Newfoundland - Gros Morne National Park

The third stop of our trip was to Gros Morne National Park. When I was reading about places to visit in Newfoundland, I came across this quote: “Gros Morne may be the most breathtaking park you’ve never heard of”. Located on the west coast of Newfoundland, the park lies within the Long-Range Mountains and is dotted with beautiful seaside villages, beaches, lighthouses and freshwater fjords.

After a 6-hour drive from Trinity, we began our exploration of the park at the Tablelands. Near the Trout River, the Tablelands are a huge flat-topped massif that was part of the earth’s mantel before tectonics raised it and planted it squarely on the continent. There is a short 2 1/2-mile return trail which takes you to base of the mountain.

From the Tablelands, we drove to Lobster Cove Lighthouse (for anyone who is counting, this is the fourth lighthouse sighting so far on this trip!). There are several trails which wind through the forest and along the coast. We lucked out with mostly sunny skies and the views were just beautiful.

For our second day in Gros Morne, we hiked to the top of Gros Morne Mountain, the park’s highest point as well as the highest point in Newfoundland. The hike is 10-miles long and took us around 7 hours to make the loop. Alex and I have done our fair share of hiking during our travels, but this was one of the hardest we have completed. It wasn’t so much the distance, but the terrain was rough and very physically challenging. After about 2 1/2-miles of mostly flat and easy walking to get to the base of the mountain, it is then required to hike up an incredibly steep boulder gully to summit to the top. This part entails scrambling over loose rocks to gain an elevation of over 1,600 feet. It took Alex and I about an hour to get to the top and I was glad to have this part over! Even though it was rough, the views of Ten Mile Brook Pond and the Long-Range Mountains were unbelievable.

The arrow indicates the boulder gully we climbed to get to the top of Gros Morne Mountain

We stayed in the town of Norris Point and were able to spend some time walking around the area and the neighboring town of Rocky Harbour. It had rained earlier in the day which really made the mountains and rocks so rich and colorful.

Accommodation: Burnt Hill Cottages, Norris Point

Restaurants: The Black Spruce, Treasure Box, & Old Store Cafe