Kouchibouguac National Park - Sipu Backcountry Campsites

Estimated distance: 1.3 km one way

Date of hike: 2012/08/08

This writeup will focus on the Sipu primitive camping area in Kouchibouguac National Park, New Brunswick.

We had done online research before going to Sipu in hope of finding information about it and the other backcountry campsites in Kouchibouguac National Park. The research was of no avail as most descriptions of the area are not at all specific. At the time, we could not even find any photos of Sipu. Even today, the backcountry of Kouchibouguac is not nearly as well documented as the backcountry of other Maritime parks like Fundy or Kejimkujik. This post will serve as a more specific description of Sipu and how to reach it.

Sipu has four campsites on the banks of the Kouchibouguac River on top of a small riverside cliff. Its name, Sipu, is a Mi'kmaq word meaning "river." The camp can be accessed either by foot or by water. It is located along the Kouchibouguac River trail, an 11.3-kilometre (7-mile) trail which has trailheads just west of the Patterson shelter and just east of the South Kouchibouguac campground. Both trailheads are along a bicycle trail; however, bicycle traffic is not permitted on the Kouchibouguac River trail. The park's network of bicycle trails joins the trail in three other places; this shortens the trip considerably if you intend to access the camp by foot.

Sipu is also accessible by canoe or kayak. There is a large, rocky beach at the base of the hill on which the campsites sit where boats can land. A trail leads from the beach up the hill to one of the campsites. A large, obvious sign marked "Sipu" stands on the beach to show paddlers where to stop.

As mentioned before, there are four campsites. The first campsite (approaching by foot, heading south on the trail) has a picnic table and firepit. It does not have a particularly large tent pad, however. It is also the furthest site from the well.

First site: sunny with some shade. Not a large tent pad. Notice the roots protruding from the ground.

The next campsite is smaller still, and only has a firepit. You would have to find a vacant site in order to find a picnic table. This would accommodate a small tent.

Second site: not ideal. Poor privacy, small tent pad, no picnic table.

Between these two sites and the next two you will find a bear pole, a firewood shed, and an outhouse; the camp is well laid out with its amenities in a central location.

The next campsite is, unlike the other three, on the left-hand side of the trail. This site is the most private and most shielded site of the four; it also has a decent-sized tent pad. The only potential trouble is that it is only about 7 metres (23 feet) from the outhouse; this may present an odour problem if the wind is blowing from the north or northwest. For the purposes of using the outhouse and other amenities, however, the proximity is helpful.

Third site: fairly spacious, sheltered, and private. However, notice the proximity of the outhouse.

The next campsite is the largest of the four; there is plenty of space for a tent on this site. In addition to the standard picnic table and firepit, this site has a well on it, and a path to the shore leads down from it. This site is ideal for campers arriving by water.

Fourth site: very spacious. This picture does not do the site justice. There is a well pump to the right, outside of the picture, and if you look closely, you can see the path to the boat launch in the back and left-of-centre of the picture.

These campsites are probably the easiest in the park to access by foot; a footbridge over the Kouchibouguac River allows the trail to be accessed from the North Kouchibouguac Road. This route is, for the first 250-300 metres (270-330 yards), shared with a bicycle trail before you turn off onto the foot trail. A sign directs you down this trail to Sipu.

This was about a half-hour hike in. It would, of course, be significantly longer if accessing the trail from any other point. If coming in by water, one of the best starting points would be Ryan's rental shop, which is along the main road on the south bank of the river. You can go to Ryan's and rent a canoe or kayak for your trip if you do not have a boat of your own. Ryan's has a fairly large fleet of boats and a wooden dock in the river. From Ryan's, Sipu would be about a 6.8-kilometre (4.2-mile) paddle.

If you have your own boat, there is a much shorter way to get to the camp. There is a small parking lot located along route 117, about 2.2 kilometres (1.3 miles) past the Tweedie trailhead. You will encounter a small driveway which loops around; there are about a half-dozen parking spaces. This is the parking area for the bicycle trail. A bridge leads over the river; on the other side of the bridge is a raised earthen path in the river. A boat can be launched from this embankment; however, it is at least a 2-man operation, as the sides of the earthen path are steep and the shore is fairly rocky and is not extensive. From this launch point, the paddle is about 1 kilometre (.6 mile).

This was a very easy hike in to a backcountry campsite; I would recommend this site for anyone beginning backcountry camping who would like to ease their way into it, and also for anyone looking to get into canoe or kayak camping. The route that we took was very quick and easy; almost anyone could handle it. 

All in all, a short but great stroll.

Get out there, log some miles, see some places, and live some stories.

Fundy National Park - Moosehorn/Laverty Falls Loop

Listed distance: 7.3 km loop

Date of hike: 2015/06/20

In this post, I will write about the Moosehorn and Laverty Falls trails in Fundy National Park in Alma, New Brunswick.

This loop is comprised of, as previously stated, two separate trails which join ends; Moosehorn and Laverty Falls, which are rated by Parks Canada as difficult and moderate, and are (one-way distance) 4.8 km (3 miles) and 2.5 km (1.6 miles) in length, respectively.

The original plan for this trek was to hike to the Laverty Falls trail in and out to see Laverty Falls, a curtain waterfall in a cool river valley. The waterfall is 12 metres (39 feet) high, and is approximately as wide as it is high. After recent rain it is a spectacular sight, and a magnet for hikers (and, for that matter, swimmers); however, the waterfall dries up fairly quickly, and if you go to see it after an extended period without rain, it may be little more than a trickle of water flowing down a rock wall. I have never seen it dry, but my father has told me that one year he and my mother brought my cousin to the falls after a period of little rain. With the lack of rain, the waterfall looked like, as he described it, a rock wall with a hose running water down from the top. Therefore, it is important that a visit to this location be made not too long after a period of rain.

We drove up the long gravel road that leads to the trailhead. As stated before, we originally intended to access the Laverty Falls by the shorter, easier trail bearing the waterfall's name; however, we ultimately decided to take the more strenuous Moosehorn trail. Only one in our group had ever hiked Moosehorn before, but his memory of it was vague. None of us knew exactly what to expect.

The hike began with a fairly steep downhill incline. After 200 metres (660 feet) we reached a junction sign and a fork in the trail. The first 200 metres are shared with another trail called the Forks; this 3.4 kilometre (2.1 mile) trail leads to the convergence of two rivers into the Upper Salmon River, which comes out in the village of Alma. Part of the river forms a park boundary. An 8.8 kilometre (5.5 mile) trail bearing the river's name leads from the Forks to the Headquarters area, where you will find a large campground, a visitor centre, an expansive beach, a nine-hole golf course, and other amenities.

At the fork, we turned left, continuing Moosehorn. The trail is of moderate difficulty until just before reaching the Broad River; it is all downhill, and is, for the most part, fairly gradual. The major difficulty was the condition of the trail; the route is very rooty, and there are a lot of rock-strewn sections of the trail. It has been noted in the past that the trail is poorly marked; this issue has apparently been remedied by park staff in recent years. On trees, you will see blue trail markers which look quite new. They are very obvious; however, they are sometimes considerable distances apart from one another.

After a while, the trail began to get steeper. This is the beginning of the hiker's descent into the Broad River valley. The trail leads down a steep hillside by a series of switchbacks; the switchbacks are not terribly difficult to descend, but the trail is still fairly steep and narrow.

At the bottom of the hill is a small creek which empties from the forest into the Broad River.

The trail continues into the woods, but you can walk out to the Broad River. The river valley is comprised of beautiful, jagged, light-coloured boulders. There are a lot of waterfalls in this valley, and several are located along the trail.

Large, jagged, beige boulders, a waterfall, and churning water. Typical Broad River scenery.

Myself sitting on the rock, the fellow at the top attempting to photobomb the picture!!

The trail continues; some sections require walking over the rocks. Trail markers are painted in yellow on the rocks in such sections. The trail leads from the rocks back into the woods and then back onto the rocks; this goes on for some distance.

Later, the rocky river becomes more flat, with sandbars jetting out into the river. The trail here is fairly flat with some smaller but sometimes steep hills. It leads along the river all the way to the end, where it joins the Laverty Falls trail.

At one point you will encounter a grassy, open area next to the trail. This is what probably was the site of the Upper Salmon River backcountry camping area. The trail along the river was once a part of the Upper Salmon River trail; backcountry campsites existed along the trail for overnight hikers. These campsites have been in disuse for some time, and are now grown over.

The trail continues to a side trail leading back down to the river; this is where the aforementioned Laverty Falls are located. We went at a perfect time; there was plenty of water, and the falls were a terrific sight.

After taking a break and taking some photos at the falls, we went back up to the trail. We returned to the parking lot by the Laverty Falls trail. This trail, unlike Moosehorn, is unspectacular in and of itself; it only serves as an easier route to the waterfall. It is a gradual climb back up to the parking lot; while there are no steep sections, the uphill grade is almost constant, and it can be tedious and tiresome walking considerable distances uphill after walking Moosehorn. It is, however, much less of an annoyance than would be doing the loop the other way around. The trail passes through the forest; a few small streams cross the trail. The trail is quite muddy; you will frequently run into sections of soft, boggy soil.

We ended at the Laverty Falls trailhead, thus completing the 7.3 kilometre loop. It was certainly longer and more strenuous than the hike we would have done had we stuck with our original plan, but it was absolutely worth the extra effort. I do not hesitate to say that Moosehorn is one of the most beautiful trails in Fundy National Park, and possibly the most beautiful trail I have ever hiked to date. If you are capable of a challenging hike, you should absolutely give Moosehorn a shot.


I will write again soon about a hike which took us to a backcountry camping area in New Brunswick's other national park, Kouchibouguac.


Get out there, log some miles, see some places, and live some stories.