A 26-year-old Dartmouth woman fell off Cape Split when trying to rescue her two dogs while hiking Saturday afternoon, RCMP say.

She sustained serious injuries at the popular hiking destination along the Bay of Fundy in Kings County.

When the woman's dogs went over, she tried to rescue them, but fell about a third of the way down the cliff.

She was unconscious at one point, spokesperson Cpl. Andrew Joyce said.

Both dogs are safe, he said.

RCMP were called for the rescue around 1:45 p.m.

The woman was stuck on the side of the cliff about 30 metres down, which made it difficult to reach her.

An emergency responder climbed down the cliff to get her, then took her another 50 metres to the beach. A boat from New Minas Fire Service then took the woman to the nearest wharf. By 6 p.m., she was being taken to the hospital.

Hikers and rappellers have fallen down or been stranded before on the steep, eroding cliffs.

At the end of May, two climbers were rescued after being stuck overnight on a ledge 15 metres above the rocky shore.