Maritimes, part 2 - Newfoundland
- Jocelyn Timmermans
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
June 16 - 19, 2026 -- the west coast of Newfoundland
The ferry dropped us off in the very southwest corner of Newfoundland, in Port Aux Basques. My first impressions of Newfondland were of how much more remote it was. Gone were the crowds of tourists (yay!) and ours to explore was the rugged untamed coast-line carved out by fierce winds, freezing temperatures and the forceful waves of the Atlantic. Although Newfoundland is 7.3x larger than Nova Scotia, it has less than half as many inhabitants (547,910). The men outnumber the women and they speak english, but it was still hard to understand them because of their heavy drawling accent.
We did four moderate hikes on this leg of the trip. In three weeks we drove the perimeter of the island clockwise, except for most of the south coast which is not accessible by road. This blog is of the first week.
June 16 - Tablelands Trail - Stats: 18.8 km / 400m gain
Gros Morne National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
This area is part of a larger group of rocks called the Bay of Islands Ophiolite. This is a section of the earth's oceanic crust and upper mantel that has been uplifted and exposed on land. It's believed to have some of the planet's oldest rock.
After three rainy days, it felt great to be out moving again.
The glacially carved Winter House Brook Canyon.
These are peridotite alien rocks, believed to have formed beneath an ancient ocean. They're dense with iron, magnesium, chromium, nickle & cobalt which makes them poisonous to plants.
The end piece of the ice broke off just moments after this guy took his photograph.
Heading back.
Green Garden Trail - Stats: 11.35 km / 450m gain
A coastal walk along the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Outside of the valleys it could be quite windy.
The trail was littered with cariboo poop. Rhododendron
Old Man Cove
Steve's Cove
Stayed in Marblewood Village Resort for 3 nights.
June 17
Approach Trail to Gros Morne Mt - Stats: 9.2 km / 360m gain
The summit trail loops up the gully to the left and then skirts the slope to the right.
Marsh Marigolds
This foot bridge marked the end of the Approach Trail. The Gros Morne summit trail would not be open till July 1st.
Cotton Grass grows by bog.
Lobster Cover Lighthouse + museum
June 18 - Coastal Trail: 3 km crossover (key swap in the middle)
Violets
Birdeye Primrose
Short dense coastal forest known locally as Tuckamore.
Green Point to the distant left.
Green Point.
These two were sewing pieces of cloth onto this rock. The artwork will be named, Erratic Comfort.
This was the only plant life we found on the coast. Unlike our BC west coast.
Western Pond Boat Tour
After a 30-minute walk we arrived 1:30 hours early for the 2-hour boat tour. We were very disappointed when they told us the tour would most likely be cancelled as was the previous one due to the low cloud. With our packed itinerary we did not have time to catch another sailing.
Half an hour before the tour, as we kept our eyes glued to the horizon, our hope began to dwindle. But just 15 minutes before the sceduled departure, the agent said we would sail! The clouds began to lift and by the time we got to the end of the canyon, the views were clear!
Western Brook Pond is a 174m deep lake. The water is so low in minerals and nutrients, that it cannot conduct electricity.
Sperm whale bones were found 600m up on these cliffs.
Group shot of me, Janice H, Brian H, Denise D & Patty S
At the east end of the lake.
Stayed at Out East Hostel
June 19
Cow Head Trail - 3.5 km / 72m gain
This lighthouse was built of cast iron in 1909 and used until 1979.
Limestone is the predominant rock here. It's formed by glaciation and plate tectonics.
Locoweed
Outhouses
The Arches Provincial Park.
Port Aux Choix
This herd of cariboo were grazing in the limestone barrens, close to the fairly new visitor center.
We had to stay two school buse's distance away from the cariboo.
Cinquefoil Mountain Avens
Over 100 uncommon plants thrive in this environment.
Point Riche Lighthouse.
The Dorset Doorway sculpture. It depicts the Dorset house, the low stone wall being the sitting and sleeping area on the perimeter of the house and the two arches imitate whale bones that would've been covered with seal skins. Residents still depend on seals for their livelihood.
Display in the museum in the visitor center. The Dorset existed from 2000 to 1200 years ago. Several hundred years later the French and English arrived in the region.
We stayed at Salt Water Steeple overnight which was a converted church.
June 20
This was the biggest black bear I'd ever seen. Apparently they are bigger than those on the mainland. We were now driving along the Viking Trail (road).
What to do? Our plans for taking the ferry to Red Bay, Labrador were cancelled. The winds were too strong. Add to that the fact that the whole small village was without power. The scheduled outage was supposed to be till 4:00pm. But power didn't return till midnight. We asked the lady in the small convenience store if this happened more often. She replied, "No. Only about once a week."
We couldn't catch the next sailing because we'd booked online just a few weeks before. Without power and very sketchy phone reception, it was quite challenging for Janice to cancel our accomodation in Red Bay, get a refund for the ferry + book 2 nights in Port Anthony.
So what to do with the afternoon? There weren't many options. So we went to Flower Cove and did the short White Rocks trail. It was bitterly cold in the wind, with temps hovering just above 0. I was not dressed appropriately and got wet feet. It took me a good day to feel warm again.
The lighthouse in Flower Cove was separated from us by the sea.
Of all the coastline we saw, this was the only spot where we saw some evidence of sea life.
Oh goody! We got to see a moose!
We spent two nights at Wildberry North. Ed managed this B&B on his own for over 30 years. He was quite busy unplugging toilets and trying to deal with the power outage when we got there. The rustic dining room was cozy, the people friendly and the wood stove warm. Come morning, he had fried bacon, sausage & eggs ready for us.
Awesome as usual. One of the first things I did when arriving in Newfoundland was to dip my foot in the Atlantic ocean so I could say I had been at the Pacific and Atlantic....