Labrador Coastal Drive Tour
Come to Labrador Coastal Drive for a unique northern wilderness experience and some of North America's most fascinating history. Labrador Coastal Drive, the southeast corner of Labrador is the most accessible part of Labrador to explore from Newfoundland. Embark on a Labrador adventure with ease and comfort as you visit Labrador Coastal Drive.
Labrador Coastal Drive is served by ferries shuttling between St. Barbe, Newfoundland, and Blanc Sablon, Québec on a daily basis for most of the year. During the months January, February and March the ferry runs from Corner Brook, NL to Blanc Sablon, PQ twice a week. The tour itinerary listed below could be reversed depending on how you arrive on Labrador Coastal Drive.
Day 1
Travel to the ferry terminal at St. Barbe to board the Qujaq W to sail the Strait of Belle Isle, nicknamed Iceberg Alley for the numerous icebergs that move along here. Seabirds, whales and seal sightings are also highlights of this 90 minute sail. The ferry will dock in Blanc Sablon, Quebec where you are just minutes from the Quebec/Labrador border and Route 510 of the Newfoundland and Labrador highway system. In L'anse Au Clair, your first stop should be at the Gateway to Labrador Visitor Centre.This Centre is a restored turn-of- the century church. The architecture of the building and the exhibits are a pleasant introduction to Labrador Coastal Drive.A nearby, beautiful sandy beach invites you to the shoreline. The Jersey Room Hiking Trail is a great walk, as well, with interpretation on a an 18th century fishing enterprises.
Day 2
By travelling along Route 138, you can explore the communties, sites and attractions along the Jacques Cartier Trail, so named because Jacques Cartier sailed this coast in 1534. Be sure to visit Isle de Perroquets, a puffin sanctuary located near land with a platform and a viewing scope, and the Whiteley Museum at St. Pauls River, to see the story of the invention of the cod trap. You will further explore our maritime history by connecting back to Route 510 with visits to the Point Amour Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site, Atlantic Canada's tallest lighthouse, Labrador Straits Museum, with exhibits on women in Labrador Straits history and from the nearby L'Anse Amour Burial National Historic Site, the oldest known funeral monument in North America. There are also excellent hiking trails in the near vicinity, including the Overall Fall Brook, Schooner Cove, HMS Raleigh, and the Battery.
Day 3
Journeying north to Red Bay, some worthwhile stops would be the Oceanview Trail at West St. Modeste and the Pinware River Provincial Park, a great place for a picnic, camping or a walk and the Pinware River Bridge, Along this stretch of road, you'll see a spectacular display of glacial erratics. Your tour today includes the internationally renown, 16th century Basque Whaling site at Red Bay. The Red Bay National Historic Site Orientation Centre introduces you to this site, the world's first industrial-scale whale fishery.View a reconstructed 430 year old whaling chapula! The Visitor Centre showcases extensive exhibits featuring actual artifacts from years of archaeology work including actual Basque clothing, eating and drinking utensils. From here, you can also arrange a short boat tour to Saddle Island, for a walking tour of the excavation sites of the main processing area and burial ground. Visit the Selma Barkham Community Centre to see a scale model of an humpback whale! And the Loyal Orange Lodge Community Museum for more recent community history. Red Bay also has walking trail system including Tracey Hill and the Boney Shore.
Watch for black bears, Canadian Geese and other wildlife as you travel the 86 km of new gravel highway to Mary's Harbour.
Day 4
The community of Mary's Harbour surrounds the beautiful St. Mary's River, with the spectacular White Water Falls a short hike up river. A trip to Battle Harbour National Historic District will be one of the highlights of this coastal tour. Once known as the capital of Labrador, Battle Harbour's fascinating fishing history has also been coloured by medical pioneer, Sir Wilfred Grenfell and artic explorer Commandeer Robert Peary. Beautifully refurished residences are used as visitor accommodations. Interpretative centres, guided tours, boat charters, and an abundance of natural beauty brings 200 years of history to life on this tiny island! Departures from Mary's Harbour are at 11am daily.
Day 5
Battle Harbour is such a unique setting that one night will probably not be enough. The experience is one of total relaxation and wonder! Taking the morning boat back to Mary's Harbour, turn off Route 510 to Route 513 which leads St. Lewis, the most easterly permanent community on mainland Canada. The Loder's Point Premises is a restored fishing stage and merchant store where you will learn about the fascinating history of St. Lewis. There is a gazebo at the shoreline, perfect for a picnic lunch and watching icebergs. Or you could take your picnic to the top of Fox Harbour Hill for a spectacular 360 degree view, often dotted with icebergs. Fox Harbour Hill was also the site of major USAF Radar installation. From here follow Deepwater Creek Trail down to the Atlantic Ocean. Continuing on Route 510 will bring you to Port Hope Simpson, the midway point of Labrador Coastal Drive.
Day 6
Port Hope Simpson, in contrast to many of our fishing communities, is a logging town. The Moulder of Dreams Pottery Shop is much more than that. The pottery making is a therapy for some residents and the results make great souveniers! Port Hope Simpson can serve as home base to explore the nearby communities of Charlottetown, Norman Bay, Williams Harbour and Pinsents Arm.
Day 7
Pinsent's Arm is the most recent community to be connected to the Labrador Highway and is a living somewhat modern example of traditional outport fishing. Many families still migrate to Pinsent's Arm for the summer. Artic char are also plentiful in the waters in this area.
Day 8
A passenger/freight boat that operates between Port Hope Simpson, Charlottetown, Williams Harbour, Pinsent's Arm and Norman Bay. This makes for a pleasant day of coastal sailing either through Shinney's Water Complex and Gilberts Bay, which is home to a unique species of cod or along the coast with a return trip to the small isolated community of Norman Bay. Charlottetown is home of the first shrimp processing plant in Labrador, owned by the Labrador Fisherman Union Shrimp Company. Tours are provided for visitors if you are willing to abide by their special 'dresscode". Charlottetown is also home to Benjamin Powell Sr., a renown Labrador writer, who is often available to talk to visitors and certainly to autograph one of his many books.
Day 9
Route 510 continues for 187 km to Cartwright. The scenery along Labrador Coastal Drive is ever changing and today's journey takes you away from the fisherman's coast to a trapper's Labrador. On your way, drop out to Paradise River, which provided an important route between the coast and the Labrador interior for native peoples prior to European settlement. Cartwright and the Sandwich Bay area have a remarkable history. You can explore places like Flagstaff Hill on your own, but you'll benefit well by using local boat tour operators to take you places like the Viking noted Wonderstrands, 56 km of sandy beach, and Muddy Bay, where believe it or not the first experiments in quick frozen foods took place. These explorations can be short ½ trips or as long as 9 days of kayaking. It is a wonderful "off the beaten path" adventure.
Day 1
Travel to the ferry terminal at St. Barbe to board the Qujaq W to sail the Strait of Belle Isle, nicknamed Iceberg Alley for the numerous icebergs that move along here. Seabirds, whales and seal sightings are also highlights of this 90 minute sail. The ferry will dock in Blanc Sablon, Quebec where you are just minutes from the Quebec/Labrador border and Route 510 of the Newfoundland and Labrador highway system. In L'anse Au Clair, your first stop should be at the Gateway to Labrador Visitor Centre.This Centre is a restored turn-of- the century church. The architecture of the building and the exhibits are a pleasant introduction to Labrador Coastal Drive.A nearby, beautiful sandy beach invites you to the shoreline. The Jersey Room Hiking Trail is a great walk, as well, with interpretation on a an 18th century fishing enterprises.
Day 2
By travelling along Route 138, you can explore the communties, sites and attractions along the Jacques Cartier Trail, so named because Jacques Cartier sailed this coast in 1534. Be sure to visit Isle de Perroquets, a puffin sanctuary located near land with a platform and a viewing scope, and the Whiteley Museum at St. Pauls River, to see the story of the invention of the cod trap. You will further explore our maritime history by connecting back to Route 510 with visits to the Point Amour Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site, Atlantic Canada's tallest lighthouse, Labrador Straits Museum, with exhibits on women in Labrador Straits history and from the nearby L'Anse Amour Burial National Historic Site, the oldest known funeral monument in North America. There are also excellent hiking trails in the near vicinity, including the Overall Fall Brook, Schooner Cove, HMS Raleigh, and the Battery.
Day 3
Journeying north to Red Bay, some worthwhile stops would be the Oceanview Trail at West St. Modeste and the Pinware River Provincial Park, a great place for a picnic, camping or a walk and the Pinware River Bridge, Along this stretch of road, you'll see a spectacular display of glacial erratics. Your tour today includes the internationally renown, 16th century Basque Whaling site at Red Bay. The Red Bay National Historic Site Orientation Centre introduces you to this site, the world's first industrial-scale whale fishery.View a reconstructed 430 year old whaling chapula! The Visitor Centre showcases extensive exhibits featuring actual artifacts from years of archaeology work including actual Basque clothing, eating and drinking utensils. From here, you can also arrange a short boat tour to Saddle Island, for a walking tour of the excavation sites of the main processing area and burial ground. Visit the Selma Barkham Community Centre to see a scale model of an humpback whale! And the Loyal Orange Lodge Community Museum for more recent community history. Red Bay also has walking trail system including Tracey Hill and the Boney Shore.
Watch for black bears, Canadian Geese and other wildlife as you travel the 86 km of new gravel highway to Mary's Harbour.
Day 4
The community of Mary's Harbour surrounds the beautiful St. Mary's River, with the spectacular White Water Falls a short hike up river. A trip to Battle Harbour National Historic District will be one of the highlights of this coastal tour. Once known as the capital of Labrador, Battle Harbour's fascinating fishing history has also been coloured by medical pioneer, Sir Wilfred Grenfell and artic explorer Commandeer Robert Peary. Beautifully refurished residences are used as visitor accommodations. Interpretative centres, guided tours, boat charters, and an abundance of natural beauty brings 200 years of history to life on this tiny island! Departures from Mary's Harbour are at 11am daily.
Day 5
Battle Harbour is such a unique setting that one night will probably not be enough. The experience is one of total relaxation and wonder! Taking the morning boat back to Mary's Harbour, turn off Route 510 to Route 513 which leads St. Lewis, the most easterly permanent community on mainland Canada. The Loder's Point Premises is a restored fishing stage and merchant store where you will learn about the fascinating history of St. Lewis. There is a gazebo at the shoreline, perfect for a picnic lunch and watching icebergs. Or you could take your picnic to the top of Fox Harbour Hill for a spectacular 360 degree view, often dotted with icebergs. Fox Harbour Hill was also the site of major USAF Radar installation. From here follow Deepwater Creek Trail down to the Atlantic Ocean. Continuing on Route 510 will bring you to Port Hope Simpson, the midway point of Labrador Coastal Drive.
Day 6
Port Hope Simpson, in contrast to many of our fishing communities, is a logging town. The Moulder of Dreams Pottery Shop is much more than that. The pottery making is a therapy for some residents and the results make great souveniers! Port Hope Simpson can serve as home base to explore the nearby communities of Charlottetown, Norman Bay, Williams Harbour and Pinsents Arm.
Day 7
Pinsent's Arm is the most recent community to be connected to the Labrador Highway and is a living somewhat modern example of traditional outport fishing. Many families still migrate to Pinsent's Arm for the summer. Artic char are also plentiful in the waters in this area.
Day 8
A passenger/freight boat that operates between Port Hope Simpson, Charlottetown, Williams Harbour, Pinsent's Arm and Norman Bay. This makes for a pleasant day of coastal sailing either through Shinney's Water Complex and Gilberts Bay, which is home to a unique species of cod or along the coast with a return trip to the small isolated community of Norman Bay. Charlottetown is home of the first shrimp processing plant in Labrador, owned by the Labrador Fisherman Union Shrimp Company. Tours are provided for visitors if you are willing to abide by their special 'dresscode". Charlottetown is also home to Benjamin Powell Sr., a renown Labrador writer, who is often available to talk to visitors and certainly to autograph one of his many books.
Day 9
Route 510 continues for 187 km to Cartwright. The scenery along Labrador Coastal Drive is ever changing and today's journey takes you away from the fisherman's coast to a trapper's Labrador. On your way, drop out to Paradise River, which provided an important route between the coast and the Labrador interior for native peoples prior to European settlement. Cartwright and the Sandwich Bay area have a remarkable history. You can explore places like Flagstaff Hill on your own, but you'll benefit well by using local boat tour operators to take you places like the Viking noted Wonderstrands, 56 km of sandy beach, and Muddy Bay, where believe it or not the first experiments in quick frozen foods took place. These explorations can be short ½ trips or as long as 9 days of kayaking. It is a wonderful "off the beaten path" adventure.