Magnetic Hill

Drivers noticed the effect in the 1930s and it became one of Canada's earliest roadside attractions. Put a car in neutral at the marked bottom and it rolls, apparently uphill, sometimes surprisingly fast. There is no magnetism and no gravitational anomaly: it is a gravity hill, an optical illusion created when the horizon is obscured and the surrounding slopes are tilted in a way that makes a gentle downhill read as an upward gradient. Surveys confirm the road descends. The effect is convincing enough that people repeat it several times. A zoo, a waterpark and a concert site grew up around it.

History

The hill lies at the foot of Lutes Mountain, a ridge rising several hundred feet above the Petitcodiac River valley, and with the rise in tourism after the Second World War this roughly 1 kilometre stretch of gravel road became, with the tidal bore on the Petitcodiac, one of Moncton's main attractions; it is now a historic property (Wikipedia, Magnetic Hill - Moncton).

What's there

• The rolling car - a vehicle in neutral apparently moving uphill.
• The tilted landscape - the surrounding slopes that create the illusion.
• The repeat runs - most visitors do it two or three times.
• The attraction complex - a zoo and waterpark grown up around the road.

When to go

May to September; the hill operates seasonally with a per-vehicle charge and closes in winter. It takes fifteen minutes unless you visit the other attractions.

What to expect

There is nothing magnetic about it; it is an optical illusion and a survey shows the road slopes down. The visit is very short for the charge. The surrounding attractions are separate tickets.

Nearby

Shediac lies east; Hopewell Rocks are south.

Key facts