Road Trip to The Bay of Fundy New Brunswick, CA
Here is my full guide on a Road Trip to The Bay of Fundy New Brunswick, CA.
Going on a trip to Cape Breton Island or a nearby area? Are you road tripping? Make it a point to stop along the way at some of the coolest places!!
My boyfriend and I just did the trip up to Cape Breton Island in June. We drove from Seacoast, NH which made the drive around 12 hours to our first destination on Cape Breton Island.
A friend mentioned Hopewell Rocks and the Bay of Fundy to us a few days before our trip. We googled them and right away knew we had to make it a point to stop!
The Bay of Fundy (in New Brunswick) is a beautiful area that offers a lot to explore. Giant rocks coming out of the ground where the ocean’s edge is, standing at heights up to 70 feet tall with trees sprouting out of the tops!!
Here I will share with you exactly where you should explore while in the area!
Let’s get into it!
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: getting there
Located along New Brunswick’s coast, close to Nova Scotia is where you will find the Bay of Fundy National Park and Hopewell Rocks. It’s easy to find, you can follow road signs or just enter it into your GPS.
If you are coming from the south (like Maine or New Hampshire) heading north, you will arrive at National Park first.
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: The Bay of Fundy National Park
When we arrived at the Bay of Fundy it was late morning/early afternoon. We were so excited to arrive at a cool destination and stretch our legs!
When you get to the park, you have to buy a day pass (or however long you plan to stay). The pass is inexpensive and easy to get once in the park. You will see some buildings you can drive up to purchase them at.
The Bay of Fundy is a National Park, known for its rugged coastline and high tides!
This is where the highest tides in the world are…It’s pretty amazing to see the beaches at low tide in person, at Hopewell Rocks especially.
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: Pullover spots
While driving through the Bay of Fundy there are so many places to pullover and explore!
Have your camera ready, the beauty just keeps getting better and better as your drive.
There are lakes, lookout points of the ocean, trailheads to different size hikes and more. Depending on how much time you have, check out as much as possible!
The pullover spots will have people coming and going at them all but usually not too busy, we never had a hard time finding parking.
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: The village of Alma
After you drive through the first part of The Bay of Fundy, you will come up to the village of Alma!
Alma is a fishing village with a small downtown area. This village does draw a lot of tourist traffic being next to the National Park.
Alma is worth checking out! Stop in town and give yourself about an hour or so to explore the area and have lunch.
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: The Fundy shore
As you pull into the Village of Alma coming out of the National Park, you will see a beach on the right before you get into the Village.
Check this beach out!
The wet sand is the thickest sand I’ve ever walked in, our footprints went in deep.
This beach is beautiful! Walk around and take in the views and look for treasures on the beach!
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: Stop at Tipsy Tails for lunch
After walking around all of downtown we decided to stop at Tipsy Tails to get some lunch!
This place is delicious and in a great location! Ask to sit outside if the weather is nice when you visit.
The fish tacos and local draft beers were great, just what we needed to refuel!
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: Keep on driving
After lunch, get back on the road and head to Hopewell Rocks. You are only 40 minutes away!
Keep heading north towards Cape Breton, Hopewell Rocks will be another stop along the way.
This part of the drive isn’t as coastal, you will head inland a bit then pop back out towards the ocean.
We got very lucky and ended up being in the area at low tide without planning it. Visiting at low tide is ideal. Doing so makes you realize how high the tides actually do get by seeing everything at low tide. You can see the marks of where the water rises to on the rocks and cliffs. It’s pretty amazing.
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: Hopewell Rocks
Hopewell Rocks is the coolest!
When you arrive, you will park your car in a lot. When you walk up to the ticket window, they will ask you if you want to buy just tickets to the rocks or both tickets and a shuttle pass.
If you are able to walk, don’t buy the shuttle pass. On the walk to the rocks (roughly 15 minutes) there are multiple lookout points you will miss if you take the shuttle.
It cost us $32.20 CAD for two tickets without shuttle passes.
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: The Rocks
When you arrive at the main attraction (the biggest rocks) you will walk down a few flights of stairs to get down to the beach. You can only access this area if it’s low tide otherwise it’s completely under water.
Theses rocks are so massive. A true sight to see.
The area is known for its muddy tidal waters and mudflats. Just be careful where you step! You can go see everything down by the Hopewell Rocks and stay clean as long as you are aware of where you walk.
Road trip to the Bay of Fundy: keep on driving
Once you finish exploring the Hopewell Rocks, it will most likely be late afternoon. Head to your campsite to get camp setup and cook dinner!
On your way there, stop at a grocery store to pick up some food to cook at your site for dinner and breakfast the next morning.
We camped at Parlee Beach Provincial Park for one night. It took us about an hour to get there from Hopewell Rocks.
Parlee Beach Provincial Park
We chose to camp at Parlee Beach because it made sense as a good stop along the drive to Cape Breton from Hopewell Rocks.
The campground was clean and has everything we needed. You do have to pay for showers here and they have a weird rule where you have to pay to get in and out of the campground after a certain time at night…
Parlee Beach worked for us but we would most likely pick another campground if we were to do this trip again. I suggest looking to see what else is in the area.
Wake up early & head to Cape Breton Island!
After you get a good night’s sleep at Parlee Beach, wake up bright and early! Like 5:30-6am. Pack up your site and get back on the road!
You still have a bit of a drive left to do before arriving on the Island, a little over four more hours to go.
This last stretch of the drive until you get to the Island does go by fast!
Arrive on Cape Breton Island!
You have made it to the Cape Breton Island!!
The Bay of Fundy and Hopewell Rocks are awesome but you have just gotten started on all of the exploring and adventuring you will be doing on the Island! I had never seen anything like it before…the area is so unique.
Check out my post: How to Camp Around Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
Did you think this post was helpful? It made our drive so much easier and I hope if you followed this it did the same for you! Let me know in the comments below!
Happy exploring!
sierra
Hello there! It's wonderful to have you here. I'm Sierra, a NH native with a love for travel and adventure. I have a constant desire to explore beautiful places around the world and go on awesome adventures! I seek to inspire others to travel to see all the beauty and culture the world has to offer! 🌞⛰️🌼🫶🏼🦋🌲📸🥾💛
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