New River Beach Provincial Park is a salt water beach that offers plenty to do for all types of outdoor recreationalists. From the sandy beaches to the simply breathtaking nature trails, this park takes campers on an outdoor experience like no other. The vast beach area is situated between cliffs and densely wooded hills that are teaming with many species of flora and fauna.
Enjoy the warm waters and embark on exciting hiking trails that lead to panoramic views of the Bay of Fundy and surrounding coastal islands. The park also features plenty of amenities for an almost luxurious camping holiday by the beach. The tides around the region of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are the highest tides in the world, so during low tide the beach area can stretch out for miles and the tidal pools left behind hold plenty of marine life which makes for exciting beach exploration adventures.
The beach is the focal point of this park but the surrounding woodlands and rocky hills offer their own beauty and sense of serenity. To get away from the crowd you can hike along the woodland nature trail that takes you past streams, waterfalls, and mature hardwoods offering spectacular views all along the way.
New River Provincial Park is a great camping spot for those driving down to Nova Scotia or those visiting the province of New Brunswick. The park offers the experience of being on a beach with dense woodlands just a short walking distance away.
New River Beach Provincial Park is located about 45 km or 30 miles from Saint John, New Brunswick. Its location makes it a great destination to camp while driving to or from Nova Scotia. The roads leading to the park are wide and well-maintained. You can get to the park quite easily from both St. Andrew's and Saint John with signs leading the way.
New River Beach Provincial Park features a large campground that offers serviced and unserviced campsites for RV and tent camping. The park also features four rustic cabins that can be reserved for a more sheltered camping experience. They are three campgrounds in total and feature 99 campsites, each with their own individual benefits and drawbacks. The campsites are not ocean facing and are across the road from the beach area.
Campground A features campsites 62-85. These campsites are gravel and unserviced and are ideal for tent or van camping. They are wooded campsites and offer plenty of shade and privacy. The campground has vault toilets, water tap, garbage disposal, and is close to the nature trail.
Campground B has a total of 66 serviced campsites as well as sheltered cabins and structured tents to accommodate all types of camping enthusiasts. The campground offers electric hookup, showers, garbage disposal, laundry, canteen, public telephones, toilets, kitchen shelter, recreational building, and trailer sewage disposal. Firewood is also available on campgrounds and campsites come with picnic tables and charcoal BBQs. The campsites are spacious and can accommodate larger sized RVs and motorhomes. The sites are also wooded and offer shade and privacy.
Campground C is a smaller campground that offers a total of 13 campsites that offer a lot more in terms of privacy. Spacious gravel campsites that are amidst the dense spruce forest offer plenty of shade and campers can feel far detached from other campers visiting the park. These serviced sites offer 30 amp electric hookup and the campground has its own toilet, garbage disposal and water spigot.
New River Beach Provincial Park offer hikers three trails to choose from; Barnaby Head, Chitticks Beach, and New River Beach Trails. Barnaby Trail is a nature trail of moderate level that takes hikers along the rocky shoreline and past a bog teaming with an abundant species of flora including many bug-eating plants, sundews and Labrador tea. The trail then leads into the coastal spruce forest and past tidal pools teeming with marine life.
The Chitticks Beach trail is easy and takes hikers along the coastal spruce forest and past many lookout points that reveal majestic views of New River Island. The New River Beach Trail is also easy but can only be hiked during low tide as it explores the entire beach area and rocky outcrops at each side of the beach.
Kayaking enthusiasts will love coming out to New River Beach Provincial Park as it is an excellent camping destination and base for exploring the many nearby coastal islands. Sea kayaking is a popular activity here and you can also admire the many fishing boats from the beach as these waters are rich in marine life.
During low tide exploring the beach area is a rewarding experience as you can come across plenty of coastal wildlife including such as barnacles, sea urchins, rock crabs, periwinkles, whelks, and starfish. The cliffs jutting out at either end of the beach are also great fun to explore with plenty of coves and hidden caves that are only revealed during low tide. The fine sandy beach offers a leisurely experience while you explore this beautiful tidal beach.
They are few things in life that beat the joy of being at a sandy beach surrounded by spruce forests and views of coastal islands jutting out into the horizon. A day-out picnicking amidst nature can not get better than this, especially when you have facilities like a day-use picnic area, charcoal grills, and a playground for the kids. Hike along the shoreline or simply relax on the soft sandy beach taking in that glorious summer sunshine.
The surrounding spruce forests adds to the wildlife in this region and campers can spot an array of coastal birds including gulls, cormorants, Eider ducks, and black seabirds that nest just off-shore. The bog is also home to unique flora such as 90-year old dwarfed Black Spruces and many bug-eating plants that thrive only in this region. Plenty of smaller mammals can also be spotted darting from tree to tree as you hike along the dense spruce forests.
The diverse topography of this coastal landscape makes for some truly fascinating photography as you can not only capture panoramic views of the coastal islands but also the marine life that thrives here. Take pictures of the unique plants that grow here or comb the beach area for some truly amazing coastal photography. That's not all; the sunsets here are also amazing sights to capture and in any weather you are likely to take some truly epic pics!
