Drive the Fundy Coast and explore the 16 lookouts of the Fundy Trail Parkway. First opened in 1998, the scenic route is a work-in-progress with a roadway planned to reach Fundy National Park. Stop at picnic tables, hike to a historic cabin, and explore an abandoned community site while traveling the trail.
Driving the Fundy Parkway
From the parkway entrance to the last lookout, the Fundy Trail Parkway twists over 16 km (10 miles) along the Bay of Fundy coast. The parkway is open between two major Canadian holidays: from Victoria Day in May to Thanksgiving in October. It lies on the Bay of Fundy coast, close to the village of St. Martins and mid-way between Saint John and Fundy National Park.
The lookouts are the main feature of the route, offering scenic vantages of the coast. Hiking trails and bike routes provide outdoor activity options. The parkway passes through Salmon River, where a logging community once thrived on the river banks. Despite having an established school, community hall, and residences, a fire in the sawmill saw the community disband. Now, only an old foundation remains alongside the interpretive center and suspension bridge.
Fundy Trail Parkway Activities
Traveling the Fundy Trail Parkway may encourage you experience the scenery as a slower pace. While in the region, you can:
- Hike the multi-use trail
- Bike the route
- Walk inland to Hearst Lodge, a historic cabin built by William Randolph Hearst
- Descend cable ladders to waterfalls
- Beachcomb on Melvins and Pangburn beaches
- Cross the suspension bridge at Salmon River
- Picnic at the lookouts
- Bird-watch for shoreline wildlife
Fundy Parkway Lookouts
The Fundy Trail Parkway features 16 lookouts that provide panoramic views of beaches, coastline, and rivers. Some lookouts offer something slightly different, such as:
- Fownes Head Lookout: This stop along the route halts where there is a view of a small flowerpot rock, or an island of land eroded into a pillar by the ocean’s tides.
- Melvins Beach: Walk down to the beach and, at low tide, reach neighboring Pangburn Beach. Or, walk along a forest trail and down a cable-suspended ladder to Fuller Falls.
- Big Salmon River Lookout: This lookout has the best views of the river and the surrounding landscape.
- Long Beach Lookout: The final lookout is a great spot to watch the sunset.
Things to Do in St. Martins
While in St. Martins, which is the closest community to the start of the Fundy Trail Parkway, explore New Brunswick boat-building history by visiting the local museum and archives. Learn about wooden ships that were built and launched in St. Martins, and how the industry collapsed with the development of metal-hulled ships.
St. Martins is also the location of two covered bridges. East of the village, two wooden-roofed bridges cross the Irish River close to the visitor information center.
Just past the covered bridges, the St. Martins sea caves gape above Macs Beach.
Chloë Ernst - Chloë Ernst is a travel guidebook author who writes for Frommer's and Globe Pequot Press.
