
Kouchibouguac River, taken from the Tweedie
trail inside the park
‎
'Kouchibouguac National Park' is located on the east coast of
New Brunswick, north of the town of
Richibucto. The park includes
barrier islands,
sand dunes,
lagoons,
salt marshes and forests. It provides habitat for seabirds, including the endangered
Piping Plover, and the second largest
tern colony in North America. Colonies of
harbour seals and
grey seals also inhabit the park's 25 kilometres of sand dunes. The park's size is
238 km². Recreational activities in the park include swimming, cycling and hiking.
The park was founded in
1969 in order to set aside sensitive
sand dunes and
bogs. While it was developed in the
1970s,
Parks Canada encountered great difficulty expropriating land from several land owners (approximately 215 families). The most notable of these was
Jackie Vautour, who still lives on his property.
Kellys Beach, a very long sand dune, is a popular attraction along with a number of
bogs, a boardwalk trail, eight hiking trails, a network of bicycle trails, two campgrounds, canoe and boat launch and
Cap-St-Louis fishing port. In the Summer months come meet the park interpreters for great education programs.
The park is named after the
Kouchibouguac River. The river's name means "river of the long tides" in
Mi'kmaq.
Other rivers that flow through the park include the:
★
Black River
★
Kouchibouguacis River
★
Saint-Louis River
See also
★
Canadian National Parks
★
List of Canadian national parks
★
List of New Brunswick parks
External links
★
Parks Canada site