Parlee Beach
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
provincial park
Provincial park
A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...
located in Pointe-du-Chêne
Pointe-du-Chene, New Brunswick
Pointe-du-Chêne is a small community located in south east New Brunswick near Shediac. Located on Shediac Bay, an inlet of the Northumberland Strait, Pointe-du-Chêne, also called The Point, is the home of Parlee Beach Provincial Park...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
.
It is owned by the Government of New Brunswick
Government of New Brunswick
The Government of New Brunswick refers to the provincial government of the province of New Brunswick. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
and operated by the Department of Tourism and Parks. Parlee Beach Provincial Park includes Parlee Beach, arguably the most popular beach in New Brunswick, as well as a 190-site campground, day-use picnic area, restaurant, canteen, ampitheatre, change houses, showers, washrooms, playground and parking for over 10,000 vehicles. The park is open from 8am-10pm during the summer months.
Parlee Beach Provincial Park is located in eastern Westmorland County
Westmorland County, New Brunswick
Westmorland County is located in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. The county contains the fast-growing commercial centre of Moncton as well as its northern and eastern suburbs...
fronting the Northumberland Strait
Northumberland Strait
The Northumberland Strait is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada...
on the northeast side of Pointe-du-Chêne and forming the boundary with the community of Cap-Brulé
Cap-Brulé, New Brunswick
Cap-Brulé is a Canadian rural community located in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.It is an unincorporated community located on the Northumberland Strait immediately east of the community of Pointe-du-Chêne....
.
The waters of the Northumberland Strait are sometimes marketed as having the warmest ocean waters on the east coast of North America north of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Parlee Beach Provincial Park is one of New Brunswick's more popular recreational areas, attracting over 25,000 visitors on weekend days and has annual visitation rates of over 1,000,000 (entirely in the summer months).
The nearby town of Shediac
Shediac, New Brunswick
Shediac is a Canadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.Situated on Shediac Bay, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait, the town calls itself the "Lobster Capital of the World" and hosts an annual festival every July which promotes its ties to lobster fishing; the largest lobster...
benefits from the large number of tourists to the park and forms a summer service centre for numerous cottagers and campers who flock to the area. The popularity of Parlee Beach since the 1800s has created a cottaging area for the city of Moncton
Moncton, New Brunswick
Moncton is a Canadian city, located in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The city is situated in southeastern New Brunswick, within the Petitcodiac River Valley, and lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces...
in communities surrounding Pointe-du-Chêne, ranging from the area of Cocagne and Bouctouche
Bouctouche, New Brunswick
Bouctouche is a Canadian town in Kent County, New Brunswick and in 2006 Census the population was 2,383.The town is located at the mouth of the Bouctouche River on the coast of the Northumberland Strait, approximately 40 kilometres northeast of Moncton....
in the north and Barachois, Robichaud and Cap-Pelé
Cap-Pele, New Brunswick
Cap-Pelé is a Canadian village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.The community's population meets the requirements for "town" status under the Municipalities Act of the Province of New Brunswick, however there has been no move to change municipal status.-Geography:It is located on the...
in the east. This was enhanced by the construction of the 4-lane Route 15
New Brunswick Route 15
Route 15 is 79 km long and is in the southeastern corner of the province of New Brunswick. Starting at the north end of the Petitcodiac River Causeway, it loops around the city of Moncton on Wheeler Boulevard, then turns northeast from Dieppe to Shediac...
expressway from Moncton to Shediac in the 1970s.
The park and beach received its name in 1959 in honour of T. Babbitt Parlee
T. Babbitt Parlee
T. Babbitt Parlee was a lawyer and political figure in New Brunswick, Canada. He represented the city of Moncton in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1952 to 1957 as a Progressive Conservative member....
, the former Minister of Municipal Affairs in the ministry of New Brunswick Premier Hugh John Flemming
Hugh John Flemming
Hugh John Flemming, PC was a politician and the 24th Premier of New Brunswick.He is always known as "Hugh John"...
; Parlee having died in an airplane crash in 1956.
The park extends south from the beach approximately 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) to Main Street (Route 133), with the campground located on the eastern boundary. In 1989 The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
played a successful concert to approximately 20,000 fans at a temporary concert stage on a large mowed green space between Main Street and the beach.
Each spring the provincial government replaces sand
Beach nourishment
Beach nourishment— also referred to as beach replenishment—describes a process by which sediment lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from sources outside of the eroding beach...
on the beach that is lost due to winter storm erosion and storm surge damage.