Driving the scenic highway 105 along the St. John river valley to Hartland (longest covered bridge in the world), New Brunswick

Brian Mulroney Hall

Before we leave Fredericton, we take a walk through the 'University of New Brunswick'. Built in 1785, it is the oldest English-language university in Canada. Something always seems to draw us to check out universities.

It has a few nice buildings and views of the city and St. John river valley, but the grounds are looking tired. I guess that can happen after 250 years.

Archway to a courtyard

Highway 105 along the St. John river valley is absolutely beautiful. The rolling hills and agricultural lands are very nice with the trees just showing tinges of the fall red colours we hope to catch. 

Hartland Covered Bridge 

Today's destination is the 'Hartland Bridge', which is the longest covered bridge in the world. It was originally opened in 1901 as an uncovered bridge, but between 1920 and 1922, the gabled roof and vertical sides were added following structural rebuilds after ice damage.

View from the other side of the bridge

Apparently uncovered wooden bridges rot and deteriorate rapidly (10-15 years) while covering a bridge extends its lifespan to 80 years or more. Also keeping snow off the bridge deck is helpful today but it was super useful back in the day of horse-drawn sleighs. 

Covered bridge behind our spot for tonight

The bridge also has a large parking area where people are allowed to spend the night when travelling through the area. Works for us :)