This summer, we set our sights on someplace new: Canada! Okay, okay, we’ve definitely been to Canada before, but we’ve never visited its Atlantic coast.
As we crossed the border from Maine into New Brunswick, we headed south for Fundy National Park, which lies alongside the — you guessed it — Bay of Fundy.
When we started this trip, we weren’t really sure how long we’d be on the road since we’ve engineered our lives to have unlimited vacation time. Our goal was similar to previous trips: go as far as we can in our camper van to see as much as we can for as long as it’s fun.
And Fundy National Park was one of the first places we stopped to explore on our journey into the Maritime Provinces.
Fundy is best known for its dramatic tides that ebb and flow as much as 38 feet (11 meters) — roughly the height of a 4-story building! We got to see this remarkable tide change ourselves, while enjoying plenty of other views on our day in Fundy National Park.
Best Things to Do in Fundy National Park
In addition to its coastal landscape, Canada’s Fundy National Park is also home to 25 waterfalls, but only a few of them are easy to get to.
Dickson Falls is the most accessible waterfall hike in Fundy. As we walked the 1-mile (1.5-kilometer) loop trail, we followed a babbling brook from one small cascade to another until we finally came face-to-face with the 25-foot (7-meter) Dickson Waterfall.
The easy path was mostly shaded, and the lush landscape kinda felt like a mystical fairyland, but if I’m being honest, it wasn’t the most impressive waterfall we’d ever seen. It’s worth visiting while you’re in the park though.
At 52 feet (16 meters), Third Vault Falls is Fundy’s tallest waterfall — nearly double the height of Dickson Falls. The 4.5-mile (7.4-kilometer) hike to Third Vault Falls is considered “difficult” by Parks Canada, but since Dickson was labeled as “moderate,” I’m not sure it would be too tough to get to Third Vault.
Another icon in the park is the red covered bridge at Point Wolfe in the southern part of the park. I’m not quite sure about the lore here, but there are several parking areas around this bridge with a couple of famed Parks Canada Red Chairs facing it. To get here, you’ll have to drive all the way until you hit the coast, then head east until the park road nearly dead ends.
The covered bridge wasn’t all that impressive, but there’s a campground at Point Wolfe in addition to a steep trail down to the shore, which was empty and peaceful. It was a pretty warm day until we actually got out to the water’s edge. Somehow, by late afternoon, it had become super windy and chilly. I had to put on a sweater for this hike!
As we drove and hiked through the park, the shapely fir trees and colorful foxglove flowers at Fundy National Park reminded us of what you’d see in the Pacific Northwest — albeit a bit less rugged. The mountains here are smaller than the Rockies and more similar to the craggy coastline of Maine.
Lots of Options for Fundy National Park Camping
There are five different frontcountry campgrounds at Fundy National Park and eight backcountry campsites located inland from the coast at Goose River, Marven Lake, Tracey Lake, and Chambers Lake.
You can also rent yurts at Fundy as well as rustic wood cabins, oTENTik hybrid tented cabins, and those funky, teardrop-shaped Ôasis pods. The prices vary depending on what type of camping you do — from cheaper group tent sites to the fancier Fundy cabins.
All but one of the frontcountry campgrounds is on the coast, which makes sense, because the coastline is definitely the most interesting park feature. Lakeview Campground is located near the north entrance of the park and has the fewest amenities. The other four campgrounds — Headquarters, Chignecto, Point Wolfe, and Cannontown — all have showers, flush toilets, hookups, and more.
We just slept in our van outside the park for free, as usual.
Other Attractions at Fundy Include a Pool and Golf Course
I’m not sure why, but there’s a 9-hole golf course down by the coast in Fundy National Park. There’s also a seaside saltwater pool. It’s heated, unlike the lakes, ocean, and natural waterfall pools you’ll find in the park, but it didn’t look that exciting from outside the fence.
Like camping, these extra attractions aren’t included in your park entry fee. We didn’t do any, so I can’t really say much about them. Since it’s a smaller park, maybe they have these activities to make sure there’s enough to do on longer park stays. 🤷♀️
Experiencing the Huge Bay of Fundy Tides
The most important thing you need to know for a visit to Fundy is the local tide schedule. During high tide, you can paddle out on the Bay of Fundy, and at low tide, you can walk out on the ocean floor. Amazingly, you can do both in about a six-hour time window!
Another thing to take note of before you pack your bags is the weather. The fog off the northern Atlantic Ocean is crazy. We drove through some really dense patches that reduced visibility to near-whiteout conditions. If you try to go to the park during a heavy fog, you won’t see what makes this park so unique. We arrived in the late morning, and we didn’t get full visibility across the Bay until much later in the day. An afternoon visit is definitely better for avoiding Fundy fog.
If I’m being honest, Fundy felt a little lackluster compared to most other National Parks. Seeing the famous tidal shift only takes a well-planned, six-hour window, so my recommendation is to just fill a single day with some waterfall hikes and well-timed visits to the coast, and feel good crossing this park off your list.
As you leave Fundy National Park, take the time to drive 40 minutes up Route 114 to Hopewell Rocks, where you can hike down to walk on the ocean floor at low tide. Luckily, our visit to Hopewell happened to be at both low tide and sunset, so the views were pretty amazing. Be sure to check it out before or after your day trip to Fundy!
— Lauren
