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The surge and surface current slosh me around like laundry in a spin cycle. I’m scuba diving on Gadd’s Wall, a precipitous dive site in Bonne Bay, in Western Newfoundland’s Gros Morne National Park, that just may be one of the top dives on the Rock.

Travelers seeking unspoiled places and culturally authentic experiences now have a valuable new resource in a comprehensive “Geotourism MapGuide” and website for Canada’s Eastern Newfoundland region. The landmark project has taken two years to plan and execute and is a historically significant asset for everyone who visits or lives in the region.

Forget the Rockies. Winter blahs melt away as you hit the gas on a snowmobile and blast along ancient mountain ridges or wander through pristine woodlands in Newfoundland and Labrador.

A vast network of trails sprawls across more than 5,000 kilometres of natural beauty. It spans the former Canadian National Railway route, follows the foothills of the Long Range Mountains to a glacier-cut fjord in Gros Morne National Park, and crisscrosses Labrador's rolling tundra.

On my recent trip to Newfoundland this September, I was exposed to some of the most remote parts of Canada’s most easterly province. To say they were awe-inspiring might be the biggest understatement of the century.

Outpost Magazine takes a hike along the Alexander Murray Hiking Trail in King's Point.

The easternmost hiking trail in North America, Newfoundland's East Coast Trail delivers hikers to a world of sea stacks, oceanside headlands, icebergs, and deep fjords.

The Blanche Brook Fossil Site in Stephenville is among seven sites in the province now protected under the “Historic Resources Act” as a result of recently approved regulations.

Lawrence Hill, author of the award-winning Book of Negroes, writes about being bewitched by majestic Gros Morne National Park - and tracing the history of the incomparable Viking settlement L'Anse aux Meadows.

If icebergs and whlaes are in your vacation plans this week, head over to Point Amour lighthouse in the Labrador Straits or Battle Harbour National Historic District.  

A dramatic community project is transforming a windswept island of fishermen off Canada's Newfoundland coast into a cutting edge artists' haven

Join us in Western Newfoundland to celebrate the arrival of spring through a series of festivals that capture the essence of what is truly unique in each part of the region at this beautiful time of year.

Each festival aims to take advantage of the fresh spring weather in the great outdoors. By day, join us on the many planned walks and hikes, interspersed with a program of informative talks and other learning opportunities. At the end of the day, relax with friends and family in the presence of the best local artists, musicians, and entertainers at the many social evenings and kitchen parties.
 

One of the best places to see the fall colours is in the Humber Valley, and the best way to see them up close is to take a fall hike.

It is no surprise then that The Old Man in the Mountain Hike is one of the most popular of those developed by the International Appalachian Trail in Newfoundland (IATNL). It has fabulous views of the Humber River and Humber Canyon and the vistas are all the more beautiful in the fall when the brilliant colours of changing leaves intermingle with the coniferous greens.
 

The only known North American colony of Manx Shearwaters, a nocturnal seabird, has been declared a Provisional Ecological Reserve. The colony, about 100 birds on Middle Island off the coast of the Burin Peninsula near Lawn, now falls under the protection of the Lawn Islands Archipelago Provisional Ecological Reserve.

The birds live in burrows four feet deep and can live for 50 years. Consultations on making the reserve permanent will be held in the near future. Thousands of seabirds nest on Middle Island, Offer Island, and Columbier Islands, including Arctic terns, great black-backed gulls and black-legged kittiwakes.

The Western Brook Pond fjord in Gros Morne National Park is the Park’s largest lake and the backdrop for a spectacular scenic boat tour. Once open to the ocean, this 16-km lake with a depth of 165m is home to Atlantic salmon, brook trout and Arctic char, as well as an unusual colony of cliff nesting gulls.

The boat tour can be reached via Route 430, 27 km north of Rocky Harbour. From the parking lot, there is a pleasant 45-minute walk to the dock. The trail carries you over the fragile coastal plain, once located below sea level. Here, examine a variety of plant life, scan for wildlife sightings or view the interpretive panels located along the trail.
 

Western Newfoundland offers some of the best snowmobiling in all of Eastern Canada and the Lewis Hills is an especially great spot to sled. The “hills” themselves are located approximately 18 km north of Stephenville and 27 km southwest of Corner Brook and at 814m (2,671ft) the Cabox is the island of Newfoundland’s highest point.

As you can see from the video you can see breathtaking scenery and a variety of wildlife in the backcountry. The Lewis Hills terrain is inviting to a novice rider but offers everything an expert rider would need.
 

Newfoundland and Labrador isn't your typical run-of-the-mill tourism destination. It's complex, ancient and multi-faceted. Nowhere is this fact more apparent than within Canada's 'exquisite jewel,' Torngat Mountains National Park. Read about one Toronto Sun reporter's unique experience. There's video too...

CNN’s travel reporter has been charmed by our “Viking history, stunning rocky landscapes and warm, welcoming locals.” Read all about her experience exploring remote, wild and beautiful, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The five editors from Trailpeak.com who were exploring NL recently have completed their coast-to-coast 10-day adventure. Trailpeak.com is a website highlighting the best hiking, mountain biking, climbing, kayaking, canoeing, skiing, and snowshoeing trails in North America. Read all about their NL escapades, complete with links to trail info and maps.

The love keeps pouring in for St. John's and NL. This travel feature appeared in Britain's widely read Daily Mail newspaper. It highlights some of the similarities between Newfoundlanders and their friends across the pond... most notably, an affinity for the longest running TV soap in the world...

The Land of Spirits: This Globe and Mail feature is all about Canada’s newest national park — Torngat Mountains National Park in Labrador. From polar bear sightings to ice bergs, all seen within one of the last untouched wilderness areas in the world, the experience was clearly an unforgettable one for the writer.