Petitcodiac Tides

Twice a day, a wave runs up a muddy river in New Brunswick, and people gather on the bank to watch. The Petitcodiac Tidal Bore is created by the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world, and the effect is strongest where the long funnel of the bay narrows into the Petitcodiac River at Moncton. When the incoming tide meets the river's outflowing current in the narrow channel, the leading edge of the tide forms a wave, a bore, that moves upstream against the river. At Moncton the bore is typically a rolling wave a fraction of a metre to about a metre high, and the sight of the river changing direction is surprising to those who have never seen it.

The river is sometimes nicknamed the Chocolate River, because the tides churn the red silt of the estuary and give the water a brown colour. The name Petitcodiac itself is often said to come from the Mi'kmaq and to refer to a river that bends like a bow. The river's behaviour was changed in 1968 when a causeway and gates were built across it, which reduced the bore and caused silting. Opening the gates in 2010 allowed the river to flow more freely and has begun to restore parts of the estuary, and the bore is more noticeable than it was in recent decades.

The best place to see it is Bore Park, at 10 Bendview Court, near the historic Treitz Haus, an old house of the area. The park has an amphitheatre with benches and a viewing balcony, so that spectators have a clear view of the river and the approaching wave. A board posts the predicted arrival time of the bore, which varies from day to day by about an hour or more, and it is best to arrive half an hour early. The wave can be small on some days, and the full change in the river's level, from a shallow muddy channel to a rising flood, is visible over the next one or two hours, which is the true spectacle. Staying for thirty to sixty minutes lets you see it develop.

Access to the park is free and open at all hours, and the area is wheelchair accessible. Paid parking is available in nearby city lots, such as Moncton Place, and along the street. The Riverfront Trail passes the park and is good for walking and birdwatching, and downtown Moncton, with its Main Street shops, restaurants and Moncton Market on Saturdays, lies a short stroll away.

Check the daily schedule before you go, and bring a jacket, since it can be breezy beside the river.