(PHOTO: courtesy of Fundy Traiil Parkway)

They’re calling it Canada’s “best new scenic drive” and it’s not even completed yet. When completed, the 18.6-mile Fundy Trail Parkway will feature 32 scenic lookout points on cliffs New Brunswick’s famed cliffs, which reach up to 50 stories high.

More than seven beaches make up the province’s dramatic coastline, which curves along the Bay of Fundy and is home to the highest tides in the world and one of the last remaining coastal wilderness areas along the Eastern Seaboard.

Representing one of the largest tourism developments in Atlantic Canada in the past decade, the completed Parkway will link communities stretching from Saint John to St. Martins, Alma and Moncton and will offer greater access to such famed Maritimes attractions as the Hopewell Rocks, Cape Enrage and the 75 miles of hiking trails within Fundy National Park.

Although the entire scenic drive anticipates a completion date in 2018, many points are already ready to explore.

For a quick overview, be sure to stop at the Fundy Trail Parkway’s Interpretive Centre overlooking the Big Salmon River. Built to resemble an 1800s logging bunkhouse, the center highlights the region’s local history, in particular its early beginnings when it was a leader in the lumber trade and as a shipbuilding center. Once one of the richest regions in Canada, St. Martins was produced more than 500 sailing ships during the golden age of sail.

The latest phase to open this past May, provides visitors direct access to Long Beach. For the first time ever, motorists can explore the mile-and-a-half-long tidal beach, which juts some 1,600 feet into the Bay during low tide.

Experienced hikers can set a course for the Fundy Footpath, a 24-mile wilderness trail that starts at Big Salmon River and winds its way to Fundy National Park.  The challenging course should take experienced hikers about four days to complete. Hikers looking for a slightly easier course can now explore the 2.7-mile section that stretches from the river to Long Beach.

For more information on visiting New Brunswick, check out www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca.

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