These Falls Reverse

Dorothy, Rain & Patrick

To be clear, the Reversing Falls does reverse, but we didn't fully experience this unique event in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada on our May road trip.

However, it's where we did have a great experience — a first-time meet-up with a fellow blogger Rain. As it happened, this was a first-time visit for all 3 of us. We met at the falls restaurant for conversation, refreshments and great views.

Of course if we had waited just longer, we might have seen this natural wonder in its totality, but time didn't allow that day. And, we would not be going by this area again on our road trip. Still, we saw at least a part of this daily event. While there, we read about the falls, watched a video, then walked on the Skywalk and watched the falls coming from the Bay of Fundy into the Saint John River.

The extended area from the restaurant at the falls is the skywalk area.

Us on the Skywalk at Reversing Falls

What are the Reversing Falls?

The Reversing Falls are a series of rapids on the Saint John River located in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, where the river runs through a narrow gorge before emptying into the Bay of Fundy. The semidiurnal tides (two high and two low tides of about equal size every lunar day) of the bay force the flow of water to reverse against the prevailing current when the tide is high. The rapids or "falls” are created by a series of underwater ledges which roil the water in either direction. This can cause a significant navigation hazard. Vessels can only enter or exit from the river at slack tide.

The Reversing Falls Rapids are created by the daily collision of the Bay of Fundy and the Saint John River. At different points in the tide cycle, there are three distinct interactions between these bodies of water.

At low tide the river empties into the bay causing a series of rapids and whirlpools. As tides rise they slow the river current for a brief period, slack tide. The Bay's tides continue to rise, gradually reversing the flow of the river; rapids form again, peaking at high tide. 

Slack tide generally is only 20 minutes and occurs when the Bay of Fundy waters begin to rise and slow the river's flow, eventually stopping it completely. This is the only time that sail boats and pleasure crafts can sail between the bay and the river.

At high tide, the Bay of Fundy tide continues to rise, gradually reversing the flow of the river, and rapids form again, peaking at high tide.

A full tide cycle takes 12 hours, 25 minutes. From high to low tide takes 6 hours, 13 minutes.

Now a tourist destination, the Reversing Falls have been an important industrial site for over a century. The Canadian Pacific Railway constructed the Reversing Falls Railway Bridge in 1885. This structure was replaced in 1922 and is now used by the New Brunswick Southern Railway. The railway bridge crosses the gorge immediately downstream from the falls, parallel to the Reversing Falls Road Bridge.

Irving Pulp & Paper, New Brunswick, Canada

The location of the falls was the site of a foundry and other light industrial operations on the east side of the gorge The large Irving Pulp & Paper Limited mill is on the west side. The paper company which has operated the pulp mill since purchasing it in the late 1940s, has encountered criticism for maintaining the facility at what is seen as one of Saint John's prime tourism spots. 

This criticism was most voiced in the 1980s and 1990s when the city government created Fallsview Park on former industrial foundry lands on the east side of the gorge. The park lookouts are considered a prime viewing location for the Reversing Falls Rapids. Unlike the Skywalk there's no cost to visit this park and use the lookouts.. 

Years ago, a popular travel book labelled the Reversing Falls with the distinction as being among the worst tourist attractions in the world. Admittedly, that does seem rather extreme. As we know from personal experience, reviews are subject to opinion and often even a bad review can attract more folks than not. In reading a number of online reviews from others who have also visited the falls, that review seems not to have deterred any.

Even though we didn't view the complete transformation, we enjoyed our visit. As the main purpose was a blogger meetup, this natural phenomena was an added bonus.

Since returning home, I've watched several online videos to see the full Reversing Falls effect. This drone video by Jesse Sullivan (only background music) is interesting if you are included to watch it. Total playing time is a bit over 7 minutes.

By the way, we did see a moose at the falls, luckily it wasn't on the roadways. This one was captive in the restaurant lodge area.

The Reversing Falls weren't the only natural wonder we experienced in Saint John, New Brunswick. A future post will show how it's possible to walk on the ocean floor, of course, at low tide.