Things to do in Shediac
A small town on a warm bay, with more going on than its size suggests. Here’s what’s worth your time, sorted by season, from people who live here.
Shediac Wonderland runs several of the places below, and they’re marked. We’ve listed the others because a guide that only names its own houses isn’t a guide.
Checked October 2026. Seasons and hours change; confirm before you drive.
All year
The Giant Lobster
229 Main Street · open all year · free
The 90-tonne sculpture that made Shediac the self-declared lobster capital of the world. There’s a staircase for the photo. Everyone takes it; nobody regrets it.
The trails
Downtown to Pointe-du-Chêne and Parlee Beach · all year
More than 12 km of walking and cycling paths link the town centre, the wharf, and the beach, with wooded trails off Riverside Drive. Snowshoes and fat bikes take over in winter.
Le Moque-TortueShediac Wonderland
402 Main Street · open all year
A French-style bistro with lobster, oysters, Acadian dishes, and one of Canada’s largest board game collections (over 5,000 boxes). Games are $10 a table, free when everyone orders a main. The rainy-day answer, and the winter one.
Adorable ChocolatShediac Wonderland
395 Main Street · open all year
Chocolatier and café: ganaches composed by hand, coffee, breakfast, and pastries. Winter hours are 7:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Maritime Crafts & More
342 Main Street (Shediac Mall, rear) · May to December
An indoor market of more than a hundred Maritime makers. Good for gifts that weren’t made in a factory.
Summer and shoulder season
Parlee Beach Provincial Park
45 Parlee Beach Road, Pointe-du-Chêne · park open mid-May to mid-October · day-use fee per vehicle
Long, sandy, shallow, and famously warm for the Atlantic coast. Dogs aren’t allowed on the beach itself. Come early on hot weekends.
Morse et Marteaux, Parlee Beach EastShediac Wonderland
At the east end of Parlee Beach · summer season
The beach canteen and the East Tikki Bar: barbecue from the smokehouse, cold drinks, and sand within reach.
Pointe-du-Chêne wharf
64 Pointe-du-Chêne Wharf Road · May long weekend to Labour Day
Boats, gulls, a few shops and restaurants, and a deck for watching the bay. The cruises leave from here.
Shediac Bay Cruises
60 Pointe-du-Chêne Wharf Road · June to September
A two-and-a-half-hour cruise that hauls a lobster trap and ends with a lobster meal. The tour most visitors remember.
Le Paddle
231A Main Street, behind the Giant Lobster · June to August
Paddleboard, kayak, and dinghy rentals on the bay.
The Homarus Centre
229 Main Street · May to mid-October
The lobster interpretation centre beside the Giant Lobster: a touch tank, a guided gallery, and a fishing-shed replica, about an hour. Witzend’s kiosk inside gives local advice in season.
The Neptune Drive-In TheatreShediac Wonderland
693 Route 133, Pointe-du-Chêne · May to October
A drive-in since 1965: double features under the stars on a 72-foot screen, the sound on 92.7 FM, and a canteen. Closed for the season until May 2027.
Bazar NeptuneShediac Wonderland
On the Neptune grounds · Friday evenings in season
A Friday evening market of makers, growers, and artisans, from 5 pm until the Neptune’s showtime. Free to wander. The 2027 dates are still to come.
The Shediac Lobster Festival
Downtown · 3 to 11 July 2027
The town’s own summer festival, now well past its seventieth edition: concerts, a midway, fireworks, and a great deal of lobster.
The Shediac Old Train Station Museum
231 Belliveau Avenue · summer
The 1906 station, with railway artefacts and the story of the line that made Shediac a resort.
The 2027 festivals
Three festivals, three eras, one town. Tickets are on sale through each festival’s own site.
The Shediac MascaradeShediac Wonderland
28 to 30 May 2027
A Regency-era masquerade weekend, set in 1816, with a masked ball on the Saturday night.
The Shediac Renaissance FaireShediac Wonderland
20 to 22 August 2027 · the Neptune grounds and Parlee Beach
Jousting, a merchant village of Maritime makers, music, feasts, and a costume parade through the village on the Saturday.
AfterlandShediac Wonderland
1 to 3 October 2027
A post-apocalyptic festival set in the year 2285. Costumes strongly encouraged, wasteland chic optional.
When it rains, and in winter
Indoors in town
Le Moque-Tortue for lunch and a long game, Adorable Chocolat for coffee and chocolate, Maritime Crafts & More until December, and the town’s galleries on Main Street.
Le GriffonShediac Wonderland
426 Main Street · open all year
An 1896 Italianate villa with five rooms, each with a private bathroom, and breakfast at Adorable, seven doors down. Shediac in winter is quiet in the best way.
La Maison Pascal-Poirier
399 Main Street
The oldest house still standing in the heart of Shediac, built around 1825 and owned by the Town. It’s closed for now, with a reopening planned for 2027.
Day trips
Cap-Pelé and Aboiteau Beach
About 20 minutes east · beach season June to mid-September
A long sandy beach and the smokehouses that made Cap-Pelé’s name.
Bouctouche
About 30 minutes north · summer
The Irving Eco-Centre’s boardwalk over the 12 km dune, and Le Pays de la Sagouine, an island of Acadian living theatre.
Murray Beach Provincial Park
Little Shemogue · mid-May to mid-September
Another warm-water beach, quieter than Parlee.
Moncton
About 25 minutes west
Magnetic Hill and its zoo, the tidal bore on the Petitcodiac, and a city’s worth of restaurants and shows.
Questions
What is there to do in Shediac in winter?
Le Moque-Tortue and Adorable Chocolat are open all year, the trails turn into snowshoe and fat-bike routes, the Giant Lobster never closes, and Le Griffon takes guests year-round. Most beach and wharf attractions are seasonal.
What can we do in Shediac when it rains?
A long lunch and a board game at Le Moque-Tortue, coffee and chocolate at Adorable, the makers’ market at Maritime Crafts & More (May to December), and, in season, the Homarus Centre.
When is Parlee Beach open?
The provincial park opens from mid-May to mid-October; there’s a day-use fee per vehicle. The water is warmest in July and August.
When is the Shediac Lobster Festival in 2027?
From 3 to 11 July 2027.
Is the Neptune Drive-In open now?
The Neptune runs from May to October. It’s closed for the season until May 2027.
Looking for dinner? See Where to eat in Shediac.
