Long on my bucket list, with 2025 being the year this trip came to fruition. A few quick Newfoundland facts:
- Newfoundland is the site of the only authenticated Norse (Viking) settlement in North America, dating to circa 1000 AD.
- Newfoundland was the first English overseas colony, established in 1583.
- Newfoundland was a self-governing British Dominion before joining Canada in 1949.
- Newfoundland has its own time zone, which is 90 minutes ahead of Eastern Time.
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| Unusual formation in the sky, from our balcony at the Wonderview Inn |
Monday, September 8: Bar Harbor, ME
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| Along Eagle Lake inside Acadia National Park on today's morning run |
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| Breakfast at our hotel |
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| Dinner on the waterfront in Bar Harbor |
Tuesday, September 9: Bar Harbor, ME to Yarmouth, NS
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| Very scenic run with Matthew and Brady |
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| One of three summits on today's run, with the other two being Cadillac Mountain (Brady pictured above) and Kebo Mountain |
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| Finishing out the day with a family walk at Schooner Head Overlook, before boarding the ferry |
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| Aboard the ferry from Bar Harbor, ME to Yarmouth, NS, Canada |
Wednesday, September 10: Nova Scotia to Newfoundland
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| Boarding the ferry in North Sydney, NS, for the 16-hour overnight ferry to Argentia, NL |
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| Our pet-friendly cabin |
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| Sunset off the back deck |
Thursday, September 11: Newfoundland Day 1!
Friday, September 12: St Johns
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| We made it! |
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| Dirt road we ran on in Cataracts Provincial Park |
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| Start / finish of run |
Friday, September 12: St Johns
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| Run at Deadman's Bay with Brady |
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| Had to stop along the trail. Fantastic! |
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| Signal Hill National Historic Site, St. Johns |
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| Looking across St Johns Harbour at Cape Spear Lighthouse |
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| One of my favorite pics of the whole trip; just stunning views |
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| Jellybean Row |
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| Now across the harbor at Cape Spear Lighthouse, the easternmost point in Canada (and North America excluding Greenland) |
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| On the grounds of Cape Spear Lighthouse. So windy. |
Saturday, September 13: St Johns to Spot Pond
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| These four pics were from along my 16-mile run in St Johns |
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| Back in downtown St Johns, on Jellybean Row |
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After two days in St Johns, we could have easily spent more, but it was time to move on. Along today's drive, we broke up the trip to get out for a family hike in Terra Nova National Park, specifically an OAB hike to Ochre Hill:
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| A spruce grouse popped out onto the trail in front of us! |
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| But Brady was more interested in his stick than in the spruce grouse |
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Our off-the-grid off-the-beaten path AirBnb 4KM down a deserted dirt road:
Sunday, September 14: heading north to St Anthony
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| Stopped along the way at Arches Provincial Park. Another Newfoundland location with just stunning scenery. |
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| Dinner in St Anthony along the water and lighthouse |
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| When in Rome ... Or Newfoundland in this case, I might as well as try this Newfoundland crafted and popular rum. Newfoundland folklore says that the name came from WWII American servicemen stationed in Newfoundland, who supposedly when tasting the rum, let out a loud screeching noise to be heard from miles away… hence the name Screech Rum. |
A long, long drive up to the northern tip of Newfoundland. But I really wanted to visit L'Anse aux Meadows, the only authenticated Viking settlement site in North America, and everything I searched indicated it was worth the drive.
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| Map inside the Visitors Center showing the trek the Vikings made circa 1000AD from Greenland to "Vinland" (Newfoundland) |
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| The characters and sets are obviously created to resemble Viking life a millenium ago, but it's still all very impressive |
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| Yep, me dressed in period Viking regalia |
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| Rushed and harsh landscape, but also very pictoresque |
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| The Labrador (Brady) did not hesitate to run into the Labrador Sea (land masses in the background are the Labrador mainland) |
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| We've seen these red Adirondack chairs in a number of other Canadian viewpoints. In fact, there are over 400 of these placed around the country in various Parks Canada venues. |
Tuesday, September 16: Gros Morne National Park
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| Rustic cabin we stayed in Berry Hill Campground section of Gros Morne National Park |
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| The wood stove and bundle of wood included in price (to left of wood stove) would keep us warm at night, as there was no heat, electricity, or running water (bathrooms with showers and flush toilets just 400m away) |
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| I got the fire going quickly in the wood stove, and that really put out some heat |
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The next morning, before breakfast, Brady and I went on a 7-mile run from our cabin to Baker Brook Falls and back, and we never saw a single person along the way!
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After breakfast, we had a long day of hiking. 11 miles in fact, round trip to Gros Morne Summit, for an elevation gain of about 3,000'.
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| Steep and rocky |
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| Partridge berries. I had never heard of them prior to this trip, but on the waitress recommendation, I had partridge berry pancakes this morning, and they were good! |
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| Ptarmigans! They really blend in quite well with the rocks. We didn't even see them at first. |
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| More stunning Newfoundland vistas! This one on the hike down from the summit. |
Wednesday, September 17: Port aux Basques, NL to North Sydney, NS
Final day in Newfoundland.
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| Pretty fishing village of Port-aux-basques |
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| On the ferry back to Nova Scotia, this time a much shorter 6 hour ferry |
Thursday, September 18: Truro, NS
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| This was a unique experience: we stayed one of several renovated shipping containers, adjacent to a large park! Seek Wilderness Adventures |
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| Inside the shipping container. You can still see the corrugated side walls. Narrow but functional, with a bedroom at either end. And they even put out a dog bed for Brady! |
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| Enjoyed running the trails of adjacent Victoria Park |
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| And then post-run relaxation in the hot tub (as Brady looks on) |
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| Final day in Canada. Stopped and ate lunch here in St John, New Brunswick (as opposed to earlier in the trip staying in St Johns, Newfoundland; that isn't confusing, right?) |
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| Final overnight stop with dinner along the water in one of my person favorite towns: Camden, Maine |
Friday, September 19: Camden, ME to home
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| And our final run before heading home Beech Hill Preserve |
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| Atlantic Ocean in the background |
Our 13-day adventure trip comes to an end. One of our longest trips in recent years, but since we were driving, we really needed at least that much time to get to the sites we wanted. And in Newfoundland, I can't imagine getting around without having a car. Fantastic land with stunning scenery and zero crowds anywhere, at least in the shoulder season of September. There is much we could have added on as well, especially in Gros Morne National Park. I highly recommend Newfoundland!
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