Phenomenal Fundy: St. Martins sea caves and the Fundy Trail

New Brunswick does nature (and scenery) well. Rolling countryside covered in dense forests, lakes, and rivers, and the coastline of the Bay of Fundy. So pretty. So interesting. It just begs to be explored.

A short drive north of Saint John is the small village of St. Martins. Here is a good place to get an impression of the tidal rise & fall in the Bay. At high tide the small wharf is completely full of water, with the boats floating beside the dock, and at low, is completely empty of water, with its fishing boats sitting on the ocean floor, and the ocean over a kilometer away out in the bay. Up and down goes the ocean (or in & out) day in and day out. That’s the rhythm of life here. (It’s important to know the schedule of the tides so you can also plan your sightseeing accordingly!).

St. Martins is also famous for its sea caves. The caves have been (and are being) pounded out by the continual wave action and erosion of the tides. 

They are impressive, tall, shallow caves, which can be kayaked at high tide, or walked in at low tide. 

The red rock is striated by the action of the ocean, the ceilings drip with water, and various ocean plants grow in and around them. 

Lily was enamored with the colonies of sea snails, hanging out on the rocks, waiting for the tide to come back in. 

Bob and Morgan went around the corner to check out more caves, while Lily rearranged the snails into groups (I bet they were confused when they poked out of their shells!). 

The kids also both found the mud, although it’s really hard to avoid it here. (I really, really need to start bringing a change of clothes for both of them, everywhere.)  The caves were big and impressive, and interesting, but I like the cave Morgan and I found earlier in the day, on the Fundy Trail.

Up the road from the sea caves, is the Fundy Trail, an 16 km multi-use (user pay) trail that treks along the unspoiled coastline. The trail winds through forest, to cliff tops with overlooks of the Bay, down to beaches, over rivers, and provides information about the plants & animals that make this region home. 

Much of it is easy walking, but some sections are quite steep. The well paved road runs nearby the trail, but the two intersect only once in a while. (So, in case you go on a walk down the trail, it’s good to note how far back you might have to walk to get your vehicle!).

We decided to walk along the Flowerpot scenic trail, which is an easy trail down the hill, to an overlook of a flowerpot rock (a column of rock with plants/ trees on top, that is generally surrounded by water at high tide), and then through the forest. 

The trail continues for a bit over a kilometer, until it splits – either to loop back up to the starting point, or down to a beach. Bob and Lily went on the loop back to get the truck, while Morgan and I walked down to the beach. I think we got the better end of the deal. 

The trail was quite steep, but the beach at the end was amazing. Two small streams descended the hill, onto opposite ends of the beach. They each flowed down their channels, and disappeared under mounds of gravel, only to reappear further down the beach. 

Large mounds of smooth gravel testified to the power of the waves here. 

On the one corner of the beach was a gravel filled sea cave, 

the high water mark extremely obvious. 

Several types of stone were evident inside the cave – smooth sedimentary rock, which fell off in strips, and a red conglomerate rock, with other rocks embedded.

The gravel near the sea cave crunched hollowly underfoot. It was very loud sounding, and very eerie. Was it really hollow underneath (the mounds further away didn't sound like that)? Ah well, a mystery for another day.

There was quite a bit more beach past the sea cave, but I knew that Bob and Lily would be waiting (and it would take us a few minutes to climb that hill!). 

After rejoining the rest of the family, we continued driving along the trail, stopping at various overlooks and eventually arriving at the Interpretive Center beside the Big Salmon River. 

A traditional hatching river for Atlantic salmon, for years there were no salmon in this river. They seem to be making a comeback, though and we were told that the smelts had been spotted making their way out to sea. We didn't see any though. I guess that leaves me fishless in Fundy. 

The road continues on up past the river, to overlook the cliffs for a ways, until the road ends, and you have to turn around. The trail is a work in progress, and is slowly being extended north to open up even more spectacular scenery to the public eye.

This was a great day trip, but boy were we tired at the end of it! Maybe we’ll take a day off before exploring more nature…