Discover Cap-Pele

If you’re looking for a hotel in Cap-Pele, local attractions may help you decide: walks and sunsets along the cliffs, the history of smoking herring, or the local cuisine. These features give you a concrete framework for considering Cap-Pele as a destination for your stay.

Cliffs and sunsets

The cliffs near Bas-Cap-Pelé Wharf are accessible for walks and are also a good place to watch the sunset. This scenic spot brings together two different interests: outdoor activity and views at the close of the day. If you’re planning your trip around a particular experience, you can take both options into account without assuming you need to visit different places in Cap-Pelé.

Herring smoking and local history

The Smokehouse Museum is located at the Cap-Acadie Visitor Information Centre in Cap-Pelé. It presents the history and techniques of smoking herring, which grew out of French and Indigenous knowledge. The focus connects a specific craft with the history of the knowledge behind it: it is not fishing or cuisine in general, but the smoking of herring and its associated techniques that take centre stage.

The centre’s grounds also have a historical connection. The first residents of Cap-Pelé settled here in 1804. This brings together two distinct historical themes at the Cap-Acadie Visitor Information Centre: the museum’s presentation of the smoking tradition and the commemoration of the beginnings of settlement on the grounds. The centre also offers travel advice and help with route planning. For practical guidance in Cap-Pelé, it is a separate point of contact in addition to the scenic and historical attractions.

Local cuisine

Cap-Pelé’s local cuisine includes poutine râpée; poutine à trou is one of its local baked goods. The two names therefore refer to different culinary categories. If a destination’s cuisine is a factor in your decision, you can take these as two specific examples of Cap-Pelé’s local food culture without treating them as the same thing. Together with the Smokehouse Museum, they create a local focus on smoking traditions and cuisine, while the cliffs provide a different, scenic emphasis.

Westmorland County as a regional context

Beyond Cap-Pelé’s local attractions, Westmorland County has its own geographical and historical context. The county borders the Northumberland Strait and the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy. Its marshlands were an important part of traditional Mi’kmaq routes. These details relate to Westmorland County and do not describe the cliffs or grounds of the Visitor Information Centre in Cap-Pelé.

The county’s historic sites also have their own distinct focus. Westmorland County is home to Fort Beauséjour/Cumberland, New Brunswick’s only remaining major colonial fort; the fort includes a museum. The British besieged it in 1755, and American rebels did so in 1776. Fort Beauséjour/Cumberland is also a Parks Canada National Historic Site. The dates and the different besiegers give the site a clear historical connection that extends beyond Cap-Pelé’s local history.

Other examples show how varied the region’s themes are. In Shediac, the second railway line built in the Maritimes was inaugurated in 1857. In Sackville, visitors can explore New Brunswick’s industrial shipbuilding past at the Boultenhouse Heritage Centre. The Centre consists of three buildings: a Georgian house built by the Bulmer family around 1790, a Greek Revival-style house built by Boultenhouse in 1840, and the Anderson Octagonal House dating from around 1855. Their architecture and different construction dates make the three buildings a distinct historical theme within Westmorland County.

This distinction can help you choose your destination: Cap-Pelé offers the local attractions described here, including cliffs, smoking traditions, and cuisine; Westmorland County adds other geographical and historical themes. This can help you decide whether you want your stay to focus primarily on Cap-Pelé’s special features or whether you’d also like to include the wider destination’s history in your interests.

Discover more destinations: Memramcook, Murray Corner, Dieppe, Melrose, Moncton, Beaubassin East, Sackville, Shediac.

Return to the regional travel overview: Westmorland County.