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Parlee Beach Provincial Park is a
provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...
located in Pointe-du-Chêne,
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, Canada.


Geography

Parlee Beach Provincial Park is located in eastern Westmorland County fronting the
Northumberland Strait The Northumberland Strait (French: ''détroit de Northumberland'') is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada. The strait is formed by Prince Edward Island and the gulf's eastern, southern, and western sho ...
on the northeast side of Pointe-du-Chêne and forming the boundary with the community of Cap-Brulé.


History

The park and beach received its name in 1959 in honour of T. Babbitt Parlee, the former Minister of Municipal Affairs in the ministry of New Brunswick Premier
Hugh John Flemming Hugh John Flemming (January 5, 1899 – October 16, 1982) was a politician and the 24th premier of New Brunswick from 1952 to 1960. He is always known as "Hugh John". Born in Peel, New Brunswick, Canada, the son of James Kidd Flemming, Premi ...
; Parlee having died in an airplane crash in 1957. The park extends south from the beach approximately to Main Street ( Route 133), with the campground located on the eastern boundary. In 1989,
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
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 on the beach that is lost due to winter storm erosion and storm surge damage.


Present day

The property is owned by the
Government of New Brunswick The Government of New Brunswick (french: Gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick) refers to the provincial government of the province of New Brunswick. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. The Provinces and territories of ...
and operated by the Department of Tourism and Parks. Parlee Beach Provincial Park includes the following facilities: * Parlee Beach, arguably the most popular beach in New Brunswick * a 190-site campground * a day-use picnic area * a restaurant * a canteen * change houses * showers * washrooms * a playground * parking lots with a capacity for over 1,000 vehicles * $11.00 per vehicle per day * $87.00 for a season pass The park is open from 8am-10pm during the summer months. Parlee Beach is patrolled by
lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED first a ...
s from the first weekend of June until
Labour Day Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...
. The waters of the Northumberland Strait are sometimes marketed as having some of the warmest ocean waters on the east coast of North America north of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. Parlee Beach Provincial Park is one of New Brunswick's most popular recreational areas, and in 2011 had more than 400,000 visitation (entirely in the summer months). Visitation may have peaked in 2016 when there were 23,569 daily visitor permits sold that year. That number declined to 17,110 permits in 2017 and 15,287 in 2018. The recent decline appears to have been a result of negative publicity resulting from elevated fecal coliform counts in the water.


Economic impact

The nearby town of
Shediac Shediac (official in both languages; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a heavily Acadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The town is home to the famous Parlee Beach and is known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts a ...
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 (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...
in communities surrounding Pointe-du-Chêne, ranging from the area of Cocagne and
Bouctouche Bouctouche is a Canadian town in Kent County, New Brunswick. History Bouctouche was originally named Tjipogtotjg (pronounced ''Chebooktoosk''), a Mi'kmaq word meaning "Great Little Harbour". The region was next settled by brothers Francois L ...
in the north and
Barachois A barachois is a term used in Atlantic Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Réunion and Mauritius Island to describe a coastal lagoon partially or totally separated from the ocean by a sand or shingle bar. Sometimes the bar is constructed of boul ...
, Robichaud and Cap-Pelé in the east. This was enhanced by the construction of the 4-lane Route 15 expressway from Moncton to Shediac in the 1970s.


See also

* Pointe-du-Chêne *
Shediac Shediac (official in both languages; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a heavily Acadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The town is home to the famous Parlee Beach and is known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts a ...
*
List of New Brunswick parks This is a list of protected natural areas of New Brunswick. For other areas see List of historic places in New Brunswick. Provincial statute Provincial parks are managed provincially by Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture or the Depart ...
*
List of beaches in Canada This is a list of beaches by province or territory in Canada. British Columbia * Crescent Beach * English Bay (Vancouver) (including Sunset Beach, Second Beach and Third Beach) * Jericho Beach * Kitsilano, Vancouver * Locarno Beach, Vancouver * ...


References

{{New Brunswick parks Beaches of New Brunswick Provincial parks of New Brunswick Greater Shediac Geography of Westmorland County, New Brunswick Landforms of Westmorland County, New Brunswick Tourist attractions in Westmorland County, New Brunswick