New Brunswick's map is a patchwork of designations, and each one answers the same questions differently: can I camp here, can I hunt, can I bring an ATV? Some are provincial, some federal, some held by conservation groups, and several look identical from a woods road. This guide goes through them one by one, from provincial parks to Protected Natural Areas, conserved areas, wildlife refuges, national parks and wildlife areas, and First Nations reserves, with what each allows and how each appears on our map.
The quick comparison
| Designation | Run by | Camping | Hunting | On our map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crown land | Dept. of Natural Resources | Short stays, no permit | Yes, with licence | Yellow |
| Provincial park | NB Parks | Campgrounds only | No | Purple |
| Class II Protected Natural Area | Dept. of Natural Resources | Tent, short-term | Yes, with limits | Green |
| Class I Protected Natural Area | Dept. of Natural Resources | No (permit to enter) | No | Green |
| Nature Legacy conserved area | Dept. of Natural Resources | Tent, short-term | Yes, with limits | Teal |
| Wildlife refuge | Dept. of Natural Resources | Check locally | No | Not shaded |
| National park | Parks Canada | Park campgrounds and permits | No | Not shaded |
| National wildlife area | Canadian Wildlife Service | Restricted | Restricted | Not shaded |
The rest of this guide explains the details behind each row.
Provincial parks
New Brunswick's provincial park system is small but varied. Our map shows 24 park and heritage-site boundaries. The giant is Mount Carleton, about 17,300 hectares of wilderness around the highest peak in the Maritimes. Then come Fundy Trail Parkway (about 2,540 hectares of coastal parkway east of St. Martins), Sugarloaf above Campbellton, the Acadian Village near Caraquet, Mactaquac on the Saint John River above Fredericton, Herring Cove on Campobello, New River Beach on the Fundy shore and The Anchorage on Grand Manan. The rest are beaches such as Parlee, Murray and Val-Comeau, coastal sites like Hopewell Rocks and Cape Enrage, and small historic properties.
Park rules are different from Crown land rules:
- Camping only in the campground. Campsites are booked through the NB Parks online reservation system (or by phone at 1-800-561-0123), with a $10 non-refundable reservation fee. Sites booked at the park on a first-come, first-served basis are limited to seven nights.
- Campground rules: check-in at 2 p.m. and check-out at noon, quiet hours from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., no generators from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m., and a maximum of six people per site.
- Fires only in the fireplaces provided, never left unattended, and park staff can ban them during dry spells. Permanent park fireplaces are one of the exemptions in the Forest Fires Act regulation.
- Pets must be leashed and aren't allowed on swimming beaches, in swimming areas, on beach walkways or in playgrounds.
- No hunting or trapping. Provincial parks under the Parks Act are closed to both, and firearms must be cased inside them.
Mount Carleton is a special case for hunters: the area around it is also one of the wildlife management areas closed to hunting, trapping and snaring.
Protected Natural Areas
Protected Natural Areas (PNAs) are New Brunswick's main protected-area designation, created under the Protected Natural Areas Act. There are 202 on Crown land, plus six on private land owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Nature Trust of New Brunswick and the Meduxnekeag River Association. They come in two very different classes.
Class II: most of them, and mostly open
Class II areas protect habitat from logging, mining and development while keeping traditional low-impact use. Under the regulation you may, among other things:
- camp with a tent and have a campfire;
- fish recreationally, including ice fishing, as long as shacks come off when the season ends;
- hunt, trap and snare with the usual licences;
- gather fiddleheads, nuts, berries and mushrooms for your own use;
- bring a dog, and ride horses or bicycles where they're permitted;
- drive a motor vehicle, but only on access or recreational roads where that vehicle type is permitted.
The vehicle rule is the one to watch. Recreational roads inside Class II areas fall into categories, from walking and skiing only up to snowmobiles, ATVs and cars, and only the matching activities are allowed on each. The province sums it up as snowmobiles, ATVs and dirt bikes on authorized trails only. Hunters face extra limits too: no cutting shooting lanes or new trails, no building permanent tree stands, and no bringing in branches from outside the area. Bear bait can go out no more than two weeks before the season opens, and bait containers must come out within two weeks after it closes.
Class I: six sites, closed to the public
The six Class I areas are Bull Pasture Bog, Demerchant Brook, Hovey Hill, St. Croix River Islands, Whitehorse Island and Wilson Brook. They're closed to all activities except under a ministerial permit for research or education. The one exception for the public is that a hunter may enter to retrieve wounded game. They're small, but some sit close to popular areas: Bull Pasture Bog is about 20 km from the centre of our Grand Lake page, for example.
Nature Legacy conserved areas
The teal areas on our map are Crown land protected under the province's Nature Legacy work, mostly through conservation easements. Under an easement, activities that conflict with protecting biodiversity can't be authorized, so there's no industrial, commercial, agricultural or development use. The province applies the same list of allowed activities as in Class II PNAs: authorized campsites and short-term backcountry camping, hunting, trapping and fishing with the usual restrictions, sustainable foraging, and motorized vehicles only on authorized trails.
These areas grew quickly. By the province's count, about 10.5% of New Brunswick is now protected or conserved. Protected Crown land accounts for 9.3%, in more than 750 sites totalling about 658,000 hectares. A new initiative running from 2025 to 2027 aims for 15%. Expect new areas to appear, and check the current map before assuming a familiar stretch of Crown land is still ordinary Crown land.
Wildlife refuges and wildlife management areas
These are mainly about hunting, and they're easy to miss because we don't shade them separately.
- All wildlife refuges prohibit hunting, trapping and snaring.
- Some wildlife management areas are closed too: Burpee, Kings Landing Historical Settlement, MacDonald Farm Provincial Heritage Place, Minister's Island, Mount Carleton, Le Village Historique Acadien and West Collette.
- Mount Ararat (Gagetown Island) is closed to hunting but open to trapping and snaring.
- Camps, parks and historic sites, including Scout, Guide and youth camps, are closed to hunting, trapping and snaring.
In all of these, firearms must stay cased. The boundaries are described legally in the Fish and Wildlife Act regulations, and Natural Resources district offices can show you where they are.
National parks
New Brunswick has two national parks, both run by Parks Canada and both federal land: Fundy National Park on the Bay of Fundy near Alma, and Kouchibouguac National Park on the Northumberland Strait near Richibucto. Neither is provincial Crown land, and they're not shaded on our map. Expect park passes, campgrounds and backcountry sites booked through Parks Canada, no hunting, and a national park fishing licence instead of a provincial one. Our Fundy and Kouchibouguac pages cover the public land around each park, which is where the provincial rules apply.
National wildlife areas
The Canadian Wildlife Service manages five national wildlife areas in New Brunswick: Tintamarre, Shepody, Cape Jourimain, Portobello Creek and Portage Island. They're mostly marshes and coastal wetlands. Possessing lead shot is prohibited in all of them, and there are federal restrictions on motor vehicles, fires and camping. Contact Environment and Climate Change Canada (1-800-668-6767) before hunting or camping in one.
First Nations reserves and treaty rights
New Brunswick is the traditional territory of the Mi'gmaq, Wolastoqey (Maliseet) and Peskotomuhkati (Passamaquoddy) Nations, under the Peace and Friendship Treaties signed with the Crown in the 18th century. Reserves are federal land set aside for First Nations, not provincial Crown land, and the public has no general right to camp, hunt or fish on them. Ask the community before doing anything there beyond travelling a public road. Indigenous people also hold treaty rights to hunt, fish and gather that differ from the licensed rules in our guides, so you may see harvesting that looks out of season and is entirely lawful.
Trails: the Sentier NB Trail and managed ATV routes
The Sentier NB Trail, the province's long-distance trail network, has its own rule worth knowing: hunting and trapping aren't permitted within its boundaries. ATV and snowmobile trails are managed by QuadNB and the snowmobile federation and need a trail pass. On Crown land, only the designated trail managers can apply to build new motorized trails.
Putting it together
Before you head out, open the interactive map and look at the layers around your spot. Yellow alone means the general Crown land rules from our camping guide. Purple means book a campsite. Green or teal means low-impact use, tents and authorized trails. No shading means private land, a national park or a reserve until you've confirmed otherwise; our how to find Crown land guide explains how to check. Hunters should also read hunting on Crown land for the closed areas the map doesn't show.
Sources
Last reviewed: October 2026. Regulations change; always confirm with the official source before you go.
- Government of New Brunswick – Protected areas (classes, allowed activities, area protected)
- New Brunswick Regulation 2004-57 under the Protected Natural Areas Act
- Government of New Brunswick – Provincial park policies and rules for campers
- Government of New Brunswick – Hunt & Trap Regulations Summary 2026-2027 (closed and restricted areas)
- Parks Canada – Fundy and Kouchibouguac national parks