Global Sports: Reasons to visit Fundy National Park

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Reasons to visit Fundy National Park

By Karen Hanks


Fundy National Park is more than 206 square kilometers of lush river valleys blended with coastal vistas, and trails leading from the fog-generating Bay of Fundy to high atop the Caledonia Highlands. It's New Brunswick's first national park, and found on the Bay of Fundy's coastline which is formed daily by the giant tides.

Fundy National Park is home to over 260 species of birds, various amphibians and reptiles (including three rare sorts of salamanders) and close to forty species of mammals. There are also 2 beautiful rock formations in the park.

The grey and beige Owls Head cliffs are composed from sandstone, and Point Wolfe holds the oldest rocks in Fundy National Park formed by volcanoes and the movements of the continents.

Go hiking, biking on the trails that take you from the rocky coast of the Bay of Fundy, to lush river valleys. If swimming is on your list to do, then there's a heated saltwater pool, cool clear rivers, and saltwater beaches on the Bay of Fundy.

Waterfalls can be discovered on many of the trails like Dickson Falls, and The Third Vault. Point Wolfe is the home of the famous red covered bridge and is one of the most readily recognized Canadian landmarks. There's a site marker where the original sawmill, and ship yard once stood.

There are 4 campgrounds: Headquarters, Point Wolf, Chignecto and Wolfe Lake. Tents, Trailers and RV's are welcome. Some of the trails have backcountry sites, and these must be booked in advance.

Hiking is a popular attraction for the park, with almost 110 kms of trails. From the 0.3 km Point Wolfe Beach trail to the 8 km Marvin Lake trail, there are is large amount of trails to enjoy. Each trail will introduce you to a unique area of the park, with its own unusual features. Caribou Plain (3.4 km total) has a wheelchair accessible boardwalk loop (0.5km) out to the fringe of an active beaver pool.

Just outside of the park, visit the fishing village of Alma, for great, fresh seafood.

The Visitor Centre is open everyday 8am-10pm June through Labour Day, and 8am-4:30pm in the shoulder season. Admission charged.




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