Headquarters Campground in Bay of Fundy National Park was NOT on our original trip itinerary. Boy are we glad that a last minute change of plans brought us to this breathtakingly beautiful location.
Our last scheduled stop in Nova Scotia was at Amherst Shore Provincial Park. On our last full day at the campground, we were just too burnt out for a site-seeing day trip. We decided to hang out at the campground and relax.
Except we couldn’t relax. Because the mosquitos decided to eat us alive.
By 11 am, we were huddled in the toy hauler wondering how the rest of the day was going to play out. A day of site seeing seemed overwhelming since we were making the long drive back to Maine the next day. A light bulb suddenly went off. What if we just started the drive back early and stopped at something awesome along the way?
A quick call to Bay of Fundy National Park confirmed that they did have a last minute campsite available. We packed up and hit the road.
Sometimes it feels like the travel gods hand you a gift right from the heavens. This was one of those times. We had a lovely, though brief, stay at Headquarters and can’t wait to return in the future.
Headquarters Campground in Bay of Fundy National Park: Campground Details
Headquarters isn’t the only campground in Bay of Fundy National Park. There’s four altogether:
- Cannontown (the newest campground and RV friendly)
- Chignecto (often considered the most ‘family-friendly)
- Point Wolfe (length and height restrictive)
- Headquarters (close to the front entrance)
Our friends from BoxyColonialontheRoad.com stayed at Chignecto just weeks after we passed through the national park. Gretchen Holcombe was kind enough to give us some info on that campground, and we share that in the podcast episode!
Headquarters is split into two sections and they are remarkable different. Upon entering, on the left side of the main road there are very nice back in sites, some of which have amazing water views. This area borders the natural playground that has zip lines and climbing features. It also has huge playing fields with soccer nets.
To the right of the road, the campsites are less scenic pull thrus. We chose this area because we were only staying one night and didn’t want to unhitch. All 154 sites are available for reservations. The camping season runs from May through October.
Some sites have full hookups, some have just water and electric, and some have no services. You can reserve online, but we called and found the reservation agent to be quite helpful.
Headquarters Campground in Bay of Fundy National Park: Amenities and Activities
We were blown away by how many activities and programs were available in the campgrounds of this national park. As mentioned, our boys were in awe of the large playground and recreation area. In fact, we have never seen a space like that in any other national park. We also were able to enjoy the community fire that they host at the campground each evening.
There are so many amazing programs, we highly recommend checking out the schedule in advance of your visit. You can learn more about the guided beach walks, story times, and concert series here.
Headquarters Campground in Bay of Fundy National Park: Regional Attractions
Of course, you could spend your entire stay here and never leave the park. However, you really won’t want to miss out on a visit to Hopewell Rocks. The Bay of Fundy has the most dramatic tides in the whole world, and the rock formations here are one of a kind.
We actually visited Hopewell Rocks on our way to Bay of Fundy National Park and found they had excellent RV parking. It’s also dog friendly and Maggie was allowed to explore the rocks with us. A couple of other tips for your visit? Make sure to check the tides and schedule your arrival around low tide. There are guided kayak tours that we would love to enjoy on our next visit.
Headquarters Campground is just a short walk into the town of Alma. We wandered into Tipsy Tails for dinner and expected a pretty straightforward bar and grill experience with a great view. Well, the lobster macaroni and cheese was divine, the mussels were delicious, and the crab cake received a two thumbs up from Max. It was all around an excellent dining experience. Plus…the view.
Overall, we were grateful that we stumbled across this campground by chance. However, we couldn’t help but be disappointed that we hadn’t planned it as one of our longer stops.
Until next time, Bay of Fundy National Park.
We’ll see you at the campground,
Stephanie + Jeremy
