For our family vacation, we decided to load up our tag-along trailer and head “Out East” to camp at Fundy National Park. I had been fascinated with the park since I was in grade school reading about it in old National Geographic Magazines we had in the back room of the library.

The drive from Hamilton is about 15 hours when you look on Google Maps. Not so fast, with a trailer, family and a 5 year old, you can double it 🙂 The drive is the definition of dreadful until you pass Durham Region. The 401 through Southern Ontario sucks, especially when you have a load.

Once you clear the big city, the pace slows down, the scenery improves and eventually, you start to follow the St. Lawrence River. Weaving through the small town and villages in Eastern Ontario and Quebec is as nice of a drive as the 401 was bad. We joked about the drive after, to get to the park, you pretty much take the 401 until the end, turn right and take the road to the end.

When we pulled into the park, it immediately showed off its beauty. The drive down Highway 114 past the Fundy National Park Observation Deck is incredible. The view of the Bay is unimpeded and it shows off its demeanor. It would not be a good place to venture off alone, if you’ve never been. (More on that later)

We booked the Cannontown campground on site 19. It was perfect. Lots of room to back in, electrical, water and sewer. The best part was a total badass play area for the kids. We made extensive use of the zip line! It is highly recommended if you have a camper.

Back to the Bay, I really wanted to paddle in it. Luckily for me, my friend Shannon was in the area and we met up with Adam Constantine and Pete Lavigne for a guided tour of Cape Enrage. I have to say, people on the East Coast are for the most part the nicest people I have ever met, but they sure do have an odd fascination with launching at low tide 😉

The set up to get into our gear was probably one of the silliest things I have ever done, Adam and Shannon are like brother and sister and are constantly poking each other. They may have even got the drysuits mixed up 😉

After a brutal portage to launch in low tide, it was off we went. The water was flat and as calm as a pancake. Not being a local, I was told that was very unusual for the area. It made for some amazing touring conditions.

Off we went, headed from Waterside to Cape Enrage. The scenery at low tide reminded me a lot of Georgian Bay. It is rocky and the trees are mostly pine. An interesting difference is that they generally not windswept, like they are at home.

At low tide you can paddle through small rocky islands, and the coast is a steep rocky ridge, in a way, similar to the Bruce Peninsula. Once we rounded the point we started to look for a spot to stop for lunch. However, the silliness definitely did not stop.

We decided to head back as the tide rose, making sure to explore every possible sea kave and outcropping.

At the end of the trip, Shannon and Pete made a realization. “Hey Aaron, have you ever rolled in salt water?” No, actually I haven’t. Not fully paying attention, Shannon yells, don’t worry, the water is fresh after about 3 feet.

We’ll, somehow I let that sink in without thinking much about it and rolled. When I came up, I said. “OMG THAT IS THE MOST HORRIBLE TASTE!” I have still not heard the end of that.

From there, we went on to paddle “The Shubie” and the “100 Wild Islands”

Click here to see the full album of pictures.

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This trip would require a minimum of level 2 or higher skills depending on the conditions.