New Brunswick: The Great Trail

New Brunswick contains over 900 km of the Great Trail and connects the PEI, Quebec, and Nova Scotia sections to each other. It is home to some enormous forests and the northern Appalachian Mountains. It is the only province to have both French and English listed as its official languages, and about 1/3 of the province considers themselves Francophone. You can probably get by without speaking fluent French here, but some basic conversational French would surely be an asset.

Fun Fact: New Brunswick’s Arboreal Emblem (AKA provincial tree) is the Balsam fir (Abies balsamea).

Without any further ado, let’s get on to the trail sections.

Nova Scotia Border to Moncton

Section	Distance (km)	Type	Managing Body
Tidnish Bridge to Baie Verte	7.79	Paved Road	None listed
Snowmobile Trail no 52	13.69	Natural Trail, Gravel Trail	Chignecto Ship Railway Liberal News
Chignecto Ship Railway	9.05	Natural Trail	Chignecto Ship Railway Liberal News
The Marshes	66.32	Gravel Trail	Sentier NB Trail Cape Jourimain Nature Centre
Dorchester to Sackville	14.3	Paved Road, Paved Trail	None listed
Saint-Joseph to Dorchester	10.33	Paved Road	None listed
Sentier de L’Etoile	39.48	Gravel Trail, Paved Road	Sentier de l’Étoile
Riverfront Trail	19.5	Gravel Trail	City of Dieppe City of Moncton Town of Riverview Sentier NB Trail
Dobson Trail to Riverfront Trail	4.87	Paved Trail	None listed
Dobson Trail	57.45	Natural Trail	Sentier NB Trail Fundy Hiking Trail Association Town of Riverview

Moncton to Fredericton

In this area of New Brunswick, you can find some of the last red spruces in North America (specifically on the Dobson trail and the Fundy Footpath). That section is supposed to be a challenging but beautiful wilderness section of the GT. Areas of the trail along the Bay of Fundy can be quite cool, so be sure to bring appropriate clothing for the time of year.

Fun Fact: New Brunswick is supposedly home to the world’s oldest known red spruce tree, which counts in at over 445 years old.

Section	Distance (km)	Type	Managing Body
Fundy National Park	39.4	Natural Trail	Sentier NB Trail Tourism New Brunswick Parks Canada
Fundy Footpath	43.17	Natural Trail	Sentier NB Trail Fundy Trail Parkway Fundy Hiking Trail Association Fundy Footpath
Fundy Trail Parkway	10.2	Gravel trail	Sentier NB Trail Fundy Trail Parkway Tourism New Brunswick
St. Martins to Fundy Trail	9.84	Paved Road	None listed
Hampton to St. Martins	38.85	Paved Road	None listed
St. John to Hampton	46.98	Gravel Trail, Paved Road, Paved Trail	None listed
City of St. John	23.99	Gravel Trail, Paved Road, Paved Trail	Sentier NB Trail City of St. John – Rockwood Park City of St. John – Harbour Passage
Town of Grand Bay-Westfield	6.84	Gravel Trail, Paved Road	Town of Grand Bay-Westfield Sentier NB Trail
The Lower River Passage, St. John River	101.42	Water Trail	The Lower River Passage Town of Grand Bay-Westfield Sentier NB Trail

The end of this section includes a 101-km water section (The Lower River Passage, St. John River). There seem to be multiple routes (guides can be purchased here).

Fredericton to Quebec Border

The northern tip of the New Brunswick Great Trail is located in the northeastern section of the Appalachian mountains.

Section	Distance (km)	Type	Managing Body
Lincoln Trail	22.4	Gravel Trail, Paved Trail	City of Fredericton Sentier NB Trail Discover the Passage
Keswick Trail	14.54	Gravel Trail	Sentier NB Trail
North Side Trail	18.86	Gravel Trail	City of Fredericton
Valley and South Riverfront Trails	13.08	Gravel Trail	City of Fredericton
Woodstock to Fredericton	97.53	Paved Road	None listed
St. John River Trail	118.99	Gravel Trail	Sentier NB Trail Tourism New Brunswick
Grand Falls Connection	7.78	Gravel Trail, Paved Road	None listed
Route 144	42.16	Paved Road	None listed
City of Edmonston – St. Basile	6.89	Paved Road, Paved Trail	Sentier NB Trail
Madawaska First Nation	1.74	Paved Road	None listed
City of Edmonston East	0.72	Gravel Trail, Paved Trail	Sentier NB Trail
Parc Linéaire Interprovincial Petit Témis	142.23	Gravel Trail, Paved Trail	Parc linéaire interprovincial Petit Témis

The Petit Témis trail is made on converted road beds and is a good choice for all skill levels.

Logistics

The New Brunswick section of the GT traces through many small towns and larger cities, so resupply and finding town accommodations there should be easy.

Reservations will be required to camp in Fundy National Park. Other campgrounds in New Brunswick can be found here.

Additional Resources

There is a Sue Lebrecht mapbook for this section of the Great Trail (the Newfoundland one was well-recommended, so I assume this will be equally thorough). Check here for more information about local trail partners.