Week 658 · September 2026 · New Brunswick, Canada
We originally planned our road trip to Atlantic Canada to visit three main areas: Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Quebec City for about a week each — with a focus on a slower pace than our normal travel and a test of whether we could camp for about half the trip. A YouTube video about the Bay of Fundy changed the itinerary.
Many of the places we were going were remote so camping was the only option. In addition to a slower pace and camping, we had some other “testing” on this trip: inflatable kayaks, bikes, drone flying, and trying to spend less per day. Our plan was to drive 1,500 miles over two and a half days from Gaithersburg to Cape Breton National Park at the tip of Nova Scotia, passing through New England, into Canada and New Brunswick, only stopping overnight. We also wanted to visit some of Sharon's relatives on the way up and were lucky to have some friends host us for a night along the route. As a result, we adjusted our trip and shifted a day from Nova Scotia to the Bay of Fundy.
This trip had some different tests — slower pace, camping for roughly half the nights, inflatable kayaks in the car, bikes along for the ride, drone in the bag, and spending less per day than the usual.
Right before our trip, we saw a YouTube video on the Bay of Fundy — so we shifted a day from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick.
We stayed in Saint John, New Brunswick (not to be confused with St. John's, Newfoundland) and then spent the day exploring the Bay of Fundy which is famous for its huge tides. Because we were traveling at a slower pace, we hadn't planned many activities in advance assuming that we would have flexibility. Our first major attraction was the “Reversing Falls,” where high tide creates tsunami-like waves. When we arrived, mid-tide was switching, so there was nothing to see. Our second attempt was Sea Cave Kayaking, but this activity is also dependent on the tides and was fully booked. We thought about taking out our kayak, but Sharon didn't want to risk getting on the wrong side of the tide and pushed out to sea.
Google Maps had an old border crossing on file — after heading toward it, we eventually found the right one. The same thing happened with the Fundy Trail Parkway: Google didn't route us along the scenic coast because the parkway is part of a provincial park with an entry fee, so the route simply doesn't appear. The “Fundy Coastal Way” runs parallel but isn't actually on the coast — a distinction that is easy to miss.
The information we found about the Bay of Fundy was confusing. Google Maps didn't route us along the scenic coast on the “Fundy Trail Parkway,” instead sending us far out of the way between Sea Cave Kayaking and the National Park. We assumed the parkway was closed. In reality, since the Fundy Trail Parkway is part of a provincial park with an entry fee, the route was not shown. Adding to the confusion, the “Fundy Coastal Way” runs parallel but isn't actually on the coast. Our plan was to enter the park, ride bikes as far as we could, and then turn around. When we arrived, we discovered we could drive all the way through. We tried biking, but the hills were steep. But the hills created a spectacular coastline — much more scenic than we had expected. When we entered, the sun was shining; by the time we left, it was raining.
The Bay of Fundy sits between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and holds the Guinness World Record for the highest tides on the planet. Water levels can rise by up to 16.8 meters (54.6 feet), and it takes 6 hours and 13 minutes for the tides to cycle from low to high or vice versa. At mid-tide, the flow of water into or out of the Minas Basin equals the estimated combined flow of all the rivers on Earth — a million tonnes of water per second.
The Bay of Fundy is V-shaped and tapers like a funnel from its mouth to its head; water gets compressed as it enters, rising vertically rather than spreading out. Combined with tidal resonance — where the bay’s natural oscillation closely matches the Atlantic Ocean’s tidal cycle — approximately 160 billion tonnes of water flow in and out twice each day. This is also why timing is everything: the Reversing Falls, sea cave kayaking, and the Hopewell Rocks ocean floor walk are all entirely dependent on where the tide sits in its 12-hour cycle.
So we queried the best place to see the low tides (as low tide was 2 hours away) and went to Hopewell Rocks — another provincial park — and spent some time walking on the sea floor during low tide. At high tide, only the trees can be seen.
The Hopewell Rocks — also called the Flowerpot Rocks — are dramatic sea stacks formed by tidal erosion at Hopewell Cape near Moncton, New Brunswick. They stand 40–70 feet tall, composed of dark sedimentary conglomerate and sandstone laid down millions of years ago as a mountain range older than the Appalachians. Geologists estimate there is enough rock remaining for another 100,000 years of sculpted formation — though individual stacks sometimes collapse in storms.
At Hopewell Rocks, the water level rises by up to 16 meters (52 feet) with every tidal cycle, with the most dramatic differences during a new or full moon. With over twenty free-standing sea stacks along two kilometers of shoreline, it is New Brunswick’s most visited attraction. The park entry fee is deliberately valid for two days so visitors can experience the same spot at both high and low tide.
Really glad we decided to spend a day at the Bay of Fundy — now off to Nova Scotia!