New travel book showcases N.B., P.E.I. hidden gems

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If you’re looking to find some adventures off the beaten path in the Maritimes, author Scott Osmond has some suggestions.

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Osmond recently published Hidden New Brunswick & P.E.I. about old, abandoned places and historical landmarks you won’t find in a tourism guide.

He has already published Hidden Newfoundland and Hidden Nova Scotia. Osmond is originally from Newfoundland and now lives in Halifax and his writing journey began when he began asking locals questions about some of the older structures and rundown places he saw.

“They want to share the stories, they want to share the history behind these places,” he said.

Though he first wanted to write one book about the hidden places in the Maritimes, but he soon realized there were so many spots that he needed to break it down by province.

Growing up he also spent many summers with family in P.E.I. and New Brunswick, so some places were already familiar to him. Others he picked up while traveling in both provinces after talking to residents and doing research.

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“There is so much out there, especially if you’re into the outdoors, if you’re into hiking. New Brunswick is the place to be in the Maritimes. Lots of exciting places around. So much history and industry,” he said.

Northern N.B. 

Some of Osmond’s favourite places in the northern part of New Brunswick are the remnants of railway lines and parts of the tracks that are still in use as part of the National Transcontinental Railway.

The Salmon River Trestle Bridge, located near Grand Falls, is one of Canada’s longest railway bridges and spans about 1,200 m long and was built in 1911. Osmond called it an “engineering feat” that towers over the water.

“It is an incredible sight to see…it definitely still turns heads even to this day,” he said.

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The Blue Bell Tunnel, near Plaster Rock, is another interesting piece of railway history. The ominous abandoned tunnel has been deteriorating over the years, and Osmond called it “surreal” to see the tunnel blasted into the hillside.

Fredericton

The Mactaquac Reservoir is one of Osmond’s favourite places in the Fredericton region and not just for the massive dam, but also the history of the community that had to be drained to make way for the project.

He said if you drive along the St. John River you will find streets that seem to lead into the river because they were part of the old road network for the township of houses that had to be relocated in the 1960s when the head pond was flooded. Osmond said there are tops of bridges that can also be seen.

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“Just the scale of how much was flooded which is a pretty powerful thing to see. you could search that river for years and years and you would never see it all,” he said.

Saint John

Saint John’s military history is something that fascinates Osmond and he included the Saint John dry dock, Partridge Island and the fortification system of gun placements and lookout batteries in the book. The city used to be a place where military ships were serviced before going overseas during the world wars.

“I always found those sites absolutely incredible to explore simply because they were built to last. They were built to survive and now they are still there,” he said.

Southern N.B. 

In addition to the remains of industry in southern New Brunswick, like the gypsum mines and silos in Hillsborough, Osmond also included the shipwrecks in the Musquash Estuary.

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Osmond said the coves around the estuary are a treasure trove of old vessels that had been scuttled, perhaps the largest collection of visible wrecks in Atlantic Canada. Some of the history of the ships is only known by the people who live around the area.

“At the time if you didn’t want your ship anymore or if it was no good instead of paying to have it scrapped you would just tow it outside the harbour to a nearby cove that was likely outside the jurisdiction of the harbour and you would sink it,” he said.

P.E.I.

Osmond said a prominent source of hidden gems in P.E.I. are the abandoned amusement parks. He grew up going to Rainbow Valley, which was closed in 2005 and the land is now part of Cavendish National Park.

Now whenever Osmond visits he points out the overgrown hedge mazes, brick walking paths and the foundations where the amusement park rides used to be.

Other shuttered parks include Fairyland Park and Encounter Creek in New Haven and Great Island Science and Adventure Park near Cavendish.

The Hidden New Brunswick & P.E.I. books, published by Boulder Books, are available in Coles and Chapters locations and will soon make their way into local shops.

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