For sheer wonder, variety, and access to untamed landscapes, hiking trails in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador on Canada’s east coast make it one of the most rewarding destinations on the continent. There’s no better place to escape the crowds and connect with the natural world. 

St. John’s Harbor and Downtown from Signal Hill

It’s the province’s guarantee of solitary wilderness experiences that Katie Broadhurst, co-author with Alexandra Fortin of Hikes of Western Newfoundland, finds most enticing. “You can go all day and not see another person, not hear any motors, and enjoy pure, pristine wilderness.” Over 300 wild trails lead to views of waterfalls, icebergs, whales, seabirds, ghost villages, and historic sites across the province’s great expanses of wilderness and along its 18,000 miles of coastline.

“You can have it all,” Broadhurst says. “Stick to cities, towns, or villages for tame trails, or venture into the deep backcountry by boat. Wander the forest, follow the coastline, or climb to the top of the world’s oldest mountain range. The possibilities are limitless.” 

Western Newfoundland

One of the 20 hiking trails in Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Newfoundland’s west coast, is like no other on the planet—and it’s suitable for nearly any ability level. When two ancient continents collided half a billion years ago, part of the Earth’s mantle heaved to the surface, creating the rocky red Tablelands. The Tablelands Trail an easy hour walk into a glacier-carved valley that looks more martian than Earthly, with only strange plant life—like insectivorous sundews and pitcher plants—able to thrive in the otherwise barren landscape. To get the most out of a walk on the Tablelands, sign up for a free guided tour at the Discovery Centre or download the park’s free app. 

A young hiker climbs near the summit of Gros Morne Mountain, in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

 “We have hikes for all abilities,” says Rebecca Stone, co-owner of Tour Gros Morne. “There are coastal hikes, steep rocky hikes, boardwalks that take you through thousands of wild flowers in the spring, shorter paved or gravel hikes that are suitable for fat bikes or wheelchairs, and even groomed trails in the winter for snowshoeing.” 

For the truly intrepid, Newfoundland offers some of the most rewarding multiday hiking in the world. “The Lewis Hills is for experienced off-trail hikers,” Broadhurst says of a demanding section of the International Appalachian Trail just north of Stephenville. “It’s so wild—caribou herds grazing, crystal clear waterfalls, and huge old fjords.” The Humber Valley Trail is 15 miles of the most northerly stretch of the trail near the city of Corner Brook. “We are lucky to have the old Appalachian Mountain Chain in our backyard so we have those beautiful rolling hill mountains to explore,” Stone says. “Any hike you start is at zero feet above sea level, and you have a variety of choices, taking you just a couple feet up or over 2500.” 

Just outside Corner Brook, Cape Blow Me Down Provincial Park has a moderately difficult short trail up the Governor’s Staircase through birch and maple woods for views of the great Bay of Islands. It’s Broadhurst’s top pick for visiting hikers: “The views are unparalleled, and you often have the trail to yourself. There is also a waterfall and swimming hole.” 

The North Coast

Centuries ago, people wondered what the four corners of the Earth looked like. Today, the Flat Earth Society claims one corner is at Brimstone Head, a towering whale’s back rock on Fogo Island. “The climb to the top and the panoramic view are breathtaking,” Smith says. Signage warns hikers to hang on tight lest they fall off the edge of the world.  

A hiker along a grassy path on the Skerwink Trail on the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada.

Terra Nova, Canada’s most easterly national park, is known for great birdwatching. Take the six-mile Coastal Trail for the best viewing of the estuary where birds feast on rich food supplies, especially during fall migration when thousands of shorebirds gather. The Goowiddy Path—named for a shrub common on the trail—is an easy five-mile loop through fir forests to coastal lagoons cut off from the sea by sandbars called barachois. 

About 50 miles east of Terra Nova National Park is one of Newfoundland’s most beloved hikes, the Skerwink Trail. In little more than three miles, hikers can walk cliff edges and beaches; spot whales, birds, and icebergs; and see stone arches and sea stacks with names like Flat Fish and Music Box. Just around the corner is the Fox Island Trail, a favorite of Mary Smith, co-author with Fred Hollingshurst of Hikes of Eastern Newfoundland. She describes it as “a 3.4 mile loop on the rugged shoreline of Trinity Bay and includes a walk through the quaint fishing community of Champneys West.” 

East Coast Atlantic Trails

On Newfoundland’s eastern shores, the East Coast Trail is a system of nearly 200 miles of rugged coastal walking paths through some 30 seaside towns and villages. Follow Blackhead Path to the Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site, Canada’s most easterly point, or in the other direction, join Deadman’s Bay Path. Watch a powerful sea geyser, and spot whales, icebergs, and seabirds, like the clown-faced puffin. 

Outer Battery, St John’s, Newfoundland

The best urban hike in the province is North Head Trail at Signal Hill where Guglielmo Marconi received the world’s first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901. This series of footpaths, boardwalks, and stairs lead to sweeping views of the capital St. John’s and the open Atlantic, where pods of whales breach as seabirds soar overhead. It ends at the Outer Battery, a group of colorful houses that clings to the cliffs at the mouth of the harbor.  

Labrador

Point Amour lighthouse on the coast of Labrador, Canada

In Labrador, the mainland portion of the province, Torngat Mountains National Park is a vast, wild land for the most rugged of explorers. You’ll stay at a base camp and follow Inuit polar bear guards along routes thousands of years old through unparalleled sub-arctic wilderness. In the south, the Labrador Pioneer Footpath is a 40-mile trek that follows traditional coastal walking paths from one tiny village to another. The remains of the British battleship H.M.S Raleigh, Atlantic Canada’s tallest lighthouse at Point Amour, and 10,000-year-old wedges of glacier that skirt the coast as icebergs are clues to the nature of this rugged coastline. 

Because you’ll only have time to hike a few of Newfoundland and Labrador’s best trails, you’ll be planning your next trip as you gaze out onto an iceberg sculpted into a work of art, look up the height of a waterfall so high it turns to mist before it reaches the ground, or peer over the edge of the Earth’s eastern corner.