Travel Blog 
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May 01
2008
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A road trip is the perfect way to capture summer memories. It truly resonates the feeling that the half of the experience is the journey to the destination. If you want to get off the beaten path, head to Newfoundland’s Highway #430, winding north from Deer Lake to St. Anthony. You’ll pass some of Newfoundland’s prettiest towns, marvel at inspirational scenery, and visit the oldestEuropean habitation in the New World.
Before you go, Newfoundland 430 is an easy drive, however, this is not a four-carriage highway and speeds need to be reduced. Also, windy roads hugging the coast, North Atlantic fog, and changing microclimates means that you need to take it easy. But would you want to have it any other way? The scenery is worth taking your time for. The standard journey length is 423 kilometres, and takes approximately six hours stem-to-stern.
Deer Lake, Newfoundland
Getting to Deer Lake shouldn’t be a problem. The airport receives regular domestic fights, and some international flight movements during tourist season. The Irving Mainway is where the bus stops, and like elsewhere in Newfoundland, no train service exists. Make sure to fuel up before heading out. However, before leaving Deer Lake check out the Newfoundland Insectarium. Filled with butterflies, and located just off the Trans-Canada Highway, this is a great place for children of all ages. To get onto Newfoundland Route-430, take the Trans-Canada Highway to Exit 16, and then follow signage for Gros Morne National Park and St. Anthony’s.
Gros Morne National Park
Passing through Gros Morne National Park is inevitable, and provides countless opportunities to get up close to nature. Pissing Mare Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in Eastern North America, and descends over 350-metres, which flows into Western Brook Pond. The scenery and richness is so impressive here that in 1987 the park was designated as an UNSECO World Heritage Site.
Located in the heart of the Gros Morne National Park is Rocky Harbour. With wharves offering glimpses of fisherpersons going about their daily routine, and craft shops with an ideal souvenir, makes Rocky Harbour a traditional stopping point for travellers.
Daniel’s Harbour
Past the Gros Morne National Park is Daniel’s Harbour. An interesting perspective on history can be had at the Nurse Bennett Heritage House, a two-story museum dedicated to Nurse Myra Bennett, historically the only nurse in that area of the province To stretch your legs visit the Table Point Ecological Reserve, with limestone formations that are almost half-a-billion years old. Please do not collect the fossil without permission. And if you have had enough of the land you can check out the sea with at Whale Watching Lookout.
Plum Point
Three Mile Lake Park is just 1.5 kilometres off Route 430 and features picnic tables and is open from June 1 until November 30. Hiking trails and swimming add to the fun. Across from the Plum Point Motel is the Old Ferrole Island Lookout – so be ready to snap pictures of the stunning scenery. 15-minutes north is Black Duck Cove, where you can take a ferry to Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, on the border to Labrador. Adventure road-trippers can continue their voyage into Labrador on Highway 510, visiting small towns and seeing unbridled Canadian nature.
Eddies Cove
Inching northbound is Eddies Cove. A smaller settlement, visitors to Eddies Cove will want to see Watts Point Ecological Reserve, home to flora and fauna not found anywhere else in Newfoundland.
St. Anthony
The end of the road – St. Anthony, the northernmost town in Newfoundland. L’anse-aux-Meadows National Historic Site is twenty kilometres prior to arriving in St. Anthony and is one of Newfoundland’s most popular and long-standing attractions. In the 1960s Norwegian writer and amateur archaeologist Helge Ingstad discovered building remains underneath bumps of grass and soil. This discovery led to the uncovering of a Viking community, believed to be inhabited 1000 years ago, thereby making it the oldest habitation in the New World.
In St. Anthony proper, Fishing Point Municipal Park has boardwalks and viewing platforms with impressive ocean views, sometimes with floating ice burgs. You can’t help by take in a lung-full of the powerful briny air. Also, many sea birds make this park home, adding to the overall experience for any visitor. Before leaving town, take your photograph with the Mounted Polar Bear. This specialty attraction is the result of a polar bear that entered town and collapsed on harbour ice. Mounted by a taxidermist, the bear can be seen at the St. Anthony Municipal Building.
Before you go, Newfoundland 430 is an easy drive, however, this is not a four-carriage highway and speeds need to be reduced. Also, windy roads hugging the coast, North Atlantic fog, and changing microclimates means that you need to take it easy. But would you want to have it any other way? The scenery is worth taking your time for. The standard journey length is 423 kilometres, and takes approximately six hours stem-to-stern.
Deer Lake, Newfoundland
Getting to Deer Lake shouldn’t be a problem. The airport receives regular domestic fights, and some international flight movements during tourist season. The Irving Mainway is where the bus stops, and like elsewhere in Newfoundland, no train service exists. Make sure to fuel up before heading out. However, before leaving Deer Lake check out the Newfoundland Insectarium. Filled with butterflies, and located just off the Trans-Canada Highway, this is a great place for children of all ages. To get onto Newfoundland Route-430, take the Trans-Canada Highway to Exit 16, and then follow signage for Gros Morne National Park and St. Anthony’s.
Gros Morne National Park
Passing through Gros Morne National Park is inevitable, and provides countless opportunities to get up close to nature. Pissing Mare Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in Eastern North America, and descends over 350-metres, which flows into Western Brook Pond. The scenery and richness is so impressive here that in 1987 the park was designated as an UNSECO World Heritage Site.
Located in the heart of the Gros Morne National Park is Rocky Harbour. With wharves offering glimpses of fisherpersons going about their daily routine, and craft shops with an ideal souvenir, makes Rocky Harbour a traditional stopping point for travellers.
Daniel’s Harbour
Past the Gros Morne National Park is Daniel’s Harbour. An interesting perspective on history can be had at the Nurse Bennett Heritage House, a two-story museum dedicated to Nurse Myra Bennett, historically the only nurse in that area of the province To stretch your legs visit the Table Point Ecological Reserve, with limestone formations that are almost half-a-billion years old. Please do not collect the fossil without permission. And if you have had enough of the land you can check out the sea with at Whale Watching Lookout.
Plum Point
Three Mile Lake Park is just 1.5 kilometres off Route 430 and features picnic tables and is open from June 1 until November 30. Hiking trails and swimming add to the fun. Across from the Plum Point Motel is the Old Ferrole Island Lookout – so be ready to snap pictures of the stunning scenery. 15-minutes north is Black Duck Cove, where you can take a ferry to Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, on the border to Labrador. Adventure road-trippers can continue their voyage into Labrador on Highway 510, visiting small towns and seeing unbridled Canadian nature.
Eddies Cove
Inching northbound is Eddies Cove. A smaller settlement, visitors to Eddies Cove will want to see Watts Point Ecological Reserve, home to flora and fauna not found anywhere else in Newfoundland.
St. Anthony
The end of the road – St. Anthony, the northernmost town in Newfoundland. L’anse-aux-Meadows National Historic Site is twenty kilometres prior to arriving in St. Anthony and is one of Newfoundland’s most popular and long-standing attractions. In the 1960s Norwegian writer and amateur archaeologist Helge Ingstad discovered building remains underneath bumps of grass and soil. This discovery led to the uncovering of a Viking community, believed to be inhabited 1000 years ago, thereby making it the oldest habitation in the New World.
In St. Anthony proper, Fishing Point Municipal Park has boardwalks and viewing platforms with impressive ocean views, sometimes with floating ice burgs. You can’t help by take in a lung-full of the powerful briny air. Also, many sea birds make this park home, adding to the overall experience for any visitor. Before leaving town, take your photograph with the Mounted Polar Bear. This specialty attraction is the result of a polar bear that entered town and collapsed on harbour ice. Mounted by a taxidermist, the bear can be seen at the St. Anthony Municipal Building.
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