Campgrounds and RV parks near St. Stephen, NB

The St. Croix estuary and Passamaquoddy Bay drive most activity in the area. Tides in the Oak Bay area run roughly six to 7.6 metres, exposing broad flats at low water for beachcombing and shoreline walks. Whale-watching tours, sea kayaking, and boat trips launch out of nearby St. Andrews, about twenty minutes east. Day-trip anchors include Ministers Island, Kingsbrae Garden, the Huntsman Marine Science Centre aquarium, and Ganong Nature Park. St. Stephen itself is known as Canada's Chocolate Town, home to Ganong Bros. Ltd., established in 1873, and hosts the Ganong Chocolate Museum downtown. Bird watchers cross into Maine for Cobscook Bay, which supports one of the state's highest concentrations of bald eagles and where over 200 bird species have been recorded, with shorebird migration peaking in late summer and early fall.

The camping season in this corner of New Brunswick is short. Most private campgrounds around St. Stephen and St. Andrews, including Kiwanis Passamaquoddy Park, run from early May into October. Cobscook Bay State Park's campground on the Maine side typically opens in mid-May and closes in mid-October, with day-use access year-round. July and August are peak. Coastal fog is common on summer mornings off Passamaquoddy Bay and typically burns off by mid-morning. Mosquitoes and black flies are heaviest from late May through July, especially inland and in wooded sites. Late August into early September brings shorebird migration through Cobscook Bay and thinner crowds. Fall foliage typically peaks in October, and Cobscook Bay shifts to first-come, first-served after mid-September. Winter closes the private campgrounds. Cobscook offers limited winter camping by phone reservation only, and access can require snow-ready tires or chains.

Sites near the coast tend to be gravel, with a mix of full-hookup pull-throughs and shorter back-in sites. Kiwanis Passamaquoddy Park offers 30- and 50-amp full hookups on pull-through and oceanfront sites, with washrooms and showers, plus tent sites in a wooded area. Oak Bay Campground has large pull-throughs with full hookups, washrooms, showers, laundry, a pool, a playground, a weekend canteen, and beach access via a tunnel under the highway. Cobscook Bay State Park is more rustic. The 106 sites have no hookups, though drinking water, flush toilets, and showers are available. Site lengths vary widely, with the largest sites designed to fit rigs up to 70 feet; larger rigs should call the park to confirm site fit. Expect cool ocean-influenced nights even in summer, cell coverage that thins outside town, and border-crossing wait times that vary between St. Stephen and Calais.