The Fundy Trail Parkway is a stretch of land in southern New Brunswick spanning 30km and is the perfect place to experience the natural beauty of the Bay of Fundy and witness the highest tides in the world.
When planning my recent trip to New Brunswick, I knew this had to be one of my top destinations to visit. So continue reading to see my top spots to see and visit at the Fundy Trail Parkway!
More than just a trail, the Fundy Trail Parkway offers a gorgeous drive along the coast of New Brunswick, along with a 10km bike/walking trail. There are over 20 scenic lookouts along the way, making it a full-day adventure.
When planning my trip, I dedicated one full day at the park. However, you could easily spend multiple days. It’s open all year long,
With so many lookouts, observation decks, hiking paths, and waterfalls it’s overwhelming to know what to all see and do – especially if you only have one day! To help, I’ve narrowed down some of my favourite spots we stopped at along the way that I highly recommend checking out!
St. Martin Sea Caves
Although the St. Martin Sea Caves is technically not part of the Fundy Trail Parkway, it’s located just outside the park, minutes away. You basically drive right past it before heading toward the Fundy Trail Parkway. I would highly suggest checking out the times for the low and high tides before hand to make sure you get to experience both. When we first arrived in the morning, it was high tide, and by the time we headed back from the Fundy Trail Parkway, the tide at the sea caves was low. It was amazing to see the difference of the tides. The low tides at the sea caves was such a sight to see as we were able to walk right up into the caves to explore. There’s also a little restaurant right on the beach, called The Caves Restaurant where you can get the “word’s famous chowder”.
Waterfalls
There are four unique waterfalls to be explored at the park. We saw three of them – the first being Fuller Falls. The Fullers Falls is one of the favourites in the park and is close to the parkway and offers a great photo opt.
The second waterfall we saw was the McLeod Brook Falls (a fitting name for my better half, Joel). It’s accessed by the McLeod Brook Trail and involves a bit of a hike before you reach the falls. Watch out for the step decent down on the wooden steps!
The last waterfall we saw was the Walton Glen Gorge/Falls Observation Deck, and is the second highest waterfalls in New Brunswick. Following the trail, you will eventually reach the observation deck. The fence looked rather new, and from some research, the fence was recently put up to prevent people from getting too close to the falls. I quickly understood why as the gorge is very steep!
Suspension Bridge Trail
The suspension footbridge stretches out over the crystal clear waters of the Big Salmon River. It’s 84-metres in length and can’t be missed! Once you cross it, you can soak your feet in the riverbank and enjoy the sun.
Lookouts
Don’t forgot to stop at some of the many lookouts along the way! There are more than twenty lookouts and all offer and unique view of the Bay of Fundy. Honourable mentions are Fox Rock Lookout, Fownes Head Lookout, Melvin Beach Lookout and Bradshaw Lookout.
Enjoy the ride!
Hang on tight as you drive around along the parkway. There are some very sharp turns as you drive, in particular the hairpin turn. It’s a gorgeous view but drivers make sure to keep your eyes on the road!
So there you have it – one day spent at the Fundy Trail Parkway! One thing to note if you are planning to drive straight through to the Fundy National Park, and/or make your way to Alma…. well you can’t. I didn’t realize this when planning. I assumed the trail went through directly to the other side however it does come to an end right before the Fundy National Park, meaning you must turn around and drive back down along the Parkway to the entrance and go around. Apparently the government has made plans over many years to have this road continued, but it hasn’t yet been completed. We did see some construction, so it looked like they were working away on this, and the website does indicate that it’s scheduled to connect to Alma, just outside the gates of the Fundy National Park in 2021.
Don’t forget to download a copy of the map to start planing your trails! If you don’t, not to worry, as you will be provided with one upon your entry.
If you enjoyed my post then make sure to pin the image below! Happy travels!
Leave a Reply