New Simpson Hill Brochures Available

Thanks to a grant from the Fundy Community Foundation, new updated brochures have been printed. You can find them at the trail head, tourist information centres in the area and selected other locations in the area.

Click here to download a PDF version of the brochure.

Welcome to Simpson Hill!

Simpson Hill Is strategically located overlooking the "cross" in the St. Croix River, the place that gave rise to the name given to the River by Champlain in the early 1600's. Reaching almost 600 feet, it is the highest and most readily accessible lookout on the Canadian side of the River. The partial panorama photo above looks directly across to the Ganong Nature Park at Todd's Point. On the left is the main River which goes on to St.Stephen / Calais. To the right is Oak Bay and the Waweig River. To the extreme left is the lower estuary which goes offshore to Passamaquoddy Bay and the Bay of Fundy.

We are in the process of constructing this site, so check back later for more photos, news and other great stuff for your outdoor recreation pleasure!

In the meantime, you can find out more about Simpson Hill by clicking on one of the navigation links at the left.

Trail Spirit

Apart from our own enjoyment of being able to hike or bike on a trail to appreciate or commune with nature, exercise the body, and, in those special quiet places that we cherish, nurture one’s soul, there is no question that trails serve a very real and practical purpose.

From prehistoric times trails have served to facilitate and guide all creatures from place to place of importance to them, and we humans have always shared trails with other animals when convenient. Trails may have an obvious use such as linking island communities, but it is still difficult to tell whether they began as animal or human tracks. I suspect the former! It is gratifying to see this shared usage and the evolution of a trail over the decades.

It is also gratifying to see, for instance, that the development, promotion, and use of a trail system (Eg, Simpson Hill) can become such an issue in the controversy over proposed industrial expansion that could reduce a cherished wilderness area to rubble. Trails can make a difference, and we must use them or lose them, and a lot more!

However, this all depends on the grand “we”. The Van Horne Heritage Trail Inc. has the opportunity here and now to make a real difference in the long term future of our region. We have a responsibility to our children to preserve not squander our inheritance, and this region is particularly rich in natural beauty and resources that have been threatened now for a hundred years. Thoreau said, “In Wildness is the Preservation of the World”. We can and MUST do our part. We meet here today to discuss how best we can work together and individually, including a network of workers, to accomplish this.

Let us make a plan, and work the plan.

Help save Simpson Hill!

Click here to get information on who to contact with your concerns about the preservation of Simpson Hill!

You can also view a selection of the proposals sent to the various Departments and Ministers on the future of Simpson Hill.

New Trail Signage Goes Up

Tim Foulkes places new signage along the trail - Thanks Tim!

Contact Tim Foulkes 529 3977, or cell 467 6861
http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/tjdaff

Earth Day Hike 2008 a Great Success!

The Charlotte County chapter of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick organized a hike on Earth Day, April 22nd 2008, led by Tim Foulkes of Bayside who has helped create a network of trails at this beautiful place called Simpson Hill, in Bayside. Foulkes took the attached photos as the sun was setting, showing about 30 hikers and 3 dogs enjoying the evening.

"The trails, the forest, and the view from Table Top seemed to be appreciated by everyone, and many said they were looking forward to exploring some of the other of the dozens of trails available," said Foulkes.

Residents of Bayside, the towns of Saint Andrews and St. Stephen and the Conservation Council Charlotte County chapter are all concerned about the future of Simpson Hill in the face of a possible expansion of the Bayside quarry currently engaged in a Port Expansion Project at the Champlain Industrial Park in Bayside.

Citizens are urged to contact Greg Byrne at Business New Brunswick, which owns the land on which the trails have been established, and ask that the hill be permanently protected from all development and set aside as Green Space for low impact recreation and enjoyment of nature.

PHOTOS by Tim Foulkes: "Conservation Council supporters celebrating Earth Day from Table top, Simpson Hill" and "Sunset over Oak Bay from Table Top on Simpson Hill, Bayside, NB"