Hampton: Nature, History and Fall Festival

Hampton offers several distinct reasons to stay: the annual Fall Festival with local markets, the natural surroundings of Hampton Marsh and Ossekeag Creek, and the history showcased at Kings County Museum. If you’re looking for a hotel in Hampton, you can plan your trip around whether an event, the landscape, or culture is your main focus.

Trails and Wetlands

The Dutch Point Park Trail follows Ossekeag Creek through a diverse wetland and forms part of the Trans Canada Trail (The Great Trail). It includes five routes. Its connection to the creek and the Trans Canada Trail makes it a distinct landscape highlight; Hampton Marsh offers a different perspective on the river lowlands. If you’re interested in the stream and wetlands, you can make the trail a specific focus of your trip planning.

Hampton Marsh is one of the largest and most diverse areas in the Saint John River floodplain. Within the wider destination of Kings County, the marsh is also part of a network of oxbows, tributaries, and backwaters of the Kennebecasis River. The marsh offers opportunities for birdwatching, photography, boating, canoeing, and kayaking; in winter, cross-country skiing and ice skating are also available. This means nature watching and water activities are complemented by winter activities. If winter sports are a deciding factor for your stay, check conditions in advance.

History at Kings County Museum

Kings County Museum is located in Hampton, in the Centennial Building and the adjacent former Kings County Gaol. Rotating exhibits explore the history of Kings County through pioneer artifacts, wartime memorabilia from the Seven Years’ War to the Second World War, textiles, handicrafts, and an extensive archival collection. The museum also shares stories about horse thieves, war heroes, and a seamstress from the time of Confederation. Regional history and stories take center stage here—a different focus from the landscape along the creek and in the marsh.

Events and Regional Context

Hampton’s annual Fall Festival includes local markets. Unlike trails and museum exhibitions, it is a specific event around which you can plan your stay. If the festival is the reason for your trip, check the event dates before booking a hotel.

Kings County also offers its own historical and cultural points of interest. In Sussex, the Intercolonial Railway Station is a one-and-a-half-storey brick railway station in the Craftsman style; the station and freight building are connected by a covered passageway. The station is designated a Local Historic Place because it played a prominent role in the early development of the community of Sussex, and today it houses the 8th Canadian Hussars Museum. Sussex also has 21 historic sites designated under the Local Historic Places Program. Also within Kings County, the Agricultural Fair continues to be held every year at the Agricultural Museum.

Discover more destinations: Norton, Rothesay, Sussex, Penobsquis.

Back to the broader travel overview: Kings County.