Beautiful views from the boat tour on Western Brook Pond in the Gros Morne National Park
Actually, before our Newfoundland trip, I had dreamed of seeing Gros Morne National Park from above, as a photo of a view down into the valley haunts all the glossy brochures that advertise Newfoundland as a travel destination. This is probably the most beautiful view that the national park in Newfoundland has to offer. However, we only learn on site that this vantage point only after a long Hike can be reached through the wilderness. There are no roads or manicured Walking to this rock above Western Brook Pond. If you want to get there, you have to be prepared for an expedition through the wilderness and several strenuous day's hikes over hill and dale. There are no human facilities along the way. On this tour you are completely dependent on yourself and your abilities.
Book your accommodation near Gros Morne National Park here
- The best starting point for Western Brook Pond is one of the accommodations in Rocky Harbour*
- We stayed in the Ocean View Hotel*. We were also able to experience a kitchen party there, as is typical for Newfoundland.
- If you want to visit the Western Brook Pond as a stopover on the way to or from L'Anse aux Meadows, then you can stay overnight at the Shallow Bay Motel* at Cow Head. We stayed there after our boat tour and hike to Western Brook Pond.
- Find more accommodations in Gros Morne National Park* can be found here.
- Why the accommodations we chose were a good choice , you will find out in this article.
Well, I probably wouldn't have done that hike up the cliff even in my most athletic times, although I was always up for adventure. But the effort would have been too great for me. However, there are two convenient alternatives: either fly over the Western Brook Pond in a small airplane or cross it by boat. Since we've already planned the boat trip, we're sticking with it. Maybe we'll come back again and see the pond from the air one day?
Boat trip on the Western Brook Pond
The boat dock at Western Brook Pond also includes a hike, but this trail leads across flat terrain with only a few small slopes. And it makes you curious about the lake, which has filled the valley glaciers eroded during the last ice age. it continues to offer new and better views of the gorge, which we cross by boat. It takes a good hour from the parking lot on the Viking Highway to the jetty. Since there is a lot to discover along the route, we spend two hours walking there.
Walk to the jetty
On our hike we cross the terminal moraine in the Gros Morne National Park, which the former glacier deposited at this point. This turns the Western Brook Pond into a lake and not a fjord, because a fjord is directly connected to the sea. Here, however, the glacier debris separates the lake from direct access to the ocean. This gives us the chance to look at numerous marsh plants that bloom along the hiking trail in July. Also, we see tracks of moose in the mud that reaches up to the boardwalks. Obviously, the animals feel comfortable here. The many footprints indicate that they often stay here. But you probably have to be here early in the morning or in the evening to see them. We have to be content with their tracks.
You need that for a hike to the jetty on Western Brook Pond
- Pack your backpack with our packing list for hikers. Then you are guaranteed to have everything you need on the go.
- Comfortable You need walking shoes for wide feetwhere you can walk well even on rough paths
- A backpack is definitely practical for everything you need on the go.
- At the jetty you will find places for a picnic along the way with a view of the National Park.
- The region offers beautiful photo opportunities. Therefore you should bring your Camera .
- Make sure to bring a sun hat with. Don't underestimate the sun here. Petar got sunburned there because he didn't believe that the sun could be so strong in these regions.
In brilliant sunshine we board one of the two boats offering tours in English and English / French and cruise across the broad part of the lake to the beginning of the gorge, for which Gros Morne National Park is world famous.
The boat takes us past the steep rock faces, over which smaller and larger waterfalls plunge down into the valley. In between we see densely overgrown slopes, which - as our boat driver explains - were partly created as huge landslides. Today the caribou use one of these slopes (in the picture on the left) every spring for their spring hike up the mountain heights. Then the lake is frozen over and they can reach their pastures on the upper regions of the plateau via a pass-like opening in the rock walls. And we see the Tin Man (see arrow in the left photo), a striking rock formation that is reminiscent of the film hero from Hollywood.
Gros Morne National Park is also beautiful from a boat
As it turns out, Newfoundland's most beautiful view can also be seen from the water. Steep and high rise the rock walls that frame the end of the lake. If Newfoundland's most famous photo was taken from the mountain heights in the background, then the view from the valley does not have to hide either, or what do you think?
Travel Arrangements:
Getting to Gros Morne National Park:
Arrival by plane, bus or train*. Air Canada flies to St. John on Newfoundland. Book a flight to first Toronto, Montreal or Halifax. You can then book a domestic flight to St. John's. The nearest airport is in Deer Lake (YDF) and is about 30 minutes away by car on the Viking Trail. Arriving by ferry from Nova Scotia, the journey takes about three and a half hours via Route 1 and Route 430.
Car Rentals:
Cheap car hire - book quickly and easily!
Camper Rentals:
You can book a mobile home here.
Hotels:
The best way to spend a night in Gros Morne National Park is to stay in Rocky Harbor and surroundings *, You can book hotels and motels online by clicking on the link.
Do you also know:
- Gros Morne National Park Camping
- Hotel in the center of Dublin
- Manhattan - the heart of New York City
- National Gallery of Art in Ottawa: Architecture
- The maritime heritage in Montreal on the St. Lawrence River
- Camping in California: The Best National Parks and National Forests
- Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado
- Mesa Verde National Park Hotels
Find more Slow Travel Destinations can be found here.
Source Gros Morne National Park: On-site research with support from the Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism Newfoundland, and Western Brook Tours
Text Gros Morne National Park: © Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos Gros Morne National Park: © Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Video Gros Morne National Park : © Petar Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Last update on 1.06.2023/XNUMX/XNUMX / Affiliate links / Images from the Amazon Product Advertising API
Newfoundland has conquered my heart -Gros front National Park and the entire west of the island have done to me so, I still can not believe it. All the more, I'm glad to finally find someone who also reports on Newfoundland :)
That was the same for us. The people of Newfoundland are so hospitable. We have experienced so many unforgettable moments in the days we were there that we are already thinking about our next trip to Newfoundland :). A great island worth discovering! I am looking forward to reading your reports about Newfoundland.