4. Campsites and Facilities
Camping is first-come, first-served, and free within the portion of the Fundy Footpath that is not within Fundy National Park. Within Fundy National Park, campsites must be reserved and cost money. The nature of the sites varies quite a bit - some are large and multi-site, others are quite small and can only host one party. Several of the larger camping locations not within Fundy NP have bathroom and food storage installations, and as of summer 2022, these are being upgraded (and perhaps installed in more locations). The camping locations within Fundy NP also have good facilities but that is kind of a given.
The following is my view (again, as of summer 2022) of the camping facilities and locations along the full 64km length of the Fundy Footpath. Things can and will change over time. Also of note is that we didn't look very hard for facilities (privies, food hanging rigging) for camp locations that we did not camp at. Therefore do not assume that a particular site does not have a privy or food-hanging rigging just because that info is omitted from a particular entry in the list below.
- The so-called Big Salmon River campsites (halfway between Big Salmon River and Long Beach) - there are several sites, unsure of number. Note that literature states that these sites are closed, and that may be the case. However, I can report that as of summer 2022, they sure seem open and usable, with full signage and no obstructions, and nothing indicating in-situ that they are closed.
- Seely Beach (there are three distinct sites from what I can see). You could probably also camp on the beach here. There is a new privy and food-hang rigging here, up the hill in the forest behind the campsites.
- Cradle Brook. Scenic and very nice open beach camping - space for two or three parties here.
- Little Salmon River. These sites are away from the coast, in a nice river valley. There are several campsites here.
- Wolf Brook. There are a two different campsite locations here - one a little inland, and the other on the pebbly beach near the coast. There is a modern privy here. Also probably a food hang but did not locate.
- Telegraph Brook - Very scenic rugged cove. Several parties can camp here. There is one campsite in the grasses at edge of trees here, and the rest are out in the open on the elevated flat beach section. There seems to be no privy here. There was food hang rigging but it was a little tricky to locate.
- Quiddy River - Nice large flat sandy area right next to watercourse that can host several parties.
- Martin Head beach - Lots of space down on the beach but possibly busy (since there is a 4x4/ATV track that accesses this location).
- Brandy Brook - This is a location away from the coast, in forest. One large party or a couple of smaller parties could camp here.
- Goose Creek - There is one large camping area in the trees next to the open marsh grasses. Could host a party or two. Alternatively open camping on the is beach possible although it would be somewhat exposed to wind and weather. There is both a new privy and food hang rigging here.
- Jim Brook - This is a location away from the coast, in forest. Only 1 or 2 small spots here.
- Rose Brook - Scenic and very nice open beach camping in a rocky cove. The camping is on an elevated section of beach, with space for two or three parties.
- Goose River - There is one large area just opposite the river crossing into Fundy NP. One large party or a few smaller ones could camp here. There is no privy or food hang rigging here.
- Goose River Beach Campsites (within Fundy NP, requires reservations via Parks Canada) - privy, food storage, and even firewood available at these campsites.
- Point Wolfe Campground (within Fundy NP, requires reservations or in-person purchase) - this is a full-service regular car-accessible campground. There are even hot showers here.
5. Tidal and Watercourse Crossings
Water crossings are definitely something to consider along the Fundy Footpath. As long as you are not hiking in a period of excessive runoff, you will find that most crossings are nothing more than a simple rock-hop, usually allowing you to keep your feet dry. As far as tidal crossings go (where you have to avoid attempting to cross at high tide), I think there are really only two spots of note: Goose Creek and Wolf Brook. The guidebook says that Goose River is also impassable at high tide, but I think when we did the trail, we utilized what the guidebook calls the "newly constructed overland footpath route", and that crosses the Goose River at an easy crossing point that is definitely above the high tide line (and additionally takes you right to the informal backcountry campsite opposite the border with Fundy NP).
Footwear-wise, we carried very light water shoes/slippers with us on our August trip, and we used them in only two locations: the fords of the Little Salmon River and of Goose Creek. In both cases the amount of time where your feet were actually in the water was no more than a minute (and again, we crossed Goose Creek well below high tide, so there was not much water around, and also the level of the water flow in the river was quite low).
At several other locations, there are nice new bridges that cross watercourses. The biggest of these is the large suspension footbridge at Big Salmon River, at the western end of the Footpath. Also of note is the sturdy bridge over Rapidy Brook. All of the stream crossings within Fundy National Park have modern, sturdy footbridges. There are many smaller little creeks and brooks to cross that would only be an issue if there was recent high snowmelt and/or heavy rains.
6. Registration and Parking
To the best of my understanding (as of 2022), you don't explicitly need to register to hike the Fundy Footpath (I read mixed messaging on this, but that seems to be the case after talking with staff at either end of the footpath. I tried to register ourselves upon starting out from Big Salmon River and was told there was no such procedure).
Now, if you are leaving cars at either end, then you must register for that (at the western end at the Big Salmon River interpretive center, and at the east end at the Fundy National Park visitor center just outside of Alma). In our case, we left two vehicles at the eastern end in Fundy National Park. The park staff directed us to leave our cars in the Upper Salmon River Trailhead parking lot. Amazingly, they only charged us the cost of one night's stay for the entire duration of our trip, and only for one of the cars. They gave us registration slips for both cars and we left those on the dash of our cars in that parking lot. See the geolocated "Upper Salmon River Trailhead Parking" picture below (click on the little map icon once you zoom into the picture) to understand exactly where this parking lot is located.
I'm less sure about how it works on the western end, at Big Salmon River, but I imagine that it is similar (show up to the desk of the Big Salmon River interpretive center during opening hours and pay for/receive a parking permit that you put in your vehicle(s). I imagine there is some cost here as well but do not know the specifics).
There is a big mistake and several smaller ones in the elevation profile of Fundy Footpath Hiker's Guide Book. They confounded us as we were hiking along the trail, and in retrospect it might have even made us alter our decisions, had our timeline had been slightly different.
The biggest mistake is that Rose Brook and Goose River are pointing at the wrong location on the elevation profile (see below). The biggest error is for Goose River, where the elevation profile shows it being a full 11.5km east of where it actually is (in fact, the arrow they indicate as Goose River actually points to Point Wolfe, in Fundy National Park). The smaller errors have to do with showing whether a particular point in the profile goes down to the coast at sea level, or not. The two most prominent points that should show "zero" (or close to zero) elevation, and which do not, are Telegraph Brook and Cradle Brook. And both of these spots have good campsites in beautiful coves, so one thinking that these are elevated in-forest brook crossings might cause people to discount them as potential camping sites.
That's about it with respect to my thoughts and notes on the Fundy Footpath. If you came directly to this informal set of guide pages and haven't yet read our full trip report, I invite you to do so by
clicking here.
