In the summer of 2015, my family and I drove from our home in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast, to Quebec City, Quebec, which is about 1,000km away, about a 12-hour drive if you don’t stop.
Instead of driving straight through watching the trees blur by, we decided to take the backroads, stopping at the world’s largest, well…. everything, along the way. From giant lobsters to giant axes, we saw it all.
These kinds of trips are easy to plan, as somebody has already taken the trouble of mapping out most of the roadside attractions around Canada. We relied a lot on the maps of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for this trip, but it can be recreated basically from anywhere you live to anywhere you’re going.
Did you ever want to break up a long drive and see some of the best (and silliest) attractions along your route? Then The World’s BIGGEST Road Trip is an adventure just for you!
We hopped in the car with us and the little Funko Pop family that we often take adventures as stand-ins for us in photos. This way, nobody is left out of the cool places we see and memories we create (and in our family, it’s usually my step-dad, Devin, who’s always the cameraman).
First stop on the World's BIGGEST Road Trip was Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, home of the World’s BIGGEST Artificial Mastodon.
Mastodon Ridge is an attraction that I could get my walker through. Since it was only a quick photo I sat on the picnic bench without my walker because it was easier.
A wheelchair user could get through this grass but if you're in a chair it's not ideal. I would definitely recommend this place to someone like me who can walk with a support person as it’s easier to navigate.
If you have kids there are some fun activities here in Mastodon Ridge like a mini-golf course and ice cream stand.
Next up was the World’s BIGGEST Strawberry, in Great Village, NS. That was followed by the World’s BIGGEST Blueberry in Oxford, NS, the blueberry capital of the world.
Both of these were quick stops by the road so I just used my cane and a support person to grab the snaps!
Once in New Brunswick, the first stop was the World’s BIGGEST Lobster, in Shediac, NB. We also found a giant chicken!
On the other side of Moncton, you can find the World’s BIGGEST Silver Fox in Salisbury, NB (it’s in the parking lot of the Irving Big Stop, so you can grab a piece of pie here too).
From here it was on the Magerville, home of the World’s BIGGEST Potato!
Then we hopped in the car and drove to Nackawic, NB, and saw World's BIGGEST axe. This thing was big! The biggest thing we saw the whole trip.
Next up was Millville, which was really off the beaten trail, but hey, when you have a chance to see the World’s BIGGEST Maple Leaf, you go see the World’s BIGGEST Maple Leaf.
From here, it was on to one of the more well-known tourist attractions in New Brunswick, the World’s LONGEST Covered Bridge in Harland.
It is really cool to drive on, but it's one lane and you need to wait your turn to drive through. Because it’s so long, that can take a while.
Next we stopped in Florenceville, NB., which is famous as the home of the McCain French Fries, but also this giant Noah’s Ark.
We continued our family adventure to Plaster Rock, NB home of the World's BIGGEST Fiddleheads. If you don’t know, those are a kind of greens New Brunswick is famous for.
We spent the night at a hotel in Edmundston, NB. As long as I have help I don’t need a fully accessible room, so we didn’t make any special arrangements here, but I did have a bit of a hard time getting on the bed because of the height.
Staying overnight might have taken us a little longer to make the trip, but we weren’t going to drive straight through to Quebec anyway.
The next day we packed our bags and drove on to our final stop in Quebec City, where there’s lots to see and do. We just happened to find a truck made out of straw at a Tim Horton's when we arrived in Quebec!
We explored the city a bit. Old Quebec is all cobblestone streets and is not ideal for wheelchair users, but for people like me who can walk with a walker or cane it can be manageable with some work and assistance. If your plan to travel here I would highly recommend a support person to help you get around.
Exploring Old Quebec!
If you like history this is the place. There are lots of historic places such as the Plains of Abraham battleground and museum, which is an accessible museum.
Animal lovers can check out the Aquarium du Quebec. It is accessible and has lots of cool live animals such as polar bears, starfish, penguins and more.
It’s always good when you book to let them know you use a wheelchair or other medical equipment so they can accommodate your needs.
To book your visit to the aquarium visit https://www.sepaq.com/reservation
and to find out more about the aquarium visit https://www.sepaq.com/ct/paq/index.dot?language_id=1
If hiking and seeing nature is your thing, Montmorency Falls, just outside the city, is a must-visit.
It is fully accessible for wheelchair users and you get to see some pretty cool sights after taking a cable car up high. The falls are 83m (272 feet), which is 30m higher than Niagara Falls!
They do have wheelchairs you can rent but I would recommend bringing your own as there is a limited amount and it’s first come, first serve.
Coming home from Quebec was a little more straightforward, but we still stopped to see Grand Falls (which were pretty dry, so not that grand that day), Yogi Bear, and the World’s HIGHEST Tides in the Bay of Fundy.
I hope you enjoyed this epic journey to Quebec City and seeing the World's BIGGEST attractions in eastern Canada. I hope it inspires you to do the same.