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We hit the Fundy Trail Parkway near the end of our vacation to New Brunswick. It had rained for almost THE ENTIRE WEEK we were there, so we weren’t going to let a little rain on this day slow us down. The hills did that. I absolutely loved this adventure and if you ever decide to go, I’m sure you will too.
The Fundy Trail Parkway itself is a road that winds along the coast overlooking the Bay of Fundy, in southern New Brunswick. Near the entrance to the Parkway begins the multi-use path, which is roughly 10 kilometres long, and can be used for hiking and biking. The path ends at the Fundy Trail Interpretive Centre that overlooks Big Salmon River. The multi-use path was our plan for the day.
View of the coastline from the Fundy Trail.
Getting There
There are easy-to-follow driving directions on the Fundy Trail Parkway website. You can also use these coordinates to get you there: 45.390598, -65.460643.
We arrived at the entrance to the Parkway around noon, and paid the admission fee to get in ($8.50 each- they take cash or debit/credit). The woman at the booth was very helpful, although when we told her we planned to bike the multi-use path she gently reminded us that the Parkway closed at 5 p.m. Maybe she thought we wouldn’t make it back in time? Once we got started I could see why she was worried.
We parked in the first parking lot (p1) and unloaded our bikes. It was really easy to access the path. We walked towards the coast, and then we were on the path, and on our way. We turned left and headed east towards the Fundy Trail Interpretive Centre.
The Route
Our bike ride started out gently enough, but that didn’t last long. Make sure you check out the elevation charts at the end of this post.
We figured out two things very quickly; we were going to get some beautiful views, and this was going to be a VERY TOUGH RIDE. Some of the hills were so steep that I had to get off and walk partway (okay, almost all the way) up.
The view from Melvin Beach, one of the lookouts (rest spots!) along the Trail.
The path itself was in great shape the whole way, with washroom facilities accessible at multiple points. A mountain or hybrid bike is a definite must. The path is well groomed, but still changes terrain from paved to dirt to gravel and back throughout the 10 kilometres.
Even though the Fundy Trail Parkway winds alongside the path, there is enough tree coverage that you really do feel you’re biking through the forest. I also loved that there were so many lookouts that we had an excuse to stop and rest often throughout the ride. At every lookout point there is an access point from the Parkway to the path. If you wanted to go for a shorter ride you have a ton of options to drive further along the Parkway than we did, park, and access the path.
All the lookouts were beautiful, but my absolute favourite were the Fuller Falls.
The Fuller Falls- they can be viewed from above, or from a platform accessed by going down a long set of stairs.
It took us two hours to bike the 10K into the Interpretive Centre, where we stopped for lunch. There was a lovely wraparound porch overlooking Big Salmon River that we were able to sit on to eat the lunch we had packed. While we ate, we were lucky enough to spot an eagle flying into her nest in the forest across from us! Inside the Centre there are washrooms and a gift shop, as well as displays and information about the history of the area. We decided to grab a coffee and some of the homemade molasses cookies they had for sale. They were AMAZING, and I don’t even like molasses cookies. Yum.
Big Salmon River as seen from the Interpretive Centre.
Getting Home
We had gotten lucky with the rain so far, but could tell from the clouds that we were going to get wet soon. After lunch we decided to bike back on the Fundy Trail Parkway, to see if we could shave some time off our trip. Leaving the Interpretive Centre and heading in the direction of the entrance, we felt like we were going uphill forever. But, the 10K ride back only took us an hour, which was a good thing as it had started to rain near the end of our journey.
The Fundy Trail Parkway is in great shape. I don’t think I saw a single pothole the entire way back. It was also really neat to see the coastline from a different vantage point, as we were up above the trees for most of the ride back. We had really great views for the entire ride. If you have a road bike and are considering biking the Parkway, I would definitely recommend it.
Done for the day, we packed up and hit the road. We left the same way as we had come in, because even though the Parkway itself is much longer than the path, the end of it is still under development. Currently, there’s only one way in and out. The intent is one day for the Fundy Trail Parkway to be part of a network that connects to Fundy National Park, but that goal has yet to be achieved.
Down the road, about six kilometres from the entrance to the Parkway, are the St. Martins sea caves. We were really lucky with our timing on the way back. The tide was out, so we decided to stop and walk along the ocean floor to explore the sea caves more closely. I couldn’t help wishing we had more time in this amazing area to do some kayaking! There was a restaurant and a little gift shop close to the caves so it would also be a great spot to stop for a bite to eat.
St. Martin’s sea caves when the tide is out.
I loved the day we spent on the Fundy Parkway. If I were to do it again, I would spend a second day either walking part of the Fundy Footpath (which starts northwest of the Interpretive Centre, and is about 49 kilometres long), or kayaking from the St. Martins Sea Caves for a totally different view along the coast.
Coastline near St. Martin’s sea caves- kayaking here would be spectacular.
If you’re planning a road trip to New Brunswick, make sure you think about hiking from Mount Sagamook to Mount Carleton or kayaking among the Hopewell Rocks!
I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure.
Elevation Change and Map
Elevation Change from the beginning of the path to the Fundy Trail Interpretive Centre (0-10K) and on the Parkway from the interpretive centre back to the start (10K+).
Map of our route along the coast.
Gear We Brought
- Bikes
- Helmets
- Saddlebags
- Light jackets
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Bug spray
- 2 x 1 litre water bottles
- Lunch
- Plastic bag for garbage
- Cell phones
- Waterproof cell phone cases
- Waterproof camera
- Tire repair kit
- Tire pump
- Small wrenches
- Allan key set
Sounds amazing!
Would this trail be e-bike friendly?