"Deer Island - 2006 Bicycle Trip (Part 1)" Deer Island by Bwana_Brown

Deer Island Travel Guide: 26 reviews and 67 photos

Fishing fleet at rest in Leonardville Harbour

Every summer, my buddy Russell and I take off to some extremity of New Brunswick for a weekend of biking the countryside, whether we are ready or not! It started with the Northumberland Strait shores opposite Prince Edward Island (2002), then the distant northeast corner of the province on my 'Miscou Island' page (2003), the largest of the south coast Bay of Fundy Islands on my 'Grand Manan' page (2004) and then 'Kouchibougouac National Park' (2005). I do enough world travels that I don't really care where we go on these jaunts within beautiful New Brunswick, so Russ gets to pick where he would like to explore! This time, we decided to take in both Deer and Campobello Islands - smaller cousins of nearby Grand Manan that we had already explored.

Since we are just 'fooling around' with the biking, we don't bother carrying tenting and camping gear with us - simply booking ahead for lodging in our destination of choice. As things turned out, we had virtually perfect biking weather for the entire trip, with sunny days and temperatures in the 24 C (75 F) range every day - once we got past some cloudy weather on the first morning of the 3-day jaunt.

Deer Island was our first stop, after crossing over from mainland New Brunswick via a free provincial ferry system. While on the island we enjoyed the coastal views, saw the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere in action and dined at a 'Where to Eat in Canada' seafood restaurant. The biking was not quite so leisurely in places - I did not realize that this small island along the border with the USA had so many hills!! The second part of our trip is described in my 'Campobello Island' page, a place where Canada and the USA have a joint park commemorating the many years that former President Franklin D. Roosevelt spent there and also the site of the most photographed lighthouse in New Brunswick.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Very laid back - a peaceful and scenic spot
Cons:Shuts down on Sundays!
In a nutshell:A great and inexpensive off the beaten path destination - if the weather is good!

Last visit to Deer Island: Aug 2006
Intro Updated Aug 17, 2006
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Reviews (14)

Carolyn lands four Mackerel in one go! - Deer Island

We haul them in! Sports & Outdoors (2)

For the C$50 (US$44) per person price of our 3-hour fishing expedition, Reid outfitted each of us with a rod, equipped... more travel advice

The 'Craig C' waits for us at mainland ferry dock - Deer Island

A Salt Water Fishing Trip Sports & Outdoors (2)

Just over a week after Russ and I made our biking trip to Deer Island, my youngest daughter and her boyfriend Ryan... more travel advice

Canada's Maritime Provinces and Maine, USA - Deer Island

Deer Island is Located HERE Favorites (1)

Deer Island is located in the southwest corner of Canada's Maritime Provinces, in New Brunswick and on the border with... more travel advice

A family plot, not far from Fairhaven - Deer Island

Little Oddities Off The Beaten Path (2)

The morning we left our accommodations in Fairhaven found us with some spare time before we could catch the first ferry... more travel advice

Things to Do (4)
See All Most Easterly Town in USA?
Transportation (3)
See All Deer Island to Campobello Island Ferry

Comments (16)

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Nemorino Apr 14, 2009 at 5:31 AM

That must have been a very fit young couple who had been biking for 8 days to make it to New Brunswick from New York City! -- I also know that great feeling of riding my bike up to the head of the line of vehicles when boarding a ferry.
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volopolo Jul 12, 2008 at 6:18 AM

Beautiful island! Great tips and pictures!
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traveldave May 1, 2008 at 10:37 AM

That's a beautiful island--a great place for a leisurely bike ride. I'd never heard of the whirlpool, very fascinating.
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JLBG Sep 30, 2007 at 9:47 PM

The old sow and her numerous piglets look like an impressive thing! It is always impressive to see the strength of nature that nothing can harness, especially when it is apparently as calm as the surface of water!
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Stephen-KarenConn Jun 26, 2007 at 11:44 AM

I always learn so much from your pages. Sounds like fun too - idyllic cycling, great fishing and lots of interesting spots to explore. Deer Island here we come - someday.
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matcrazy1 Jan 4, 2007 at 5:06 PM

Great find and beautiful corner of Canada/USA. Seafood, natural whirlpools, fishing and bicycle trip sound very exciting.
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RickinDutch Aug 29, 2006 at 9:46 AM

What a beautiful corner of Canada! Sounds like a fun trip. Birthday greetings from Alaska!
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tiabunna Aug 29, 2006 at 7:26 AM

That fishing trip certainly produced some amazing results! Quite a fascinating little backwater (if that's an appropriate term with whirlpools around).
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richiecdisc Aug 25, 2006 at 4:06 PM

When you're up against piranha clams, it's always good to have a good buddy and a having one to do trips like this every summer is pricelss.
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Trekki Aug 25, 2006 at 8:54 AM

Sounds like an excellent short trip, you had here :-))) Good weather and seafood - what more does one need ? The natural whirlpools sound also exciting, ahh, I like it when nature shows and plays :-)