Hopewell Rocks – New Brunswick

Every once and a while you see a natural phenomena that takes your breath away. A highlight of our New Brunswick, Canada trip so far is our visit to what is called Hopewell Rocks. Not too far from the Fundy National Park, where we stayed, is this unique coastal location. Hopewell Rocks puts on a spectacular display of the unbelievable tides found in Fundy Bay. The tides are some of the highest in the world, reaching heights of 46 feet or more.

The Bay of Fundy typically has over 160 billion tons of water filling the bay twice a day. The churning of the water creates a chocolate color in the water, which is a result of the tremendous amount of sediment in the mouth of the bay. The water itself is clear. If you scoop up the Fundy water in a glass, it will soon be crystal-clear when the sediment settles to the bottom.

Ironically, because of the volume of the daily tides, there are no seashells and few fish. At the Hopewell Rocks location we did not see any boats either. What visitors do see are what are called “flower pots” (sea stacks). These rock formations on the beach were created by thousands of years of tides and winds. They typically are 40-70 feet tall. This UNESCO site has 23 flower pots on its shoreline.

When you visit this provincial park your entrance fee is good for two days. This is because you are encouraged to visit both at high tide and low tide. The difference between the two tides is amazing. At low tide, you are able to walk down to the ocean floor to get up close and personal with the flower pot rock formations.

At low tide, we walked for perhaps an hour and a half on the ocean floor taking in the multiple viewpoints and rock formations. Around every corner there is a photo opportunity. In the summer season, there are also guided kayak tours at high tide and you can paddle around the rock formations!

There are only a few hours that you can walk on the ocean floor. The tides can rise 13 feet in one hour. There is even a stand-alone emergency tower that laggards can climb to keep from drowning. Even though it is quite high, it does not keep you completely out of the water. As the ranger told us, “You will be wet, but you will not die.”

One ranger recounted their story of a husband who had stayed too long on the rocky sand. The wife begged her husband to come on back to the high ground. She made it back to the entrance but he did not. Unfortunately for him he had to climb the tower to escape the rising ocean. The wife told the ranger what had happened and they went to the overlook near the emergency tower. The ranger shouted to the man that he would not drown but would be stuck there for 4-5 hours until tides went out. In the mean while, he was going to take his wife to the Visitor Center for lunch!

At high tide, the rocks are no longer on their narrow spindles but “floating” on the water. As you can see the difference is amazing. Full and new moons, wind velocity, and other factors impact the variation of the tides.

You will notice in the photos, many of the flower pots are covered by a seaweed. The kelp-like plants have small bulb modules that contain air and also an aloe like substance. The bulbs help the seaweed float upward when the plant is covered by the ocean. They also determine how old the plant is because they grow one new bulb annually.

If you pop the seaweed bulb and spread it on your skin is is supposed to have medicinal properties. A guide explained to us about this plant and how to obtain the gel found in the bulbs.

With our friends, Paul and Vicki, we explored Hopewell Rocks two days in a row. The first day was at high tide and then at low tide the next morning. The red rocks are stunning and we had a great time exploring this park.

As you can imagine, tides are the star of the Bay of Fundy region. Every publication, bulletin board, restaurant, and even some bathroom doors have posted tide charts. As you will see in future posts, even the regional rivers are impacted by the tides in a dramatic way.

The provincial park has excellent infrastructure and numerous guides at multiple points. There is even a shuttle service if you don’t want to walk to the viewpoints. Additionally there is a Visitor Center, a full service restaurant and, of course, a gift shop.

Another place near Fundy National Park is the lighthouse at Cape Enrage. This location is not typical in that it is more commercialized than most lighthouses you would visit. There is a per-person entrance fee to the grounds. The lighthouse park has a restaurant, gift shop, washroom, zip line, and a kayak outfitter. Of course, the zip line and kayak shop were closed for the season. As we have mentioned before, many activities do not open until the children are out of school on June 21^st.

Lighthouses do not have to be that tall when perched high up on a cliff. The view is wonderful and you can see Nova Scotia in the distance.

There is also a trail and a series of steps down to the water.

We passed two covered bridges as we drove through the countryside.

This covered bridge is from 1902.

Next we head toward Nova Scotia after visiting Moncton, NB to stock up on groceries and perform a trailer repair.

Many people have contacted us asking about the forest fires in Nova Scotia. They have been severe and many people had to evacuate their homes. Fortunately there have been substantial rains in the past week which greatly improved the situation. In fact, it is raining as I write this. Most of the Nova Scotia fires have been contained, but not before over 150 homes were lost.

Nova Scotia implemented a province-wide ban on even going into the woods, which meant that all trails, even those not near the fires or in city parks, have been closed. That ban was rescinded this past Monday. There is still a province-wide ban on open fires. Because of the rain, the terrible smoke that has moved down into places like New York City has not been as prevalent in Nova Scotia.