The Bonavista Peninsula may just be my favourite spot on our trip across Newfoundland. The unbeatable views, the frequent puffin sightings, and the incredible mix of human and geological history were fascinating. We drove a full loop around the peninsula, starting by going north on Highway 235 towards Bonavista before heading back along Highway 230 through Elliston, Catalina, and Trinity over the next two days.
We saw every type of summer weather, from shining skies to low fog, pouring rain, and chilling wind. No matter the weather, the geography of the Bonavista Peninsula never failed to draw us out to explore. If you ask me, this is a must-see destination for anyone travelling to Newfoundland.
Why Visit Newfoundland’s Bonavista Peninsula?
The Bonavista Peninsula is about 300 km or 3.5 hours from St. John’s, and it’s definitely worth the drive. Whether you’ve heard of Cape Bonavista as the landing site of John Cabot in Canada, the historic site of Trinity, or of the puffin colonies throughout the peninsula, there are dozens of reasons to make the journey to Bonavista on your trip to Newfoundland.
Bonavista is also home to the Discovery UNESCO Global Geopark, which includes sites around the peninsula that exhibit unique geological formations, fossils, and anthropological sites. We visited a number on our trip, beginning with our first stop on the peninsula, Tickle Cove.
Visiting the Tickle Cove Sea Arch
Tickle Cove is located on the north side of the peninsula, off Highway 235. The Main Road that leads from Highway 235 to Tickle Cove is rough, with many potholes, so drive with caution. You’ll follow this road for 8 km, until you reach Tickle Cove.
The Sea Arch is well signed, with parking available just off the main road. Follow the path past the final home, where you’ll reach a set of stairs and a blue sign stating “Sea Arch” and a helpful arrow.
The sea arch is marvelous, with a mesmerizing swell of waves within the arch. The surrounding rocks are made from bright red sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerates, with quartz along the tension gashes.
Tickle Cove is about 50 minutes from the town of Bonavista. We chose to stop on our way from St. John’s, and headed to Bonavista after where we stayed that night. You’ll also pass through Red Cliff, a town named for the distinctive, iron-rich sandstone seen from here on toward Tickle Cove.
Town of Bonavista
We arrived in the town of Bonavista around 7:30 pm, and the weather changed from clear, sunny skies to a low, dense fog. We stayed at Jeanne’s Place, which I found through the Newfoundland and Labrador official website. The Airbnb was lovely, well-decorated, and would offer plenty of space for a family of 4. Many of the smaller accommodations hosted by locals are listed through Airbnb, making it a reliable way to find accommodations in Newfoundland.
The Bonavista Peninsula has limited accommodations to host the influx of tourists during high season, so be sure to book your stay a few months in advance.
Cape Bonavista Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site
In the morning, we headed out to see Cape Bonavista, which reaches out into the sea beyond the rest of the peninsula. It is the landing site of John Cabot, his first steps on Canadian soil. It is also the site of the historic Cape Bonavista Lighthouse and a colony of Atlantic puffins.
We drove out to the lighthouse due to the poor weather, although there is also an 8.7 km trail along the entire cape. We parked at the bottom of the hill from the lighthouse and walked along the pedestrian path.
You can pay for admission into the lighthouse, which is $6 for adults and $4 for students, with kids 16 and under getting access for free. Beside the lighthouse itself, there is also a visitor’s centre with information about the history of lighthouses and seafaring in the region and a gift shop.
We spent a few moments on the edge of the cliff near the lighthouse, catching site of the puffin colony on the small island opposite us. Because we didn’t expect to see the puffins, given the fog and poor weather, we’d left our binoculars in the car. After a few minutes of watching the birds, we decide to retrieve them to get a better look. When we returned, puffins had begun making the journey across the chasm between the cape and the island, and were landing only a few metres away from tourists.
Puffin Sightings
We got some great photos of the puffins that had journeyed over to us, careful not to get too close to the birds or the cliff’s edge. On our previous boat tour in Witless Bay a few days before, was that puffins need to beat their wings about 300 times per minute in order to fly, which makes them appear a little haphazard as they speed around.
At Cape Bonavista, however, they were flying with less effort, riding on the strong wind currents. Occasionally, the wind would force them back to their island, but for the most part they seemed to navigate the gusty storm comfortably.
Sometimes, you can spot icebergs floating past the Cape, but our visibility was quite limited due to the rain and the fog. By the time we headed back to the car after hanging out with the puffins, we were soaked! We had rain jackets on, but hadn’t thought to wear our rain pants. These came in handy for our afternoon though.
The Dungeon Provincial Park
After Cape Bonavista, we had one more stop to make before lunch. The Dungeon Provincial Park is located less than 15 minutes from Cape Bonavista, and around 5 minutes from the town itself. Heading in from Bonavista, Coster Street East (Highway 235) to Dungeon Road. This is a gravel road you’ll follow for just 1 kilometre before reaching the parking lot.
The parking lot for The Dungeon is small, and sits directly across the road from the viewing platform for the park. This is a small park, which hosts another geosite, a circular cavern open to the sky, with two arches that connect it to the ocean. You can walk around this site completely, as the entire hole is surrounded by intact cliff.
Take in the nearby sea stacks while you’re here and read the interpretive signage which explains how this unique geological formation was created. Not only is this a fantastic spot, it is so close to Bonavista that it would be criminal to miss it.
Back to Town
We headed back into Bonavista for lunch. Initially, we had planned on visiting Mifflin’s Tea Room, which hosts around a century of Newfoundlander and family history. Unfortunately, they were completely full, and we didn’t make a reservation due to the nature of our fluid morning plans. Instead, we decided to try Bonavista Brewing located next door.
The brewery had both their own beers as well as options from other local breweries around Newfoundland. Beyond the classic pub fare, such as cod fish and chips, nachos, and burgers, they also offer vegetarian options and lots of gluten free choices, including gluten free beers.
If you’re spending more time in Bonavista and you’re interested in learning more about Newfoundlander history, check out the Ryan Premises National Historic Site. The site focuses on the historic fishery and explaining what was a common way of life for many Newfoundlanders. They share traditional methods of catching and processing cod to preserve it in the days before refrigeration. Admission costs $5 for adults and is free for youth 17 and under, with discounts for students and seniors.
Hiking Klondike Trail
After lunch, the next thing on my list was to hike Klondike Trail. This 6.3 km trail near Elliston leads to Spillars Cove, which is also accessible by car with a much shorter walk from the parking lot.
The hike took us about 1.5 hours, and brought us through brush, forest, and open landscapes as we walked towards the sea. Reaching the coast was stunning, as the sea stacks became visible through the fog and the waves crashed below. Prior to reaching the focal point of the hike, we passed a small puffin colony.
Similar to Cape Bonavista, the puffins had selected a small, rocky island offshore to build their burrows. They were flying to the sea to fish or across to land on the cliffs and forage for nesting materials. We spotted 3 puffins just below where we stood on the trail, and stopped to watch. We witnessed a pair of puffins billing, which is a mating behaviour where a bonded pair rubs, taps, or clatter their beaks together. Puffins mate for life, returning to the same burrow year after year.
After leaving the puffins, we continued maybe 100 metres further to get a good viewpoint of the Chimney. This slender sea stack is the star of the show at Spillars Cove. It’s distinctive formation is best viewed from around the area where the interpretive signage is placed, so if you’re approaching from Klondike Trail to the south, like we did, keep walking until you reach the sign. You can even continue further on if you’d like.
Elliston: Root Cellar Capital of the World
Elliston, located just 10 minutes from Bonavista and near the Klondike Trailhead. It has a population of 315 and was once called Bird Island Cove. There are puffin colonies in Spillars Cove and between Elliston and Maberly.
Additionally, Elliston is the Root Cellar Capital of the World. There are over 130 root cellars across the landscape. You don’t need to go looking for root cellars if you visit. Just driving along Maberly Road will bring you passed several root cellars. There are quite a few at the parking area and along the path to the Elliston Puffin Colony as well.
Before visiting the puffins, we stopped in town at The Puffin Cafe for some warm drinks after our rainy hike and got a slice of their partridgeberry pie. Partridgeberries are small, tart berries, a little redder than blueberries. Then we got ready to brave the weather again.
Elliston Puffin Colony
The Elliston Puffin Colony is accessible by a well-maintained trail from the parking lot across Maberly Road. The trail includes some stairs and wraps around the rocky cliffside. Once you walk around the corner, you can see the puffins!
There are thousands of them living in burrows on the island just offshore. Many birds made their way across the divide to collect grass and weeds near us. We stayed and watch them for as long as we could stand the wind.
If you are going to Newfoundland to see puffins, I cannot recommend the Bonavista Peninsula and the Elliston colony enough. The views and experiences that you can have here with the puffins is unmatched compared to Witless Bay. Although Witless Bay has around half a million puffins, the boats cannot land on the islands to protect their habitat, and the birds don’t land on the boat. Therefore, viewing the puffins from these nearby cliffs gives you a much better chance of seeing them up close and personal. Of course, respect their space and don’t get too close!
Staying in Champney’s Arm, Port Rexton
On our second night in Bonavista, we stayed at a tiny home in Champney’s Arm, Port Rexton. This was around 30 minutes south of Elliston. We decided to stop to pick up food for dinner and gas in Catalina on our way.
We had a quiet night in as the rain continued, enjoying dinner in while overlooking some incredible views of Champney’s Cove from our tiny home. Our hosts were lovely and familiar with our hometown as well!
In the morning, we packed up, getting ready for a long day’s drive. Our first stop was Two Whales Coffee Shop, a vegetarian cafe in Port Rexton, directly off Highway 230 (the main route). After picking up some drinks to go, we were on our way to see Trinity.
Trinity Bight
Trinity Bight is the name for the area including 11 communities, such as Trinity, Trinity East, Port Rexton, Champney’s, English Harbour and more. The area is known for its deep history, geological wonders, wildlife (especially seabirds and whales), and live theatre.
There are several lovely hikes in the region, including Skerwink Trail, Gun Hill Trail, and Fox Island Trail. We had planned to hike the evening before, but changed our minds due to the weather. There are also many tours you can find here, from whale watching to guided fossil explorations.
We stopped for a quick tour of Trinity and bought ourselves a souvenir of a stunning stained glass piece. The town of Trinity is full of preserved 19th century buildings that give the place a distinct feel. You can visit the Hiscock House, Mercantile Premises, and the exhibits at the Visitor’s Centre, all Provincial Heritage Sites here in Trinity.
Once we had seen views of the town, the bay, and the surrounding landscape (and of course found our souvenir), we got started on our cross-provincial drive. Our next stop was the nearby Terra Nova National Park.
Terra Nova National Park
Although Terra Nova is not on the Bonavista Peninsula, it is close enough that I would highly recommend adding a day to see the park and hike a trail or two. It takes about an hour and a half, or 125 km, to drive from Trinity to the Terra Nova Visitor’s Centre. While you don’t need to stop here and could hike further south (closer to Bonavista), I found that the visitor’s centre had some great resources and the staff were very knowledgeable about the different trails.
While driving through, we stopped at the Ochre Hill Lookout, where the weather was rainy and a heavy fog lay over everything. However, when we drove about 10 minutes up the road to the visitor’s centre, the sky was clear and the sun was shining. Weather moves fast here, so be prepared, particularly if you want to hike!
