Fundy National Park

Fundy National Park is located just outside of the small village of Alma, in New Brunswick. The park offers visitors numerous activities to participate in and sites to explore. Fundy National Park has four front country campgrounds including: Cannontown, Chignecto, Headquarters, and Point Wolfe, which include popular amenities such as electricity and running water. In addition, the park also offers many backcountry camping areas, which are geared to the more adventurous camper. Visitors can also stay in various types of cabins

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Attractions on Land and Water

On Land. In addition to sampling the local cuisine, the Bay of Fundy also draws in tourists with the many attractions located in the towns surrounding the bay. Many travelers participate in the Fundy Coastal Drive, which is a 460-kilometre trek along the New Brunswick Coast. What makes this route so popular is the many scenic views of land, water, and quaint coastal villages. Many people also visit the Fundy Aquarium, situated on the border of New Brunswick and Maine, as well as the Geological and Fossil Museums, which are located in Nova Scotia. Visitors come to these museums to learn about the marine life of the bay as well as the geological aspects. The area surrounding the Bay of Fundy also has many popular outdoor activities such as rock climbing, caving, bird watching, and golfing. However, by far the most well-known attraction is Hopewell Rocks. Hopewell rocks, also known as the Flower Pot Rocks, is located in New Brunswick near the end of the bay. This tourist destination has towering sea stacks, which at low tide, tourists can walk beneath them on the ocean floor.

On the Water. There are also a number of adventures one can participate in on the waters of the Bay of Fundy. Many travelers flock to the communities surrounding the opening of the bay, near the Atlantic Ocean, where whales are often spotted. Many of these towns offer whale watching boat tours including the towns of Grand Manan Island, Campobello Island, St. Andrews, and Digby. As well as whale watching boat tours, you can also tour the Bay of Fundy waters by means of kayak, ferries, and tidal bore rafts. Kayaking tours are available in many areas throughout New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; whereas, the Fundy Ferries have ports in Digby and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia; Portland, Maine; and Saint John, New Brunswick. The tidal bore rafts are geared to the more adventurous traveler, where participants in rafts crash over tidal bores at the mouths of rivers, which feed into the Bay of Fundy. These tidal bores are created when the high tide coming into the bay reverses the direction of these rivers creating a swell of water. This range of activities allows the Bay of Fundy to appeal to travelers young and old.

Local Cuisine

Another activity that many visitors take part in when visiting the Bay of Fundy is tasting the local cuisine. Many of the villages along the shores of the Bay of Fundy offer a variety of delicacies; however, the most popular is the seafood. According to the article “Fishing Villages,” because these towns are located on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, many locals make their living fishing. In these fishing villages, you will find many shops and restaurants selling their catch of the day to hungry tourists. However, the article “Where to Find the Best Seafood Dinner in the Bay of Fundy” explains that the most sought-after seafood is lobster, scallops, and dulse.

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Lobster. The article “Where to find the Best Seafood Dinner in the Bay of Fundy” states that the lobster in the Bay of Fundy is said to be unique due to the icy temperature of the water, which gives the lobster meat a superior taste. The taste of the Bay of Fundy lobster also differs from lobster caught elsewhere because of the food the Bay of Fundy lobsters consume. Popular ways to eat lobster are in lobster rolls or simply dousing the meat in butter.

Scallops. Scallops are also a special treat in the Bay of Fundy, which is highlighted by the article “Where to find the Best Seafood Dinner in the Bay of Fundy.” However, the scallops from Digby, Nova Scotia are the most recognized due to their large size and sweetness. Because scallops are so common in the area, Digby, Nova Scotia, has the biggest group of scallop fishers in the world. Traditional ways to eat these scallops are either fried in butter or mixed into a sea food chowder.

Dulse. Another traditional cuisine among the local villages surrounding the Bay of Fundy is dulse. The article “The World’s Best Dulse” explains that dulse is a type of seaweed that is red, and often consumed dried. Growing only in the waters of the North Atlantic and Northwest Pacific Oceans, dulse is said to be best when grown in shaded waters. Dulse is then able to be hand-picked during low tides, and hung to dry. Locals often eat dulse in large pieces, or crushed down to make a powder to cook with.

The Tides

Just like any other coastal sea line, the Bay of Fundy experiences high and low tides along its shore. High and low tides are caused by the gravitational force of the moon and the sun in conjunction with the constant spinning motion of the earth. However, where an average tidal range is about three feet, the Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in world, measuring up to 16 meters or 50 feet in height.

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This tidal range is so large because of the motion caused by the long funnel shape of the bay. Because the Bay of Fundy is long and narrow, it experiences oscillation. Oscillation is the continuous back and forth motion where the water in the bay sways from one side to another. This period of oscillation, where the water in the Bay of Fundy moves back and forth, takes about 12 to 13 hours. Remarkably, the occurrence of this oscillation movement matches seamlessly with the time the tide comes in and out of the bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, when oscillation is causing the water levels at the top of the bay to rise, the high tide is coming in at the exact same time. Because of these phenomena of events, the unique high and low tides of the Bay of Fundy are created.

In Burncoat Head Park, Nova Scotia, the tidal height changes in the early morning from 47.9 feet to 1.6 feet in under seven hours. However by noon, the tidal height is back to 46.6 feet, and then down again in the evening to 2.3 feet. This rapid water level change happens daily in the Bay of Fundy, and is experienced by towns along both the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia shorelines. These shorelines are a popular destination among tourists because they allow people the ability to walk on what was once the ocean floor only hours before.

Check out this Excel chart, High and Low Tides of the Bay of Fundy to see the drastic change in high and low tides at Burncoat Head Park.