Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park in New Brunswick is an incredibly unique spot in eastern Canada that is absolutely worth a visit. This guide to Hopewell Rocks will help you plan your visit and explore the changing tides in the Bay of Fundy.

Hopewell Rocks: Key Facts & Tide Schedule

The single most important factor when visiting is the tide schedule.

• World's Highest Tides: The Bay of Fundy is home to the highest tides on Earth, with a difference of up to 16 meters (50 feet) between low and high tide.
• Tidal Cycle: The tide changes approximately every 6 hours and 13 minutes.
• Low Tide Access: The ocean floor, where you can walk among the "flowerpot rocks," is accessible for about 3 hours before and 3 hours after the absolute low tide time.
• High Tide View: At high tide, the rocks are surrounded by water, turning the area into a dramatic, water-filled cove suitable for kayaking.

The exact timing of low tide changes every day. To plan for your visit, check the tide schedule here.

The park can be explored in a half of a day. We'd recommend planning your visit so you can spend a couple hours exploring the ocean floor and the flowerpot rocks at low tide. Afterwards, hiking the trails and enjoying the viewpoints at high tide will show the dramatic tidal change.

Hopewell Rocks Park Information

• Typical Operating Season: Mid-May to Mid-October (Hours vary by month; check the official site).
• Peak Season Hours: Typically 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Late June to Early September).
• Entrance Fee (General Admission): Adult price is approximately $17.12 CAD (plus tax). Seniors, students, youth, and family rates are also available.
• Ticket Validity: Your admission is valid for two consecutive days to ensure you have the flexibility to catch both high and low tides.
• Park Pass Acceptance: The Parks NB Season Pass grants entry for up to two adults and three children. (Note: This is a New Brunswick Provincial Parks Pass, NOT the Parks Canada Discovery Pass for National Parks like Fundy National Park.)

Cool Facts about Hopewell Rocks

• The Flowerpots: The famous rock formations are called "sea stacks" or "flowerpot rocks" because of their shape—narrow bases with tree-covered tops. This shape is a result of millions of years of erosion from the world's most extreme tides.
• A River of Water: 160 billion tonnes of water flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy twice daily! This immense volume of water rushing in and out is what creates the extreme tidal range.
• Geological History: The rocks themselves are made of conglomerate and sandstone, dating back to the Carboniferous period.
• Highest Tides in the World: As mentioned, Hopewell Rocks has the highest tidal change in the world. This is caused by the gravitational pull of the moon interacting with the unique geography of the Bay of Fundy. The funnel-shape of the bay causes the tides take over 12 hours to complete its full cycle!

How to Plan Your Day at Hopewell Rocks

As mentioned, most visitors will want to plan your day around low-tide. Walking around on the ocean floor will be the highlight of your visit to Hopewell Rocks Park. 3-4 hours would be plenty of time to see the entire park at a reasonable pace.

Just beyond the main park entrance is the crossroads to the trails, and most of the amenities:

The Interpretive Center is the main building of the park, which contains a small museum. The museum is absolutely worth a visit, as it explains the history of the park and an explanation of the scientific significance of the area. Within the same building is a washroom and gift shop.

Adjoined to the Interpretive Center is the High Tide Cafe. This casual dining restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating with a view.

Just outside the Center is a children's park, table tennis, and benches. From here, you can also catch the shuttle to the ocean floor, if you paid the additional $2 at the entrance gate.

Hiking & Viewpoints

The hiking trails at Hopewell Rocks Park are fairly short and simple. From the Interpretive Center, you'll find signs guiding your path.

Before discussing the ocean floor walk, we'd like to highlight a couple spots that most travelers miss. Just behind the Center is Daniel's Flats viewpoint, probably our favourite in the entire park. At low tide you can get a sense of the scale of the area. From Daniel's Flats, you can hike 900m to Demoiselle Beach. This will take you right to the shoreline where you can see seabirds harvesting the mud for food.

The opposite direction of the beach is the main hike along the Ocean Floor Trail (750m), which is your entrance to exploring the rocks. Before descending the staircase, you'll find a building with washrooms, water fountains, and the Low Tide Cafe. A shoe-wash area is also here. A couple more minutes up the trail is Baymount Outdoor Adventures, where you can rent kayaks for high tide.

After doing down the stairs to the ocean floor, the best views are to the south. You can hike about 750m back south along the sand and pass by Elephant Rock and Diamond Rock, the two most popular photo spots in the park. If you head north from the staircase, there are less rock formations but you can see very far into the bay which is still an impressive view.

In all, expect to spend about an hour on the ocean floor, depending on the number of photo spots.

Enjoy your trip to Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park!

Looking to explore more Canadian Parks? Check out our guide on Banff, Gros Morne & Cape Breton!