New Brunswick - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island - page 215

tury settler life, and up to WWII. Gagetown Cider Company (

506-488-2147; 127 Fox Rd;

1-6pm) offers tours by appointment.
Explore scenic Gagetown Creek by boat. Village Boatique ( 877-488-1992; 50 Front
St) has canoe/kayak rentals for $10/15 per hour, $50/75 per day. Homey Step-
Aside Inn ( 506-488-1808; [e-mail]; 58 Front St; s/d incl breakfast $80/95;
May-Dec; ) has four bright rooms with views of the river. To eat, grab a
smoked-meat sandwich and a beer at the Old Boot Pub (48 Front St;

11am-10pm) on

the riverfront.
From Gagetown, head south on Rte 102, known locally as 'the Old River Road,'
denoting its status as the major thoroughfare up the valley in the kinder, simpler
era between the decline of the river steamboats and the construction of the mod-
ern, divided highway. The grand old farmhouses and weathered hay barns dotted
at intervals along the valley belong to that earlier age. The hilly 42km piece of road
between Gagetown and the Evandale ferry landing ( 24hr year-round) is espe-
cially picturesque, with glorious panoramic views of fields full of wildflowers, white
farmhouses and clots of green and gold islands set in the intensely blue water of
the river.
A hundred years ago, tiny Evandale was a bustling little place, where a dance
band would entertain riverboat passengers stopping off for the night at the
Evandale Resort ( 506-468-2222; ferry landing; r $139-199) , now restored to its Victorian
grandeur. It has six rooms and a fine-dining restaurant. On the other side of the wa-
ter, Rte 124 takes you the short distance to the Belleisle ferry ( 24hr year-round)
. The ferry deposits you on the rural Kingston Peninsula, where you can
cross the peninsula to catch the Gondola Point Ferry (signposted off Hwy 1 at Exit 141)
and head directly into Saint John.

UPPER ST JOHN
RIVER VALLEY
The St John River rises in the US state of Maine, then winds along the western border of
the province past forests and beautiful lush farmland. It then drifts through Fredericton
between tree-lined banks and flows around flat islands between rolling hills before
emptying into the Bay of Fundy 700km later. The broad river is the province's dominant
feature and for centuries has been its major thoroughfare. The valley's soft, eye-pleasing
landscape makes for scenic touring by car, or by bicycle on the Trans Canada Trail
(TCT), which follows the river for most of its length.