What actually happens
The City describes it simply: you drive your car to the bottom of the hill, put it in neutral, and roll back uphill. What feels like a climb is not what it seems: the City's own name for the attraction, the Magnetic Hill Illusion, gives the game away. It calls it a natural phenomenon known as a gravity hill, on what was once a horse cart path at the base of Lutes Mountain. Knowing that it is an illusion does not spoil it. The car still seems to drift up the road on its own, and adults laugh as much as children do.
- Address
- Magnetic Hill Park, 2846 Mountain Rd, Moncton, NB E1G 2W7
- Phone
- 506.877.7720
- Fee
- $10 per car, $60 per bus
- From the hotel
- About 1.4 km by road — our own OpenStreetMap measurement
- Season
- May to September; closed October to April
When it is open
| Period | Open | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| January – April | Closed | — |
| May 2 – June 8 | Thursdays to Mondays | $10 / car |
| June 11 – September 7 | 7 days a week | $10 / car |
| September 8 – 30 | Saturdays and Sundays | $10 / car |
| October – December | Closed | — |
The City adds that the hill opens to the public only when weather and road conditions allow a safe experience, and that using the hill during the winter months is prohibited, to prevent damage. When it is closed, please respect the barriers. A weekend in November or December still has plenty to do, starting with the zoo across the park.
How to do it with kids
Summer weekends are the busy season for every attraction in the park, so go early if you can. Let the kids watch the road behind through the rear window while the car rolls; it is more convincing from the back seat. Do it twice: once to be amazed, once to work out how it fools you.
For the hill
- Cash or card for the $10 car fee
- A phone to film the roll from the back seat
- A short explanation of optical illusions for the curious ones
- Patience if there is a line of cars waiting their turn
The rest of Magnetic Hill Park
The hill is only one part of the City's Magnetic Hill Park. According to the zoo, the park includes the Magnetic Hill Zoo, the Magnetic Hill Illusion, the Magnetic Hill Concert Site, the Magnetic Hill Wharf Village and Magic Mountain Water Park.
- All year
Magnetic Hill Zoo
Atlantic Canada's leading zoo by its own description, with over 75 species.
- Seasonal
Wharf Village
Shops, food and treats in a village by the hill, started in 1987 and refreshed in 2018. Closed for the season at our check, with Christmas on the Wharf announced for 12 Nov – 5 Dec.
- Seasonal
Magic Mountain
A water park with SplashZone, FunZone rides, four 9-hole mini golf courses and an arcade. Closed through October 2026.
- Ask locally
Concert Site
Listed by the zoo as one of the park's venues. We found no schedule for it on the pages we checked.
Magic Mountain manages attendance in its water and ride zones and sells tickets for a specific date; if it is sold out online, it says, tickets will not be sold at the gate. Book ahead in high summer.
Getting there from the hotel
It is a short drive along Mountain Road. Use the links below; the first opens the illusion in Google Maps directions from the hotel's address.
Hotel to the Magnetic Hill, by car
Sources for this page, read on 31 October 2026: