Fundy National Park: Tides, Trails and Camping

Fundy National Park protects a stretch of Acadian forest that drops straight into the Bay of Fundy at Alma, New Brunswick, and the 2026 gate is $10 for an adult. The one thing to know before you build a day around it: the photogenic Point Wolfe Covered Bridge closes on 8 September 2026 and stays shut until December for repair work, and it takes several trailheads with it. Everything below is the park itself, not the tide-record numbers next door - for those, our Hopewell Rocks and New Brunswick guides already own that ground.

Not the Fundy Trail Parkway, and not Hopewell Rocks

Three different things share the name “Fundy” around Alma, and mixing them up wastes a morning. Fundy National Park, this page, is a Parks Canada park with inland lakes and forest reached off Route 114 - no coastal road at all, just a handful of unpaved spurs down to a few beaches. Fundy Trail Parkway (officially Fundy Trail Provincial Park) is a separate, province-run park a short drive away, built around a paved coastal road with cliff-top lookouts and its own gate. Hopewell Rocks, further along the coast, is the flowerpot sea stacks and the tide-table walk - a different provincial park again, with its own admission and its own hours.

The two trail networks do connect: the national park’s Fundy Footpath meets the provincial park’s trail system at the Big Salmon River, so a serious hiker can walk between them. The road systems don’t connect the same way, and neither does the ticket. If a listing promises cliff-top boardwalks and an entrance fee that doesn’t match the figures below, you’ve probably opened the Parkway’s page instead of this park’s.

The bridge that won’t be there this fall

Parks Canada has scheduled a real closure here, not a maybe. From 8 September 2026 until December, the Point Wolfe Covered Bridge is shut for rehabilitation work meant to extend its life, and the closure reaches further than the bridge deck itself. It takes out the Point Wolfe Campground, shelter and beach, several backcountry sites reached across the bridge, and the trailheads for Shiphaven, Marven Lake, Coppermine and Goose River, along with stretches of the Fundy Footpath and the Trans Canada Trail.

Two official detours exist for hikers who still want the far side. Detour A runs the Goose River trail out to the Bennett Lake parking lot, 15.1 km total. Detour B runs the same trail to the Foster Brook lot, a shorter 7.9 km total. Neither is a casual add-on to an afternoon walk - budget the distance and the time, or simply plan your visit around the areas the closure doesn’t touch, which is most of the park.

If you’re arriving after Labour Day with Point Wolfe pencilled in as the highlight, this is the fact that reshapes your day. Book the front-country campgrounds that stay open instead, and treat the bridge as a photo op from the outside rather than a drive-through until it reopens.

Trails, from a boardwalk to a 41 km through-hike

The park counts over 100 kilometres of trail, running from a half-kilometre boardwalk loop to a 50 km backcountry circuit, so the honest first step is picking a length that matches your day rather than your ambition.

Dickson Falls is the one nearly everyone walks: a 1.5 km loop, 30 to 45 minutes, on boardwalk and steps through a moss-walled canyon to a small waterfall. It’s rated moderate mostly for the stairs, not the distance, and it’s the trail to send anyone travelling with young kids or limited time.

Caribou Plain is the quieter alternative at a similar length - a 2.1 km loop, an hour to ninety minutes, boardwalking out over a beaver pond studded with standing dead trees. It looks nothing like the coast, which is the point: this is the inland, boggy half of what “Acadian forest” actually means here, not just a green backdrop to the tide.

For a longer day, Laverty Falls runs 2.5 km one way to a taller falls, and Third Vault Falls stretches to 7.4 km return, three to four hours, rated difficult. The coastal trails - Coastal East at 3 km one way and Coastal West at 6.7 km one way - are the ones that actually put you above the water, cliff-edge views included, and they’re a better pick than the inland falls if the tide itself is what you came for.

Serious hikers have three long routes to choose from. The Fundy Circuit links 48 km of the park’s own trails into a multi-day loop. The Fundy Footpath runs 41 km from Goose River, inside the park, out to the Big Salmon River and the neighbouring Fundy Trail Parkway system. The Dobson Trail goes the other direction entirely, 58 km from the park’s northern boundary up to Riverview, near Moncton. None of these three routes are casual outings, and two of them - the Fundy Circuit and the Fundy Footpath - touch the areas closed by the Point Wolfe bridge work, so check the detour routes above before you commit to a multi-day plan this autumn.

Camping, five campgrounds and eight backcountry sites

Front-country camping runs through five campgrounds: Headquarters, Chignecto, Point Wolfe, Cannontown and Lakeview, all offering washrooms, showers and a mix of electrical, sewer and water hookups. Point Wolfe is the one affected by the bridge closure from 8 September, so double-check its status for a fall trip before you book.

Beyond the front country, eight backcountry sites sit at Goose River, Marven Lake, Tracey Lake and Chambers Lake - reachable on foot only, and the Goose River access is itself part of the detour route around the closed bridge this autumn. If sleeping under a roof matters more than a tent, the park also runs oTENTik units, Ôasis shelters, yurts and a handful of rustic cabins, plus winter camping for anyone visiting in the cold months. Site-by-site counts and exact locations aren’t published on the park’s own camping page, so book through the central reservation line rather than guessing.

What it costs in 2026

Daily gate admission is $10.00 for an adult, $8.75 for a senior, and free for anyone under 18; a family or group of up to seven pays $19.50. A seasonal pass runs $48.25 for an adult if you’re basing yourself in the area for a week or more, and the Parks Canada Discovery Pass at $83.50 pays off fast if Fundy is one stop on a wider national-park trip.

Camping starts at $31.75 a night for an unserviced site, climbing to $40.00 with electricity and water and $43.75 fully serviced. An oTENTik, yurt or Ôasis unit is $147.50, and a rustic cabin is $86.50. Under the Canada Strong Pass, admission is free and camping runs 25% cheaper from 19 June to 7 September 2026 - a window that closes the day before the Point Wolfe bridge does, which is worth noticing if you were hoping to combine both.

Alma, and getting here

Alma, right at the park boundary on Route 114, is where almost everyone stages from - a fishing village small enough that its year-round population is reported in the low hundreds, yet it fills with day-trippers and campers all summer. It’s also where the park’s headquarters area sits. There’s no public transit into Fundy at all, so a car is not optional here the way it might be closer to a big city; if you’re flying in, Moncton is the nearest practical airport and the base our Hopewell Rocks guide already recommends for the same reason.

Once you’re on Route 114, the park itself is simple to navigate - it’s the loop road that the campgrounds, trailheads and the (currently open, soon to be closed) covered bridge all sit along. Fuel up before you arrive; Alma is the last reliable stop.

Before you drive out

1. Check the bridge bulletin. If any part of your plan touches Point Wolfe - the campground, the beach, the Shiphaven or Goose River trailheads - confirm it’s still reachable, or route yourself via Detour A or B instead.
2. Pick a trail for your actual day, not your best day. Dickson Falls or Caribou Plain for an hour, the coastal trails for a half-day with a view, the Fundy Circuit only if you’ve budgeted for a real backcountry trip.
3. Book camping ahead in July and August. Five campgrounds sound like a lot until a summer weekend fills all of them; the reservation line is 1-877-RESERVE.
4. Don’t confuse this park with its neighbours. Fundy Trail Parkway has the coastal road and its own gate; Hopewell Rocks has the flowerpot stacks and the tide table. This park has the forest, the falls and the campgrounds.
5. Fuel and groceries in Alma, not after it. The village is the last dependable stop before the loop road.

Read also

• The tide-table walk down the coast: Hopewell Rocks
• The province this sits in, and the wider Bay of Fundy picture: New Brunswick travel guide
• Stacking more than one national park on the trip: Parks Canada Discovery Pass
• Every national park we cover: the parks hub