Hopewell Rocks, A Geological Phenomenon in the Bay of Fundy
Written: May 27 '05 (Updated Jun 06 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Interesting to see at the different tides, especially low tide.
Cons: You must be there at proper tides.
The Bottom Line: This is a place where my wife and I spent a few hours on our last day in Canada and we are glad we did.
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Hopewell Rocks Ocean Tidal Exploration Site |
While visiting our favorite continental US destination of Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor Maine my wife and I decided on a side trip to Canada's New Brunswick area to visit some coastal destinations including Roosevelt Campobello International Park, St Andrews and St Johns, Bay of Fundy National Park and the Hopewell Rocks, a geological phenomenon that was created by colliding continents, ice-age powers, and continuous tidal action. These geological columns, that are worn on the bottom by the tides, show years of strata within their lines and have trees and other vegetation growing from above. These are known as the "Flowerpot Rocks" and they are quite cool to see in person and it's a unique area in which to take some photos.
Some Quick Basics
The Hopewell Rocks opening and closing hours depend on season. Check out their web site for details at
http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/english/index.htm
You'll see they open between 8 and 9AM and close by 5-8PM at different times of the year. Admission is now $8.00 for those 19 and older. A couple of dollars are saved by seniors and those 18 and younger. Kids four and under are free.
It is also important to know the tide tables as this will help decide what time of day to arrive or perhaps it may even decide what day.
The Interpretive Center
This area was not developed into a park like setting with the Interpretive Center, dining opportunities and a gift shop until 1998. More land was acquired at that time too.
The visitors center is a modern building that happens to be a good stop before seeing the rocks. You can pick up some useful information that will make your visit to the rocks more meaningful. I liked the airy feel of the place that had many hands on displays and plenty of reading if you wanted to immerse yourself into this strange a different kind of geology. You can get further information through books and the like in their well stocked gift shop.
Part of this building houses a comfortable and attractive indoor/outdoor restaurant, The High Tide Cafe, with a very basic menu. This is just a good place for something to eat because nothing else is around except, that is, for the Low Tide Cafe at lower part of the site that we did not get to.
The place offers parking and a short walk to the center area. A map with many trails is available. After learning a bit you can either walk to the sites below or wait for a little-train transport that takes you to an area above and further east of the site. You walk down the rest on your own. I might also add that later on you also walk back up again. Because the tides are so extreme in the Bay of Fundy area the walk up the banks is a pretty high and far distance.
Rest rooms are found in a few areas of the site.
The Rocks
At low tide, we were waiting for the tide to finish going out, you get a better feel of the size of these "Flower Pots" then. The paths are clearly marked and easy enough to follow. There are viewing platforms too. This is also an excellent area for birding. Once below be careful on some of the seaweed covered rocks that are very slippery. When we got to the bottom there were still a few inches of water. By looking at water levels you could see the tide going out as more and more rock became visible. My wife enjoyed looking around and taking some awesome pictures of the pots, arches and cave type areas. This was our highlight of the day and we took many pictures.
I did not like the fact that many, many areas are roped off with yellow caution tape to keep people out of dangerous areas. The problem is that there is nary a photo without the tape showing unless you do some creative editing using bodies and other rocks to crop them out. I can't come up with a better answer to the yellow tape as to how to keep people away from these areas, because it is dangerous. Perhaps if everyone wore collars with "shocks", if you cross a line, would work.
Anyways there is limited time of a couple of hours to adventure and then the tide starts right back up again. They do clear the beach area because you must get out before the tides that rise over 46' feet start back.
Last Thoughts
This was a very interesting and cool place to be. I would recommend it as a place to visit if on the New Brunswick coast. You do have to allow time to get onto the sea floor. That was the best part for us. There are trails above but getting down and onto the sea floor with the Flowerpots above was awesome. I'll mention here that kayak tours are available and I think that would be very cool to do.
We did have a snack at the cafe there but we saved our better dining options for somewhere else. I imagine that it must get pretty cold along the shore in the winter months so I would suggest visiting in warmer weather.
The Bay of Fundy including the Hopewell Rocks is one of the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die an interesting and informative book of special places to visit in Canada, the US and around the World.
A Canadian side trip from Maine's Acadia National Park
Roosevelt Campobello International Park
MAINE, great coastal towns and so much more.
Bar Harbor What a great seaside town!!
Acadia National Park My favorite place in the world!
Recommended:
Yes
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