CARLETON PARK


Used over the years as a Canadian Pacific Railway train yard, lumber yard, and ferry landing, Carleton Park is now northside Fredericton’s favourite riverside park.


Scattered, mature trees; benches; flower beds; picnic tables and sculptures dot the flat area above a gentle slope to the St. John River, part of the Canadian Heritage River System. A boat launch is well-utilized in the summer. The riverfront gravel parking lot is often crowded. Another parking area parallels Union Street.


Carleton Park is accessible by car at 880 Union Street - the foot of Gibson Street. The North Riverfront Trail leads walkers and human-powered transportation enthusiasts from the 600-m Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge through the park. The Ducks Unlimited Conservation Centre and Picaroons Roundhouse bracket the green space. The latter has washroom facilities and parking.


Birding in this 4.6-ha park will yield a wide variety of waterfowl, shorebird, and gull species - especially when in migration - as well as a selection of songbirds in edge habitats. A well-fed flock of Mallards is a near-certainty year-round.

Mallard

Photo by David Lilly

Black-capped Chickadee

New Brunswick's provincial bird.

Photo by David Lilly