Fundy Trail

The Western Gate of the Fundy Trail, easily reached from Saint John, is located a short distance from St Martins, while the Eastern Gate, accessible from Moncton, Sussex and Alma, is now linked to Fundy National Park through a newly opened connector road.

The rock outcrops along the Fundy Trail Parkway expose both Precambrian to Cambrian rocks near the bridge at Big Salmon River, and Triassic age rocks along the coast to the west. About 400 million years of Earth history can be seen here. The older rocks tell the story of the ancient Iapetus Ocean and how it closed to form Pangea. In Greek mythology Iapetus was a Titan, and father of Atlas. The modern Atlantic Ocean is named after Atlas.

The Atlantic Ocean is a relatively recent geological feature, only about 200 million years old. The rocks at Big Salmon River are 600 million years old! The Atlantic Ocean was created by sea-floor spreading. Molten rock from the Earth’s interior rises to the surface to create new crust. As it rises and cools the new crust expands along volcanic mountain chains on the seafloor. Old crust returns to the Earth’s interior along deep ocean trenches. Seafloor volcanic mountain chains mark the middle of an expanding ocean basin. The rising molten material creates a ‘bubble’ in the crust that eventually breaks (to create volcanoes).

They eventually join to form a long break in the crust where a new ocean is born. One crack fails to join another. The ‘failed rift’ is called an aulacogen. The Bay of Fundy is a ‘failed rift’ created when the Atlantic Ocean was born. Instead of becoming part of a new ocean, it became a ‘rift valley’ that filled with sediment.

Rocks are eroded by the action of water slowly breaking down the layers into smaller pieces. As the rocks are slowly worn down the sand and mud will be washed out into the Bay of Fundy. They will eventually become sedimentary rocks again as part of the recycling of the Earth’s crust. The Fundy Trail used to boast a picturesque ‘Flower Pot Rock’. Flower Pots or Sea Stacks are small fragments of an eroding coastline that have withstood the pounding of the sea. They remind us where the coastline once stood. The one that was visible along the Fundy Trail has since succumbed to the forces of the Bay of Fundy and provides an excellent demonstration of the effects of coastal erosion that are occurring during our lifetimes.

The Fundy Trail is built around the former community of Big Salmon River, one of the most important and prosperous lumbering communities along the Fundy coastline, if not all of Canada. William Davidson saw the value of the land and built the first saw mill at Big Salmon River in 1845.  This area was considered to have some of the finest wood in the world resulting in very successful milling operations.  The wood was of top quality with much variety. The timber supplied the many needed parts for ships built during the golden age of sail, and, at one time, Big Salmon River was one of the world’s biggest suppliers of pulpwood for the paper industry.

Although there were precautionary measures taken to reduce the risk of fire which included large barrels of rain water collected for the roof, fire was the primary reason that four different mills were built or rebuilt over the years. Portable mills were also popular among lumbermen in and around Big Salmon River. These mills provided work to the residents and woodlot owners and operated over the years into the 20th century.

Construction of the Parkway started in 1995. This Phase I of the Parkway (about 10 km) was funded with income generated from investments in a $ 10.0 Million Trust Fund established with $ 5.0 Million contributions from each of the Provincial and Federal Governments. Phase I was opened in August of 1998.

In 2007 additional funding was established and construction started on Phase II of the Parkway. The first major contract for Phase II was for construction of the Big Salmon River bridge and associated approach facilities. At the same time, a second EIA was initiated.

An additional 3.5 km section of Parkway roadway to Long Beach Lookout, was opened to the public in June of 2010. In 2013 an additional funding package enabled starting construction for the 3 km section of Parkway roadway including direct access to the spectacular Long Beach – with a wheelchair accessible observation deck immediately adjacent to the high tide line at the beach.

The parking facilities at this location also provide direct access to a 0.7 km footpath to the falls on Long Beach Brook and a direct, convenient connection to the Fundy Footpath which links Big Salmon River to Fundy National Park. These facilities were opened to the public in May of 2016.

The 11 km of Parkway roadway and associated facilities between Long Beach/Tufts Point area and the east end of the Park in the McCumber Brook/Walton Glen Gorge/Falls area were constructed during the 2015 to 2017 construction seasons.

Construction of the upgrades to the provincial road linkages to Sussex and Alma – Fundy National Park by the NB Department of Transportation and Infrastructure began in the spring of 2018, starting the completion of the final link along the Bay of Fundy Coastal Drive.

The Fundy Trail Parkway officially opened its west gate on August 29, 1998 showcasing the first 10 km phase of the parkway. The Parkway opened is Eastern Entrance on May 15, 2020. It is now 30 km long and accessible from both entrances.

The connector road to Sussex was completed in the spring of 2020, and was officially celebrated on July 7, 2020.

The connector road to Alma is scheduled to open in 2021. This will result in a significant economic impact for the Province of New Brunswick and will help to establish a spectacular, scenic coastal link between Saint John, Sussex and Moncton, joining the entire southern portion of the province from St. Stephen in the west to Sackville in the east. Completion of this infrastructure will integrate the four top Natural Attractions – Fundy Trail Parkway, Fundy National Park, Hopewell Rocks and Cape Enrage into a consolidated group of first-class coastal tourism attractions which, collectively, will create a World Class Signature Coastal Area called the Fundy Coastal Drive.

For more information click here.

St Martins Sea Caves, Quaco Museum, St Martins Hardscrabble #2 Bridge, St Martins Vaughn Creek Bridge, Red Rock Adventures.