopping at the Central New Brunswick Woodmen’s Museum in Boiestown, an hour and a half from Miramichi. (woodmensmuseum.com)

National Acadian Day (Aug. 15) Grab your pots and pans and head to downtown Miramichi to take part in Tintamarre, a noise-making parade. The free event celebrates Acadian culture with live music, traditional food such as fricot (chicken stew with dumplings) and activities for kids.