Hartt Island RV Resort & Waterpark: A Fredericton Family Guide

What Hartt Island actually is

Hartt Island RV Resort & Waterpark is two things stitched together on one riverside property: a seasonal campground for RVs and tents, and a small waterpark that anyone can visit for the day. It sits on the bank of the Wolastoq (the Saint John River) at 2475 Woodstock Road, just west of the city. Locals tend to think of it as "the waterpark out the Woodstock Road," and that is the honest framing. It is a family operation, not a corporate mega-park.

Set your expectations accordingly and you will have a good time. The waterpark is built around a 4,000 square foot heated leisure pool, a little over 250 feet of water slides, and a separate kiddie pool with bubblers. Add mini putt, a playground, an arcade and a poolside canteen, and you have an easy summer afternoon for a family with young kids. What you will not find is a lazy river, a wave pool or a dozen towering rides. It is compact and it is aimed squarely at the six-and-under-to-tween crowd.

Because it doubles as a campground, the vibe is relaxed and a bit rough around the edges in the good way: fire pits, picnic tables, kids on bikes, and the river right there. If you want polished, this is not it. If you want a low-key local spot to cool off, it delivers.

It is also worth knowing the place has been part of the local summer routine for years, so you will meet Fredericton families who have been coming since they were kids themselves. That word-of-mouth loyalty tells you most of what you need to know: it is not flashy, but it does the one job (get the kids swimming close to home) reliably, and it keeps people coming back season after season.

Where it is and how far from downtown

The address is 2475 Woodstock Road, Fredericton, NB E3C 1P6. That puts it on the south side of the river, west of the downtown core, past the university hill and out toward the Hanwell and Kingsclear direction. From downtown Fredericton it is a short hop: figure about 10 to 15 minutes of driving, roughly 10 kilometres, with no highway required if you just follow the Woodstock Road along the river.

That closeness is the whole appeal for day visitors. You are not committing to a day trip; you are popping out for the afternoon and home for supper. The property also backs onto the Trans Canada Trail (the old rail-bed multi-use trail), so if you are the kind of family that bikes, you can pedal out from town along the river rather than drive. It is a flat, pleasant ride. For a wider look at swimming options around the city, see our guide to where to swim in Fredericton.

Parking is on site and free, which is a relief compared to hunting for a spot downtown. On a hot July weekend the lot fills up, so earlier in the day is calmer.

The waterpark: slides, pool and splash features

The heart of the day-use side is the heated leisure pool, which is the big draw when the river air is cool but the sun is out. Around it you get more than 250 feet of slides, split across three named runs:

• Kid's Green Waterslide, sized for children 42 inches and under, so the little ones have their own.
• Twister Waterslide, which has a 48 inch minimum height, aimed at bigger kids and adults who want a bit of a ride.
• Blue Racer Waterslide, where children under 48 inches need an adult with them.

There is also a separate kiddie pool with bubblers and a small slide for children 42 inches and under, which is where a lot of preschool families end up parking themselves for the afternoon. Deck lounge chairs ring the pool, and the poolside canteen handles snacks and takeout so you are not packing a full cooler if you would rather not.

To be straight with you: this is a modest waterpark. Three slides and a pool is the honest inventory, there is no lazy river despite what some listings imply, and the whole thing is built for families rather than thrill-seekers. Teenagers looking for a big-park experience will run out of things to do fairly quickly. Younger kids, on the other hand, tend to be perfectly happy for hours.

A few practical notes on the water side. The pool is heated, which matters more than you would think on a breezy river afternoon when the air has cooled off, and it is the reason a day here can still work when it is not blazing hot. Height rules on the slides are enforced for safety, so measure your kids ahead of time to avoid disappointment at the top of the stairs. And bring your own towels, sunscreen and water shoes; the canteen covers snacks but not the odds and ends you would normally pack for a pool day.

Day passes vs camping: what it costs

You do not have to camp to use the waterpark. Anyone can buy a day pass at the gate. Prices below are from the official Hartt Island ticket page for the 2026 season and do not include tax, so budget a little more than the sticker number. Prices can change, so confirm before you drive out.

Toddlers under 2 (and, per the policy page, under 34 inches with a parent) get in free. The 4PM to close rate is the value play: on a long summer evening you still get several hours of pool time for well under half the all-day price, and the crowds have usually thinned. If you are camping, the maths is different again: registered campers get waterpark and mini putt access for about $10 per person, per day, which is the real reason families book a weekend here rather than paying gate prices twice.

For a family of four coming just for the day, you are realistically looking at somewhere around $80 to $90 before tax and snacks. That is fair for what it is, though not nothing. If the goal is simply to get the kids in the water cheaply, a free city pool or river beach may win on price. If the goal is slides and a full afternoon out, this is where the money goes.

Camping: RVs, tents and the riverside sites

The other half of Hartt Island is the campground, and it is open a longer stretch than the waterpark: the camping season runs from around May 1st (weather permitting) to October 15th. The waterpark itself is a summer-only affair layered on top of that.

Sites come in a few tiers. Fully serviced 3-way RV sites (water, sewer, 30/50 amp power) run roughly $90 to $110 a night. 2-way sites (water and power) sit around $85 to $90, with cheaper overflow sites near $65. Tent sites land around $75, with some tenting-only areas that have no on-site parking but water and power nearby. Rates shift with the calendar and the site, so treat these as ballpark and confirm when you book.

Amenities are practical rather than fancy: 24/7 washrooms and laundry, free Wi-Fi across the resort, fire pits and picnic tables at each site, ice and firewood for sale, and late-checkout options. The riverside sites are the ones campers rave about, so if you are booking, ask for one on the water. Because it is so close to town, it also works as a base for people visiting Fredericton who would rather camp than pay for a hotel. If you are weighing options, our roundup of camping near Fredericton puts Hartt Island in context with the provincial parks and quieter grounds.

Mini putt and the other on-site activities

Beyond the water, Hartt Island keeps kids busy in the low-key ways a campground does. There is an 18-hole mini putt course (the $5 add-on, or included in the camper day rate), which is a nice change of pace when someone needs a break from the pool. A playground and an arcade round out the rainy-hour options, and the river itself means fishing is on the table if you bring a rod.

The Trans Canada Trail runs right past, so biking and walking along the river are easy add-ons, and it is genuinely one of the prettier flat rides near the city. None of this is a headline attraction on its own, but stacked together it is enough to fill a full day or a camping weekend without anyone getting bored. The mini putt in particular is a smart way to stretch an afternoon: tired swimmers who are not ready to leave can burn another hour on the course.

If you are pulling together a bigger list of warm-weather outings, our guide to things to do with kids in and around Fredericton has plenty more, and Hartt Island slots in nicely as a hot-day option.

Who it suits (and who might skip it)

Hartt Island is at its best for families with young children. The kiddie pool, the size of the place, the short drive and the gentle pace all point the same direction. Preschoolers and early-grade kids are the sweet spot, and the separate under-42-inch pool means the smallest swimmers have somewhere safe of their own. It is also a solid choice for a casual group outing or a low-effort kids birthday party in summer, since you can turn up, pay at the gate and let the kids loose.

Who might skip it? Teenagers and adults chasing a big-park adrenaline day will find it small. People expecting a polished resort experience should recalibrate; this is a well-worn family campground, not a spa. And anyone whose main goal is a free swim can find cheaper places to get wet around the city. But for the specific job of "entertain small kids on a hot day without a long drive," it is one of the easiest wins near Fredericton.

Season, hours and booking

The waterpark is summer only. For 2026 it opens June 19th, and normal operating hours are 10 AM to 9 PM daily, though the park notes hours are subject to change and slides may not run when the ambient air temperature drops below about 19 degrees. In practice that means a cool, cloudy day can quietly shrink what is open, so check before you commit on marginal weather. The heated pool helps, but this is still an outdoor operation at the mercy of a New Brunswick summer.

Day passes are bought on site (and via the ticket page on their website); you do not need to reserve to swim. Camping is a different story, and popular summer weekends fill up, so book ahead if you want a serviced or riverside site. The resort is reachable at 506.462.9400 or [email protected], and the official site at harttisland.ca is where the current prices and dates live. Because a small operation like this can tweak hours and rates year to year, treat everything here as a strong starting point and confirm the day-of details before you load the car.