New Brunswick -Fundy Trail Parkway to Saint John
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Our route
We left Fundy National Park and turned onto the Fundy Trail Parkway, part of New Brunswick’s Fundy Trail Provincial Park. A friendly agent at the entrance booth took our $12/pp daily admission fee, provided a park map with hiking/walking trails and advised us of all the highlights to be sure to see along the parkway. She apologized in advance for the poor weather. Sure enough, the sky turned dark, it began to sprinkle and the wind picked up.
Our first stop was the Walton Glen Observation Deck Trail, an easy, 3-mile (8km) return walk on a wide gravel path through thick forest. It was sprinkling, but not raining as we headed down the trail. The air smelled fresh and pine-ish. Pearly everlasting and tansy lined the path. Mushrooms of all shapes, sizes and colors had sprouted in the damp, shady soil beneath the trees.
When we reached the observation deck, there wasn’t much to see. We caught a slight glimpse of the Salmon River far below and a small waterfall was visible. Just being out and walking in the forest, however, was pleasurable enough on this damp, cool morning.
We pulled over at the Fundy Lookout and looked out as instructed, but the fog had moved in and there wasn’t much to see. The temperature dropped into the mid-50s (14C) as the fog thickened and the rain moved in.
Not much to see at the lookout
By the time we reached Long Beach, the rain was coming down in torrents. We made a quick dash down to the beach area for pictures, then ducked back into Blanche.
Fireweed in the foreground provided the only color at Long Beach
The road was wet; there were blind curves and bends and the hills were extremely steep with 16% grades in some spots. We took it easy, appreciating the fact that Blanche had new shoes. We were definitely in no hurry.
When we reached the Salmon River Suspension Bridge we were undecided as to whether to take the short trail to cross it. Suspended over the Big Salmon River, the pedestrian bridge is 275’ (84m) long and was built in 1974 to replace an old covered bridge that had washed out.
Salmon River pedestrian Suspension Bridge
We watched as several hardy souls with umbrellas and rain jackets braved the wind and rain. What the heck? We don’t melt. We donned our rain gear (couldn’t find the umbrella, though I swear we have one) and set out walking under the Mitchell Franklin Highway Bridge to the suspension bridge. We could feel the sway of the bridge as we crossed. We could hear the river rush through the gorge below us out to the ocean. We were wet through and through.
David walking the suspension bridge in the rain
There were at least two dozen lookouts along the parkway and we were unable to see anything from any of them. We were particularly disappointed when we stopped at the Flower Pot Rock at Fownes Head. We knew it was probably there, but it had been swallowed up by the fog.
We made a quick dash into the park Visitor Centre for a look-see. There was no promise of an improvement in the weather.
We left the parkway damp without having seen much and stopped in the cute little town of Saint Martins for a bowl of hot chowder to warm up and dry off. The Fundy Sea Shanty Festival was just starting up… bad timing for them with all the rain.
We saw the sodden tents of the Fundy Sea Shanty Festival. In the rain, it didn’t look very inviting.
Saint Martins also boasts two covered bridges. The twin covered bridges are within sight of each other. The first, the Vaughan Creek Bridge, is the first and only 2-lane covered bridge in New Brunswick and has a covered pedestrian walkway attached. This 105’ (35m) bridge was completed in 2022 and replaced the original bridge built in 1935.
A view of the Vaughan Creek Covered Bridge in between windshield wiper swipes!
At the opposite end of the bridge, we could see the Saint Martins Lighthouse building. The replica lighthouse was built in 1983 to display the lantern room from the 1883 Quaco Head Lighthouse and serves as a Visitor Information Center in Saint Martins.
The Saint Martins Lighthouse is a replica and serves as the town’s Visitor Center.
We drove around the corner to the Hardscrabble Covered Bridge which also spans the Vaughan Creek aka Irish River. Built in 1946, this covered bridge is 72’ (22m) long and also has a pedestrian walkway attached. Still raining, we were content to look, but not walk.
From the Vaughan Creek Covered Bridge, we could see the Hardscrabble Bridge and the tents of the Sea Shanty Fest.
The Hardscrabble Covered Bridge in the rain
The day never improved and we finally headed to Saint John, found a hotel room, took hot showers and snuggled into a king-size bed to plan our next day in Saint John. Torrential rains continued throughout the night. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder claps boomed. The gusty winds blew down leaves and tree limbs.
Will the weather ever improve? We hope so. We’d like to have a chance to visit Saint John and do some exploring. Join us next time… and bring your umbrella, just in case.