Blogs

Corner Brook, Newfoundland is well located for all kinds of outdoor activities. Recently we took part in 2 that are certainly noteworthy....

On the May 24th weekend, our family took a trip to the Port au Port Peninsula. We spent the night in Stephenville and then started our adventure looking at the petrified forest just outside the town....

There is no shortage of hikes to take in St. John's. One of my favorites is around Signal Hill - the North Head Trail. Before starting our hike we went to the Park's interpretive center. There we learned about the many battles between the French and English that have taken place on its rocky slopes.

Hiking the East Coast Trail outside St. John's last fall, I had one of those rapturous, living fully in the now, experiences.

My wife, Kathy, and I had seen nobody for an entire, glorious September Sunday. The trail, the forest, the sea belonged to only us. Or rather we to them.

Fall is at its peak in Western Newfoundland right now (from the end of September to mid-October) and there are several great reasons to make the trek in this direction from anywhere in the Atlantic region.

Amazing Place. How sweet is Newfoundland?

I once was lost…but now am found. Well, make that, lost in my own time zone! Don't worry, I didn't go off the grid, more like I was operating on Newfoundland time. Yes, interestingly enough – being the easternmost point in North America merits Newfoundland its own special time – a half an hour off kilter with the rest of the world. So, in essence, I was lost in this unique space- time continuum that exists in Newfoundland, Canada. Hence, if you really looking to "get away" [both literally and figuratively] – this is the place to go!

The first thing you notice is the air, scrubbed by a thousand miles of ocean and a hundred miles of evergreen forest. The spruce-scented breeze wafts along the shores of western Newfoundland filling the billowing sails of our tall ship, Concordia, and simultaneously purging our lungs of city smog. Even the tap water in Newfoundland (affectionately known as "the Rock" by locals) is so pristine you can fill your car battery with it.

Steady Brook Falls is worth the hike anytime of the year, but early spring is definitely the best. Located about six kilometres east of Corner Brook and just off the Trans Canada Highway, the falls are very accessible and a great place to stretch you legs. We took the short hike to the falls on April 17th. Warm sunny days melting high country snow followed by rain brought the falls up to an impressive level the day of our hike. The falls can be seen from the Trans Canada Highway but one should really pull off at Steady Brook (Exit 8) and experience it fully. The trailhead is behind the Tim Horton's at the base of Marble Mountain and there are two viewing platforms providing excellent photo opportunities.

Recently, my Dad and I took a two hour drive south from St. Johns to Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve. Named because it was a navigational hazard mistaken for Cape Race, it is one of the world's most significant fossil sites. Here you can find the oldest complex life forms anywhere on Earth. The main fossil layer preserves the ecology of a 565-million-year-old deep sea community.