UNESCO

Gros Morne

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Gros Morne, a world heritage site in Newfoundland, has three must sees: Gros Morne Mountain, the Tablelands, and Western Brook Pond. The first can be seen easily from many viewpoints, and the approach trail is reasonably flat. The whole park is famous for its geology, with rocky coves, pond marked plateaus, deep fjords, dark, magnesium rich cliffs and the lonely mountain of Gros Morne itself, with pinkish quartzite on top. The views from the top are supposedly stunning, but it’s an all day steep hike.

The second must see above is unique and has an easy guided hike. The Tablelands is one of maybe three places in the world where you can walk on the earth’s mantle. Left over from a temporary overlap and receding of the North American and Asian tectonic plates, this mountain of mantle cooled, dried and had its crust removed by glaciers and erosion. The Table Mountains are studied by geologists—including those who developed the theory of plate tectonics—, and it is easy to see soapstone, serpentine, and other interesting rocks here. But most of the rock above is peridotite, an iron rich igneous rock from the mantle.

I took the ‘easy’ Tablelands hike with a guide who explained about the tough creatures who live up here, including the local humans. The forecast was clear all morning, so naturally it hailed and rained for much of the hike. Still, the clouds occasionally parted and revealed some of the muted yet dramatic scenery.

And the third must see also has an easy hike, but then you need to take a boat to see the rest. Western Brook Pond is actually a deep lake in the middle of a landlocked fjord, with high thin waterfalls cascading down massive cliffs. Glaciers carved many fjords, arms and valleys in the park, and this spot offers a great view of the ancient Appalachian landscape. On a good day, it is spectacular, but the weather doesn’t always cooperate.

I would recommend scheduling more time than usual for Newfoundland, as the pace is slow, weather is changeable, and delays are common. I will have to return to see a couple places that I missed due to a ferry cancelation. On the other hand, I’ve been forced to slow down my typical hectic schedule, which is good.

Manicouagan Uapishka

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This UNESCO Biosphere’s most remarkable feature can be seen from space, and you may have wondered about the Eye of Quebec when looking at a map of Canada. Over 200 million years ago a meteor hit here, leaving a 70 mile crater. When the river was dammed for hydropower, the lake in the crater’s ring became permanent with an island in the middle. While it’s possible to drive an electric car up there, I didn’t have a lot of time to hike or kayak around the lake, and, while I support hydropower (with fish ladders), I don’t need to see a dam. I would like to go back to experience Innu culture, but for now I chose to visit the ecologically diverse coastal part of the biosphere.

On the drive here, I saw plenty of rivers, waterfalls, foliage and bays, but this is a particularly good place to get a sense of all of the ecosystems in close proximity, especially near the lowlands that are large enough to have subtle differentiation in plants reflecting how many days per year each part of the land is flooded. Between the Manicouagan River that powers the dam and the Outardes River, there is a delta with Outardes Nature Park on its southwest point. Here there’s a fine visitor center, campsite and good trails to see the different boreal forests, salt marshes and dunes. I saw a Cooper’s Hawk, several Black-bellied Plovers, and a Ruby crowned Kinglet, in just a few minutes. It’s a lovely spot.

Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve

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A couple hours drive northeast of Quebec City, up in the mountains is the Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie park, the core of this pristine UNESCO Biosphere. The landscape is dramatic with high cliff multi-level waterfalls in spring and lovely maple foliage in fall, and above a low dam, there’s a boat (above) that takes sightseers up the lake in summer. Canadians are more fit than Americans, so 5 1/2 hour trails that would be labeled “strenuous” in the US are called “moderate” here. They also bring canoes and bicycles to get around, but I think the best views are found by hiking part way up one of the many trails to get a view of the water from above, such as from the Acropole des Draveurs—the rafter’s Acropolis—that looms over the scene above.

The Biosphere includes a big chunk of land from the mountains to the seaway, and there’s a tourist train in the summer that brings folks up to some of the dozen interesting little towns where they can catch buses to a half dozen parks and reserves. Up here the St Lawrence is less lakes & rivers and more ocean bay, and there are whale watching tours from Saguenay. While the peaks are around 3,000 feet—only a fraction of Colorado’s 14ers—, they’re beautiful with plenty of skiing in the winter.

Lac Saint-Pierre Biosphere Reserve

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Between Montreal and Quebec City is the beginning of the St Lawrence Estuary, near the city of Trois-Rivières. (One of the dozen tributaries here has islands at its mouth, making it look like three rivers). The UNESCO Biosphere includes this large wetland lake and many islands in the seaway and tributaries, making it an excellent site for birds. Its great blue heron rookery is quite famous, but may be difficult to access. I chose to visit the Ecological Park of Anse du Port, because it has a very long boardwalk out through the wetland all the way to the lake, with a three story viewing platform to view container ships passing in the main channel. From the boardwalk, I saw several great blue heron, two beaver, a raccoon, a woodpecker, ducks (above), bittern, and a half dozen other types of birds. Binoculars or a telephoto lens camera would be helpful, but sometimes the birds come quite close.

Mont Saint-Hilaire Biosphere Reserve

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Between Lake Champlain New York and Lac Saint-Pierre Quebec is tiny Lac Hertel (above) in the Gault Nature Reserve of McGill University in this UNESCO Biosphere. The hills are covered in Sugar Maple, Beech and Hemlock, some of which are hundreds of years old, plus some other species that have become quite rare recently. Being close to Montreal, the hiking trails were busy, so I didn’t see much wildlife besides ducks and geese. But there are bats, beavers, red foxes, grass snakes and turtles, among others. Advance, timed entry tickets are required, and there are well developed trails, boardwalks, picnic areas and camp sites. Very pretty nature reserve in the middle of a rural farming river valley.

All UN Sites in Canadian Maritimes

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New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the three provinces known as the Maritimes, have three world heritage sites and three biospheres recognized by UNESCO. Well, almost all the sites are in Nova Scotia, but I enjoyed driving around all three provinces.

With plenty of great seafood, hiking, Celtic & Acadian culture, wildlife, history and miles of picturesque coastline, this region is highly rewarding for travelers, especially an electric road tripper. With a CCS adapter and the ChargeHub app, it’s not difficult to explore the entire region and well worth the drive.

World Heritage Sites

Grand Pré conveys the tragic history of the British expulsion of the Acadians. The landscape is lovely, and be sure to try the Tidal Bay local wine in a coastal town like Wolfville home to Acadia University.

Joggins Fossil Cliffs reveals an impressive geologic record of the coal age. Take a hard hat tour at low tide and find fossils.

Lunenburg is a beautiful, well-preserved seafaring and fishing port. Spend the night and eat all the local seafood you can.

Biospheres

Bras d’Or Lake is open to the sea through small channels making it an important fish and bird habitat. Try a local restaurant and maybe listen to some Cape Breton fiddle at a céilidh (kay-lee).

Fundy has the world’s largest tides with dramatic coastline, shorebirds and forests. The biosphere is on the New Brunswick side of the bay around the eponymous national park.

Southwest Nova protects many species, including the piping plover and blanding’s turtle. The biosphere has both a coastal and a forest component with plenty of hiking.

Bonus: Green Gables is home to LM Montgomery and her beloved characters. Prince Edward Island is the smallest province but very charming.

New Brunswick also has Kouchibouguac and Fundy National Parks, plus Campobello. Nova Scotia has Kejimkujik and Cape Breton Highlands National Parks. And Prince Edward Island has the new Pituamkek and Prince Edward Island National Parks.

Bras d’Or Lake

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Bras d’Or Lake Biosphere Region is the brackish waters and surrounding land that takes up much of the middle of Cape Breton Island in northeast Nova Scotia. The ‘Golden Arm’ lake area is famed for beauty, boating and seafood. There are many narrow channels dividing the lake restricting the tides which are extreme in the surrounding area, and several rivers reduce the salt content. Above is the Little Narrows cable ferry.

Alexander Graham Bell lived and worked here for many years, and his family still own his beautiful home on the lake. Among many inventions, he designed a hydrofoil that broke the world speed record here in 1919, and it can be seen at his historic site in Baddeck. I enjoyed a day here exploring and admiring the views. Many folks venture up into the highlands on the Cabot Trail or attend ceilidhs (‘kayleez’) to listen to Gaelic music. I enjoyed a couple fine seafood meals and some good local music in Baddeck.

Resolutions

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In 2022, I posted my first park visit (now updated), and by year end had visited over 250 parks across the country by EV. ✓

In 2023, I completed all NPS units in the Mid-Atlantic, National Capital, Rocky Mountain, and Southwest regions. ✓

In 2024, I resolved to visit all 10 American Concentration Camps, go to world heritage sites in Canada and Mexico, and complete the Midwest and North Atlantic regions. ✓

In 2025, I resolved to complete all 51 national parks, 344 park units, and 113 related sites in the contiguous 48 states with 6 regional bests and 48 photo summaries, plus see more world heritage sites and biospheres in Canada and Mexico. ✓

For 2026, I resolve to complete all UNESCO sites in half of Canada’s provinces, make a third road trip to Mexico, find even more national monuments and recreation areas in the US, and drive to southeast Alaska. Logistical challenges and new site designations may thwart my plans, but I will do my best.

Weekly Monday posts will continue to be a new visit. Thursdays will still be sporadic summaries and viewpoints. The first Saturday of each month will be park recommendations. And mid-month on Saturdays I will highlight a climate issue. Hope you have a happy New Year!

Old Town Lunenburg

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UNESCO recognized Lunenburg Nova Scotia for being a well-preserved example of a British planned town, including many lovely, colorful historic buildings. I think that’s missing the point. The town was a success due to its natural harbor, grew quickly and earned its fine buildings by fishing and trade during the age of sail. Plenty of other towns have grid streets and colorful Victorian architecture. But the beauty of the place is its harbor, where two large sailing ships were docked when I arrived. One, the Picton Castle, is a training ship (in background above), and the other is the Bluenose II (foreground), a replica of one of the fastest fishing sailboats in the world. The Bluenose won 5 consecutive world fishing ship races during the 1920s and 30s, before being lost in the Caribbean in the 40s.

If landlubbers come here to see an old church and some other old buildings, then they’re missing the best of Lunenburg. Sit by the harbor and watch the boats. Eat some locally caught seafood in one of the many harborside restaurants. Go to the maritime museum and learn about fishing during the age of sail. My hotel room had a view of tall ship masts to help me dream of adventures, and I caught the Bluenose II on its way out to sea early in the morning, below. This is one of my favorite places to visit.

Landscape of Grand Pré

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UNESCO chose to emphasize the land reclaimed by the Acadians, but the emotional power of the place is conveyed in Longfellow’s epic poem, Evangeline. The British, often at war with their rivals the French, gathered up thousands of neutral Acadian civilians, many whose families had lived in Nova Scotia (and nearby areas) for a hundred years, loaded them on ships and forcibly deported them to France and various colonies. The Grand Dérangement began in 1755, lasted 9 years, deported over 80% of the 14,000 Acadians, and 5,000 of those died due to shipwrecks, disease and starvation. A cross marks the spot where families were loaded into small boats, often separated, and taken on the dramatic tides out to ships in the bay.

The land is important too. The British certainly wanted control of the productive farming land that the Acadians had reclaimed from the sea using a remarkable system of dykes and aboiteaux or sluice gates. Tens of thousands of acres of farmland lies below high tide here, drained by one way gates in massive 17th century dykes. The replacement English speaking settlers, many from New England, maintained the dykes, and today’s warming climate allows vineyards on the surrounding hills. My cousin kindly showed me a working sluice gate, now operated remotely, and we walked along one of the dykes, appreciating the innovation and contemplating the rich red mud cut in deep channels.

Through our inaction on carbon pollution, we cause the sea to rise and claim our productive land. We cause hundreds of millions to be displaced, forcing refugees to move inland. We cause huge economic costs and more deaths due to disease, heat, pollution, starvation and storms.

It is easy today to say that the British were wrong to deport the Acadians. Yes we must admit that we’re committing a far worse global atrocity through our indifference to our carbon emissions.