Boat Tour Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park

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Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park

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

 

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?

 

Comfortable hiking trail to the jetty at Western Brook Pond
Comfortable hiking trail to the jetty at Western Brook Pond

 

Boat trip on the Western Brook Pond

The boat launch at Western Brook Pond is also only accessible by foot, but this trail covers flat terrain with only a few small inclines. And it makes you curious about the lake that has spread out in this valley. A valley carved out of the rock by the glaciers of the last Ice Age. The path always offers new and better views of the gorge, which we will cross by boat. It takes a good hour from the Viking Highway parking lot to the boat launch. Since there is a lot to discover along the route, we take two hours.

 

Through swamp terrain we go to the Western Brook Pond
Through swamp terrain we go to the Western Brook Pond

 

Walk to the jetty

Here we cross the terminal moraine in the Gros Morne National Park, which the former glacier deposited at this point. This turns Western Brook Pond into a lake and not a fjord, because if you think about it, a fjord is directly connected to the sea. Here, however, the glacial 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. And we see traces of moose in the mud that reaches up to the boardwalks. The animals obviously feel comfortable here, as the many footsteps indicate that they often stay here. But you probably have to be here early in the morning or evening to see them. We have to be content with their traces.

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
  • An 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 also offers many beautiful photo opportunities. Therefore you should your Camera .
  • Make sure to bring a sun hat with. However, you should not underestimate the sun here. Petar got sunburned there because he didn't believe that the sun could be so strong in these regions.

 

 

Western Brook Tours Gros Morne National Park
Western Brook Tours offers boat tours in Gros Morne National Park

 

In bright sunshine we board one of the two boats. There are tours in English and English/French, and we cruise across the wide part of the lake to the start of the gorge for which Gros Morne National Park is world-famous.

 

Caribou Pass and the Tin Man Gros Morne National Park
Karibu Pass and the Tin Man in Gros Morne National Park

 

The boat takes us past the steep rock faces over which smaller and larger waterfalls repeatedly cascade down to the valley. In between we see densely overgrown slopes, which - as our boat driver explains to us - were partly created when huge landslides occurred. Today the caribou use one of these slopes (in the left picture) every spring for their spring migration to the mountain heights. Then the lake is frozen over and they can reach their pastures on the upper regions of the tableland via a pass-like opening in the rock walls. And we see the Tin Man (see arrow in the left photo), a striking rock figure that is reminiscent of the Hollywood film hero.

 

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Gros Morne National Park's most beautiful view - from below
The most beautiful view in Gros Morne National Park - from below

 

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:

Parking at the airport

Here you can reserve your parking space at the airport.

Getting to Gros Morne National Park:

For example, book your journey here by flight, bus or train*. Air Canada flies to St. John on Newfoundland. Book a flight to first Toronto, Montreal or Halifax. You can then take a domestic flight to St. John's book. 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.


 

Gros Morne National Park
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Other Slow Travel Destinations 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

Boat Tour Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park

Monika Fuchs

Monika Fuchs and Petar Fuchs are the authors and publishers of the Food and Slow Travel blog  TravelWorldOnline. They have been publishing this blog since 2005. TravelWorldOnline has been online since 2001. Their topics are trips to Savor, wine tourism worldwide and slow travel. During her studies Monika Fuchs spent some time in North America, where she - partly together with Petar Fuchs - traveled to the USA and Canada and spent a research year in British Columbia. This intensified her thirst for knowledge, which she satisfied for 6 years as an adventure guide for Rotel Tours and then for 11 years as a tour guide for Studiosus Reisen around the world. She was constantly expanding her travel regions, but curiosity still gnawed at her: "What's beyond the horizon? What else is there to discover in this city? Which people are interesting here? What do they eat in this region?" As a freelance travel journalist (her articles have appeared in DIE ZEIT, 360° Canada, 360° USA, etc.), she is now looking for answers to these questions as a travel writer and travel blogger in many countries around the world. Petar Fuchs produces the videos on this blog as well as on YouTube. Monika Fuchs from TravelWorldOnline is among Germany's top 50 bloggers in 2021. Find more Information about Monika and Petar Fuchs here.

2 thoughts too "Boat Tour Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park"

  1. 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 :)

    1. 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.

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