Mactaquac Provincial Park
WINTER
The fun doesn’t stop once summer is over at Mactaquac Provincial Park. The park is open in the winter so you can enjoy several outdoor activities or relax in the warm, welcoming lodge.
Grab your toboggan and zip down one of the 2 groomed sliding hills (Top 10 in Canada). Skate around our beautiful pond, or try our forest skate trail. Cross-country ski on 7 km of groomed trails (classic and skate ski) or snowshoe at various locations in the park. Snowshoe, cross country skis, sliding tubes, helmets and fat bikes are available for rent at the park (first come, first served). Please see our "Dates and Rates" page for fees. Winter walkers can follow a well-maintained trail that begins at the park's main gate and continues through Campground 1. Leashed dogs are welcome. Enjoy the park camping experience all year round, even in winter, by spending the night in your tent or in a rustic shelter (reservations required). Snowmobile enthusiasts can ride to and in the park on safe, groomed trails.
The park administration office is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the winter. The sliding hills and skating pond are lit nightly until closing. Call ahead for weather conditions prior to cross-country skiing, ice skating, tobogganing or winter camping.
*Winter camping at Mactaquac Provincial Park is un-serviced with limited access to amenities. Campers should be experienced in winter wilderness camping for this experience. Contact the park directly for more information at (506) 363-4747. *
Camping
Mactaquac Provincial Park Campground
Mactaquac Provincial Park’s campground provides more than 300 campsites in both open and wooded areas (2 of which are wheelchair accessible) and features, hot showers and kitchen shelters.
Trails
Legend
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
Very Difficult
1 - Alex Creek
Rock piles along this trail are an indication you are traveling through past farmland. The trail is a long narrow loop through the forest between a wetland and Alex Creek.
2 - Alex Creek to Murch Field
Alex Creek tumbles towards the Saint John River through a small valley. Climb to the edge of the campground before dropping back down to the stream and the Murch Field Trail.
3 - Beaver Pond
Find out how beaver dams are built and the habitats they form on this trail that circles a pond. Interpretive signs and a boardwalk crossing the pond give insight to the waterfowl, frogs, and ever-changing marsh vegetation that call the pond home. You will find signs of beaver activity and may even see a beaver.
4 - Beaver Pond to Alex Creek
This trail is shared with the beaver lodge and you can expect to see the busy beavers in action. Follow along a beaver pond with a large, old beaver hut. The pond was once a forest and you can look for duck nesting boxes in the dead trees that were flooded by the pond.
5 - Little Mactaquac Stream
After passing through a softwood forest the trail follows Little Mactaquac Stream before returning through a more mixed forest. Cross the stream and stop at the lean-to style shelter as you pass.
6 - Maple Sugar
Interpretive signs describe the many, large hardwood trees you pass along the trail. This hardwood ridge is representative of the hardwood forest that lines the Saint John River Valley.
7 - Murch Field
Take this trail to a beautiful view of the Mactaquac head pond, an old farmer field, streams and a striking waterfall. Pass under the TreeGO Mactaquac aerial adventure course and through several small fields. One field overlooks the sailboats in the Mactaquac Marina.
8 - Porcupine Pass
A quick walk through a mixed forest with massive large-tooth aspen trees (a favourite of the beavers) takes you to the end of a large beaver pond. Look for ducks swimming between the dead trees sticking out of the pond.
9 - Scotch Lake Road
This short loop trail takes you from Mactaquac Stream to Scotch Lake Road along the back of the park. Mature spruce, cedar, and maple can be found along the mossy trail as it climbs gently up from the cedar stands through a magnificent forest of hemlock. Watch for the resident pileated woodpeckers.
10 - Eagle
This old road starts at Mactaquac Beach and travels along the head pond created by the Mactaquac Dam. At several spots along the trail you can look across at the dam.