Click to view hiking videoPerhaps it’s the millions of seabirds, thousands of humpbacks, and freshly carved icebergs that tend to pop up around our 29,000 kilometres of coastline. Or the mere wonder of walking on the middle of the earth thanks to a tectonic upheaval half a billion years ago. Or maybe it’s the abundance of fresh sea air, enough, certainly, for a complete purge of mind, body, and soul. Whatever it is, around here, it’s not hard to gain some serious perspective. And perhaps, recover a little sanity.
In a land as unpopulated and geographically ancient as Newfoundland and Labrador, the hiking and walking opportunities are both endless and breathtaking. Our province offers access to trails often undiscovered by the average traveller, with some of the most extensive, rugged, yet surprisingly traversable paths in all of Canada. We have trails to suit a brief, lazy meander along the coast, refreshing routes that will leave the blood pumping, and challenging treks that you can explore for hours, days and even weeks.
In Gros Morne National Park, one of our province’s most extensive trails systems, millions of years of tectonic plate movement has yielded an otherworldly landscape of varied rock formations and diverse vegetation. You can wander over the earth’s mantle, see fjords unlike anything else this side of Norway, and encounter flora and fauna found nowhere else on earth.
Terra Nova National Park possesses its own charm of pathways and challenging trails. The astounding views are unmatched. Depending on where you stand, you may even spy a whale or an eagle.
For the ultimate in wilderness hiking, there is unspoiled trekking in Labrador. One of the last unspoiled wilderness areas on earth, a secret not yet revealed, awaiting an adventurer. After the hard climbs inland, you may discover old networks of cart roads and paths connecting coastal towns that will pique your interest. Here, you can climb inland peaks to hidden places known only to the moose, caribou, and arctic hare.
In St. John’s lies the Grand Concourse, a system of walking trails that wind throughout the city. It’s a route that reveals our capital’s many ponds, lakes, historic architecture, and many other places of interest.
Our friendly adventure tour operators know this place inside and out. So if you’re looking for a family hiking vacation, a walking tour along the coastline or a getaway weekend let Newfoundland and Labrador’s adventure companies assist you to find out about some of the world's best kept secrets. For more tour information about hiking and walking packages, visit the Guide to Adventures website.