I would have said more like six hours, and the provincial highways dept. seems to agree with that:
http://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/DataTools/RoadDB/Distance/Default.aspx
Yes, you can certainly do that in a day. However, you will have to go a bit out of the way to sightsee--the Trans Canada Hwy is not scenic. You could pause in Terra Nova National Park, but that's less that an hour from your starting point.(It does have some nice trails that start from the highway). In Grand Falls, there's a little local museum (Mary March Museum) and the Salmonid Interpretation Centre (life cycle of salmon with a viewing window into a fishway in the Exploits River). But the places that tourists usually like to see (picturesque villages, stunning coastlines) are off the highway along the shore.
Oh--Google maps is unreliable for driving times all along the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. I have no idea why-- but use the government calculator above, or Mapquest.

Thanks nfldbeothuk, these are great tips. It sounds like my best bet might be just to hustle over to the west coast in time to catch a hike in Gros Morne.

Since you mention Terra Nova's hiking trails...are there any that you think are worth doing, for a person who's on his way to spending several days in Gros Morne? Or should I just use my time in this part of Newfoundland to explore the Bonavista peninsula, which is mainly what I was planning to do?

Nfldbeothuk is right on with all points. I'm from St. John's and my husband is from Norris Point so we've made that trip many, many times over the last 17 years. It will take no more than 6 hours to drive from Clarenville to Norris Point as long as you are driving at least the speed limit. It is a boring drive until you get off the highway at Deer Lake. The highway portion driving into Clarenville is pretty though.

I very much like your itinerary. You've picked two of the most scenic places in Newfoundland to visit. The Bonavista Peninsula is gorgeous and you can't beat Gros Morne. Will you be visiting Trinity while you are there? And will you be going on the boat tour at Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne?

As for things to do along the way, the above suggestions given by NfldBeothuk are good ones. In addition, the Gander Aviation museum is on the highway and it has a great display on when the planes landed here during the 9-11 crisis. There is also a memorial in Gander for the US military plane that crashed there in 1985.

I don't have any suggestions where to eat. However, if you do plan to stop, make sure to do so in Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Bishop Falls, or Badger because once you leave Badger, there are no restaurants directly on the highway until you reach Deer Lake. (There are very few services at all on that stretch of highway.) Having said that, I think there is a new restaurant opening up this week on the junction of the Baie Verte highway.

Have a great trip!!

Thanks chipmunk1304! I might have gotten pretty hungry waiting for the next restaurant after Badger.

I'm definitely planning on visiting Trinity, and hopefully doing at least one of the hiking trails near there. I'm spending two nights in Clarenville, after flying into Gander. I was originally hoping to stay in Trinity. But, as you and others have pointed out, the preferred lodging options get booked up early, and mine is sort of an unexpected vacation that I'm planning at the last minute. I'm trying to look on the bright side: staying close to the highway in Clarenville will give me an early start on my trip to the west coast.

I've seen past threads in which you and others have recommended the Western Brook Pond boat tour, and I will certainly do that. I called ahead to look into it. Fortunately, although rental cars and the most popular hotels and inns in Newfoundland get reserved very early, it appears that the boat tours don't fill up in advance.

Clarenville is a great place to spend a couple of nights. It's a pretty town and not that far from anything on the Bonavista Peninsula.

A quick recommendation, if you don't mind. Since you sound like a hiker, I'm guessing that you will hike Gros Morne and the Tablelands and possibly even Green Gardens. But if you get the chance and don't mind steep trails, try the Lookout Trail in Woody Point. My husband and I stumbled on it accidentally many years ago when it was first created. We just thought it was a little trail. Thank goodness we did because, had we known it would be 2.5 km uphill, we would have turned around and would have missed the spectacular views.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/activ/activ2d.aspx#D

We'll be heading to Norris Point ourselves next Sunday. It's come home year so the place will be hopping.

Enjoy your trip and please God we have decent weather when you get here!

Jill

Thanks! I'll definitely do it. I'll appreciate the views -- I think the Gros Morne Mountain trail is at least a little bit beyond my abilities.

Have you ever hiked the British Harbour trail on the Bonavista Peninsula? It seems like a great one to try. But I'm not exactly sure where the trailhead is, as I've only read that it's in Trinity East. Will I have trouble finding it? And how hard is the second part of the trail, between Kerley's Harbour and British Harbour? It seemed like it might be doable, until I found this rather scary description somewhere on the internet:

"we hiked the whole damn trail from the Random Passage set location to British Harbour (AND BACK) in an afternoon, in hot sun :eek::wacko:. Needless to say, we only later learned that almost no one does that, and at best most people only hike it one way and take a boat ride the other way. It's probably the most difficult day hike we've ever done. You have to climb on hands and knees for much of that route. "

Hi - When you go out the road on the Bonavista Pennisula stop at the tourist info center. They have a book of hikes on the Discovery Trail. There are long ones & short ones. The walk from New Bonaventure out to Kerley's Harbour is easy. We started the leg out to British Harbour but turned around because I was nursing a bum ankle. At places the trail was all eroded with roots as your stepping stone and it was just too miserable on the ankle. The Sperlink trail is really nice - not too long and great views - sea stacks, etc. There is aome good hiking along the coast around Bonavista/Elliston, etc. In Gros Morne you have so many options. Again stop at the tourist center for info. You can hike to the base of Gros Morne - not too long or hard. It is a pretty hike with ponds there at the base. Brooks Falls is good too and the walk out to the boat at Western Brook Pond is very nice.... easy to see mooose along that trail. We hiked the Green Garden trail just last week. It is one of my favorites because of the beach combing midway. You can shorten that walk by doing an out & back to the beach. I've never done the Lookout Trail but someone else was just telling us about it. As for the drive - we usually stop in Badger. There are two places to eat right on the highway, however if you can hold out I like Jack Ladder Restaurant which is between Deer Lake & Wiltondale.

I almost forgot - there is a very nice walk from the Jennix House in Norris Point down to Wild Cove..... definitely worth the time.

Goodness! That sounds a little scary! Nope, I'm not familiar with that trail but I did google it just out of curiosity. I read that it starts in New Bonaventure which is on the same road as Trinity. I'm sure one of the locals will easily be able to point you in the right direction. Did you read this person's experience? It almost makes me want to try it...almost.
http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-British-Harbour-near-Bonavista-NF-3035

And I hear you about Gros Morne mountain. In all the years that I've been going back and forth to Gros Morne, I have yet to tackle the mountain. One of these days I'll get myself in shape and try it.