Bay of Fundy Tide Times: Complete Travel Guide to Nova Scotia's Tidal Coast

The Bay of Fundy keeps the most dependable timetable in Canadian travel. Twice a day, on a schedule published to the minute months in advance, the ocean climbs the shore and drains away — a swing of up to 16.3 metres (53.5 feet) at Burntcoat Head, the Guinness World Record site on the Minas Basin — moving an estimated 100 billion tonnes of seawater per day. Nothing else on the Atlantic coast runs on time like this.

The bay itself is a 270-kilometre arm of the Atlantic stretching between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the Nova Scotia side is arranged to put you face to face with the tide: watch a river reverse direction at Truro, walk the exposed ocean floor at Burntcoat Head, hunt fossils on a beach the tide opens and closes at Joggins, or ride the incoming wave on a raft on the Shubenacadie. For the lay of the whole coast, see our guide to the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia.

All of it runs on tide times, and the blunt truth is this: the difference between a great day and a wasted one is usually a five-minute check of the tide table before you leave your room — not after you are standing on a harbour deck staring at a flat brown sea. This guide explains how the schedule works, where to check it, and how to build your days around the water instead of against it.

Why the Bay of Fundy has the highest tides on Earth

Start with the physics, because it explains every recommendation that follows. The bay is a long, narrowing funnel — 270 kilometres at full stretch — that pinches tightest at the Minas Basin, and the water inside it sloshes back and forth with a natural period of roughly 12 hours. That almost exactly matches the rhythm of the ocean's tides, so each push of water from the Atlantic arrives in step with the bay's own motion and stacks a little higher. Tides of up to about 15 metres (50 feet) in some parts are the result, along with the extreme recorded range of 16.3 metres at Burntcoat Head — the highest tides on Earth — and 100 billion tonnes of water moved per day. The Minas Basin, where the funnel runs out of room, is where those extremes live; our Minas Basin guide goes deep on it.

How Bay of Fundy tide times work

Here is the fact that rearranges most first-timers' plans: the Bay of Fundy has no clock schedule. The tide does not go low at 9 every morning. Tides answer to the moon, and the moon runs slow. In practice that means two high tides and two low tides every 24 hours, each fall from high to low taking about 6 hours 13 minutes and each rise back taking the same — a full cycle of roughly 12 hours 25 minutes.

Because that cycle is about 25 minutes longer than the day itself, the whole schedule slips roughly 50 to 56 minutes later every day. A 9 AM low tide today becomes a low tide close to 10 AM tomorrow, and by the end of a week the morning low has migrated to the afternoon. This drift is the most common planning mistake on the Fundy coast: visitors check the time once, memorize it, and then arrive on day three to find the ocean floor underwater. Check the table for the specific date, every time, at the specific station.

The moon also sets the size of the tide, not only its timing. Within about two days of a full or new moon, sun and moon pull in line and you get spring tides — the big ones, riding on the world's largest mean tidal range, 11.7 metres, at Burntcoat Head. The in-between days bring tamer neap tides. Chase that window if your dates are flexible; if not, a mid-range day with a midday low still beats a monster tide that peaks at dawn while you sleep.

Where to check Bay of Fundy tide times

Use one set of tools to shape the trip and another to run the day. In the week before you travel, TideTime.org publishes a 7-day tide chart and times for the Bay of Fundy, and seatemperature.info runs a 10-day forecast with high and low tide times and heights. These are shaping tools: they show which days put a usable low tide at midday, at the stop you care about.

For the day itself, go to the official source: the Canadian Hydrographic Service publishes the authoritative tide tables at tides.gc.ca, with Burntcoat Head (station 00270) as the reference station for the Minas Basin, Hall's Harbour covering the Valley shore, and Digby covering the western bay. Two operators shorten the lookup even further: Burntcoat Head Park posts low-tide times for visitors at burntcoatheadpark.ca, and the Fundy Discovery Site lists its tidal bore times at fundydiscovery.ca and on the panels at the gate.

One editorial rule: read the height column, not only the times. A 15-metre spring tide exposes a completely different shore than a 10-metre neap — more seabed, longer walks, taller walls of water against the cliffs. When two forecasting sites disagree by a couple of minutes, ignore it. When you are deciding whether a walk or a rafting run is possible at all, the heights and the official table are what you build around.

One bay, many clocks: check the right station

The bay runs 270 kilometres end to end, and high water does not arrive everywhere at once — which is exactly why predictions are issued station by station. Burntcoat Head speaks for the Minas Basin, Hall's Harbour for the Valley shore, Digby for the western end. Pull the numbers for the station nearest where you will stand; a low-tide time for Digby tells you nothing useful about the water at Burntcoat, and treating the bay as one tide with one schedule is the second-easiest way to waste a day here.

When the tides are at their most dramatic

The textbook answer is a spring tide — within about two days of a full or new moon — falling on a day when low water lands mid-morning or mid-afternoon. That timing puts the ocean-floor window at Burntcoat Head, roughly two hours either side of low tide, squarely in daylight, which is the entire point of the trip for most people.

Seasonally, June through October is the full-service stretch, when ocean-floor tours, whale watching and dining all run at capacity; September is the sweet spot, with warm water, thinner crowds and the first of the fall colour. Mind the staffed season at the headline sites: Burntcoat Head Park's interpretive staff, washrooms and lighthouse gift shop operate daily from 9 to 5, mid-May to mid-October, and the Joggins Fossil Centre runs May 1 to mid-October, seven days a week. The tide never takes a day off. The services around it do.

Where to watch the tide change

The easiest seat in the province is the Fundy Discovery Site, off Highway 102 at exit 14, minutes from downtown Truro. Twice a day, at predicted times, the incoming tide sends a bore surging up the river at the head of the bay — a standing wave you can watch from dry shoes. Times are posted at fundydiscovery.ca and on the information panels on site; park access is free, the visitor centre runs 9 to 5 daily from mid-May to mid-October, and the grounds and washrooms stay open year-round. The site is owned and operated by the Municipality of Colchester and sits inside the Cliffs of Fundy UNESCO Global Geopark (our Cliffs of Fundy Geopark guide follows the rest of that shoreline).

Burntcoat Head Park, operated by the Municipality of East Hants, is the exact site of the world's highest tides, and the tide table is effectively the attraction. With about six hours between tides, the seabed sits exposed for roughly two hours either side of low water — enough time to walk out past red sandstone cliffs, sea caves and tidal pools. Check low-tide times at burntcoatheadpark.ca before you drive out, wear sturdy washable footwear, and never explore close to high tide, because the water returns faster than it looks like it will. Access is free, and interpretive staff, washrooms and the lighthouse gift shop run on the same summer schedule — 9 to 5 daily, mid-May through mid-October.

At Joggins, low tide opens the site: the fossil cliffs read best from the beach, and the beach exists when the water drops. Entrance fees run CAD $7.39 per person, plus tax, not counting guided tours. The Fossil Centre opens May 1 to mid-October, seven days a week — currently closed for the winter, reopening May 1, 2027 — while access to the fossil cliffs beach remains open. Time the visit to the falling tide for maximum beach.

Or ride the tide instead of watching it. Tidal bore rafting happens only on Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie River, where the incoming Fundy tide drives a wave upstream against the current. River Runners runs a full 4-hour tour and two half tours of about 2 hours each — and because the bore keeps the tide's clock, you are booking a departure time the river has already chosen.

Building a Fundy itinerary around the tide table

The method is simple. Pick one or two anchor sites per day, pull the tide table for each site's station, then order the stops so the falling tide meets you there. Midday lows favour Burntcoat Head and Joggins; the bore's predicted time decides your Truro schedule, never the other way around.

A 3-day loop from Halifax — an extension of the routes in our Plan Your Trip guide — covers the essentials: Burntcoat Head plus the Truro bore on day one; Five Islands Provincial Park (guide here), Parrsboro and Joggins on day two; and the Valley shore — Cape Split, Hall's Harbour, Wolfville — on day three. With five days, push west to Annapolis Royal, Digby and Brier Island for whale watching. With seven, cross to the New Brunswick side — Hopewell Rocks and Fundy National Park — via the Saint John–Digby ferry loop.

Bay of Fundy tide times: your questions, answered

What time are the tides in the Bay of Fundy?

There is no fixed daily schedule — the times drift about 50 to 56 minutes later every day, so a 9 AM low tide today is close to a 10 AM low tomorrow. Each tide takes about 6 hours 13 minutes to run from high to low. For exact predictions, use the Canadian Hydrographic Service tables at tides.gc.ca, checked for your specific date and station.

Where can I find Bay of Fundy tide tables?

The official source is the Canadian Hydrographic Service at tides.gc.ca — station 00270 (Burntcoat Head) covers the Minas Basin, Hall's Harbour covers the Valley shore, and Digby covers the western bay. TideTime.org publishes a 7-day chart and seatemperature.info a 10-day forecast with times and heights. For site-specific numbers, burntcoatheadpark.ca covers the park's low tides and fundydiscovery.ca the Truro bore.

Why are the Bay of Fundy tides so high?

The bay is a 270-kilometre funnel that narrows to the Minas Basin, and its water sloshes with a natural period of roughly 12 hours — almost exactly the ocean's tidal rhythm — so each incoming wave amplifies the last. The result: tides up to about 15 metres in some parts, and a recorded extreme of 16.3 metres at Burntcoat Head, the highest on Earth.

How often do the tides change in the Bay of Fundy?

Four times a day: two highs and two lows every 24 hours. The water takes about 6 hours 13 minutes to fall and the same to rise — a full cycle of roughly 12 hours 25 minutes, which is why the schedule slips about 50 minutes later daily.

When is the best time to see the Bay of Fundy tides?

Aim for spring tides, within about two days of a full or new moon, and pick a day when low tide falls mid-morning or mid-afternoon so you can walk the ocean floor in daylight. June through October is the full-service season, and September — warm water, fewer crowds, early fall colour — is the sweet spot.

Can you walk on the ocean floor in the Bay of Fundy?

Yes — Burntcoat Head Park is the classic spot, with the seabed exposed for roughly two hours either side of low tide and about six hours between one tide and the next. Guided ocean-floor tours run in summer. Check low-tide times at burntcoatheadpark.ca before you go, wear sturdy washable footwear, and never explore near high tide.

What time is the tidal bore at Truro?

The bore passes the Fundy Discovery Site twice daily, on the incoming tide, at times that shift with the tide table. Check fundydiscovery.ca or the information panels on site for that day's prediction. The site sits off Highway 102 at exit 14, minutes from Truro; access is free, and the visitor centre runs 9 to 5 daily from mid-May to mid-October.

How many days do you need for the Bay of Fundy?

Three days from Halifax covers the highlights: Burntcoat Head and the Truro bore, then Five Islands, Parrsboro and Joggins, then the Valley shore — Cape Split, Hall's Harbour and Wolfville. Five days adds Annapolis Royal, Digby and Brier Island whale watching; seven extends to New Brunswick's Hopewell Rocks and Fundy National Park via the Saint John–Digby ferry loop.