Fun on the Bay of Fundy

Fundy National Park

Fundy National Park in Canada is a couple of hours drive from St. John, New Brunswick. It is an 80 sq. mile park located on the northwestern side of the Bay of Fundy. It opened in 1950 and about 250,000 people visit annually.

This national park has so much to offer its visitors. There are many hiking and biking trails, a golf course, a swimming pool, and other places to explore as well. At low tide you can explore the exposed beach and at high tide you can sit on the benches on a cliff overlooking the bay and watch the tides change.

There are five campgrounds and there are other lodging options available too if camping is not your preference.

We stayed at the Headquarters campground because it was the only one open at the time. In high season, all the campgrounds are open. One of the favorites is Chignecto campground but it was delayed in opening because of the damage that Hurricane Fiona caused. The park lost about 3,000 trees in that campground alone and had to remove 2,000 of them. They were finishing up the clean up when we arrived and are planning to open up by late June. Hurricanes can be very damaging even this far north.

After getting set up in the campground, our good friends, Paul and Vicki, arrived. We will traveling together for the next 6 weeks and are looking forward to many adventures as we explore the Maritime provinces.

One of our first adventures in the park was to go to Point Wolfe where there is a picturesque covered bridge. Built in 1992, this 94 ft. long red structure is maintained by the Parks Canada. The current bridge is modeled after the earlier 1910 bridge.

From the bridge, you can see remnants of what was a saw mill and a dam. Point Wolfe mill operated on this site from 1826-1921. During high tide, ships would enter the river and pick up a load of lumber. It is estimated that between 3-6 million board feet were sent to New England and as far away as the British Isles each year. While logging was an economic boom for the area, it proved to be detrimental to the fish population. The fish began to disappear due to the amount of sawdust that was deposited in the Point Wolfe River. Since the creation of the national park, they removed the dam across the river and have worked to increase the fish population and to reestablish the forest that was destroyed by the logging.

Fundy National Park has over 25 waterfalls so we decided to check one out. The Dickson Falls is the most popular trail in the park. This short 1 km. hike leads you along the cool and lush Dickson Brook with its moss-covered banks. This beautiful waterfall is the most photographed and we can certainly see why. It was gorgeous.

Alma, New Brunswick

The nearest town to the national park is the small town of Alma which is in easy walking distance from the Headquarters campground. The town boasts 232 people who make their living by catering to tourists in season and fishing for lobster and scallops in the bay. There is only one grocery store that is also the only gas station and has the only ATM in town. A bank is about 45 minutes away. There are several cute gift shops to poke around in and the merchants were very friendly. There are at least 8 eateries and we ate at the Tipsy Tails Restaurant and the Muddy Rudder Grill and both were very good.

Kelly’s Bakery on Main St. is famous for their “sticky buns.” In summer, people wait in a long line that stretches down the street to purchase these hot rolls. We got to talk to the owner and she told us that they arrive at 3 AM to start making these sweets and keep making them until 6 PM when they close. Their one day record was on August 5, 2019 when they sold 4,392 sticky buns. During the weekend of Aug. 1-3, 2020, they sold a record 10,892. That’s a lot of sticky buns!

Another interesting place in Alma is the Holy Whale Brewery and the Buddha Bear Coffee Roaster and Cafe. These two businesses share the same building that was once a church. The owners have left the stained glass windows and pews serve as seating at the tables. It was unique place to go to enjoy a beverage.

Fundy Trail Parkway

The Fundy Trail Parkway is a 19 mile scenic drive along the coast of New Brunswick. It was the brain child of several people like Dr. Mitchell Franklin who promoted its development to the provincial and federal government officials. Finally, after much lobbying, the government allocated fund and they completed the first phase of the parkway’s construction in 1998. Access to the parkway on connector roads was not available until 2021. The road from the national park to the parkway is new enough that it is not mentioned in many guidebooks.

It may seem like driving along the coast would be a short excursion but we stayed there all day because there is so much to do and see along the way. There are waterfalls to visit, 21 scenic overlooks to view the Bay of Fundy, 7 beaches to enjoy, and 22 miles of hiking and biking trails to explore.

There are two entrance stations: one in the north that is about a 45 min. drive from the national park, and another in the south near St. Martins. Be aware that the park does charge an admission fee and it is not part of the National Park system so if you have a Canadian Parks Pass, it will not work here.

After driving the length of the parkway and stopping often we still did not see or do everything. Here are some of our favorite places that we visited:

The Walter Glen Gorge is called the “Grand Canyon of New Brunswick.” This gorge plunges 300 feet down to the Little Salmon River. From the observation deck high up on the cliff, we could see Walton Glen Falls and the Bay of Fundy. The short trail from the Visitor Center to the observation deck was relatively short and the views were spectacular.

We had other breath-taking view awaiting us as we stopped at a number of overlooks that offered a variety of vistas of the coastline and the Bay of Fundy.

Quaco

Long Beach is a fascinating place to spend some time. At the small interpretative center, the docent was very knowledgeable and gave us some information about this area. Interestingly, the first settlement on Long Beach was the Tufts clan. They were from England and emigrated to New England and finally Long Beach. Peter Tufts founded Tufts University and Tufts Medical School in Massachusetts while there in the early 1800s..

When the tide is low, the ocean reveals a beach area that extends 1640 ft. into the Bay of Fundy and it is 1.5 miles long. We were there at low tide so we were able to walk out on the ocean floor. The beach area is a combination of rocky areas and sandy ones. There were riverlets running back into the ocean so you had to watch where you stepped unless you wanted to freeze your toes off because the water is quite cold now. It was an awesome experience to get to walk out so far into the ocean.

Walking on the 275 ft. long Suspension Foot Bridge across the Salmon River was exciting. Previously, there was a covered bridge to get across the river but it was washed away so they replaced it with a footbridge. It was fun walking to the other side of the river and back on this wobbly-feeling bridge.

Not far from the footbridge is the Parkway’s Interpretive Center and Gift Shop. They had great information about the history of the area and the creation of the parkway.

Fuller Falls is one of the favorite waterfalls along the parkway. To access the observation deck, you have to walk down a steep cable ladder. Our efforts were rewarded with a beautiful view of the falls.

Once we exited the Fundy Trail Parkway, we went into the small town of St. Martins. We found a great place that served a delicious lobster roll, seafood chowder and, of course, ice cream. A perfect ending to a wonder-filled day.

So far we have really had a lot of fun along the Bay of Fundy and there are still many more amazing places yet to explore.