Like prisoners in Pirates of the Caribbean, beach lovers in New Brunswick escape the cities every summer and demand their “right to Parlee.” Just outside the Acadian town of Shediac, Parlee Beach Provincial Park ($10 per vehicle for the day) preserves a 2.5-kilometre treasure chest of soft sand that so gradually dips into the Northumberland Straiht it boasts some of the warmest Atlantic salt water north of the Carolinas.

There’s action for landlubbers, too, including a roller coaster at the adjacent amusement park, volleyball and sandcastle tournaments, a restaurant, seaside concerts and, last year, a “Surf-ivor” competition, featuring castaways in a live-action reality show.