Welcome to the Musquash Estuary Coastal Trails
Building boardwalks for nature with Home Depot Conservation Volunteers event May 2009, Five Fathom Hole Trail, Musquash Estuary, New Brunswick (Photo by NCC)
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has built and maintains two coastal hiking trails along the Musquash Estuary, just west of Saint John, New Brunswick.
The trails pass through mossy coastal forests, with stunning views of the Musquash Estuary, cobble beaches, mudflats and pristine salt marshes.
Both trails are rustic and for hiking only. There are no facilities on the trail. Please be prepared for rugged conditions and changeable weather.
(Disclaimer: All visitors to NCC properties do so at their own risk.)
The Five Fathom Hole trail is a 5.7-kilometre linear trail (11.4 kilometres return) with a shorter 1.5-kilometre side hike to access the Butler Creek Beach. This trail takes approximately five hours to hike and is moderately strenuous, with many ups and downs, also crossing two beaches.
The second trail is the Black Beach trail, which is a 4.2-kilometre loop. This trail takes approximately two to three to hike and is moderately strenuous, with many ups and downs.
To get to the Five Fathom Hole trailhead
- From Saint John, take Route 1 west.
- Take exit 103 (Prince of Wales exit), left off the exit, left at the stop sign.
- The parking area and trailhead are located down the road on your left, and is marked with an NCC sign.
To get to the Black Beach trailhead
- From Saint John, take Route 1 west.
- Take exit 112 (Lorneville exit) and drive straight (towards Colson Cove).
- At Colson Cove, veer right onto a gravel road (follow beach signs). This road can be rough, and hikers may want to park at a pull off partway in and hike the rest of the way to the trailhead.
- The road ends at Black Beach with a small parking area.
- Follow a side road up to the right that leads to trails and the trailhead.
For a PDF Map of the Area and trails: click here
Partners in conservation
NCC sincerely thanks all those who assisted in the development of the trails:
- Conservation Council of New Brunswick
- Greater Saint John Community Foundation
- Home Depot Evergreen Rebuilding Nature Grant Program
- Lorneville Community and Recreation Association
- Mountain Equipment Co-op
- New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund
- New Brunswick Power
- New Brunswick Trails Council Inc.
- New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund
- Province of New Brunswick
- Saint John Energy
- Shell Conservation Internship Program
- Weston Family Foundation
- And the numerous individuals who made donations and/or contributed their valuable time and energy.
