2 Best Sights in Western Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador

One of Newfoundland's most treasured UNESCO World Heritage Sites, this national park showcases the beauty and splendor of this part of the world. The most popular attraction in the northern portion of Gros Morne is the hike and boat tour of Western Brook Pond. While the fjord itself remains the same, recent upgrades to the trail to the boat dock have turned a once transportive stroll into a 45 minute-slog over a gravel road with no shade. Those in good shape can tackle the 16-km (10-mile) hike up Gros Morne Mountain, the second-highest peak in Newfoundland at 2,644 feet. Weather permitting, the reward for your effort is a unique Arctic landscape and spectacular views. The park's northern coast has an unusual mix of sand beaches, rock pools, and trails through tangled dwarf forests. Sunsets seen from Lobster Head Cove Lighthouse are spectacular. In season you might spot whales here, and a visit to the lighthouse museum, devoted to the history of the area, is rewarding. At the very north end of the park is the community of Cow Head, home to the Gros Morne Theatre Festival's popular summer program of theater and music. Also nearby, Shallow Bay Beach has a 3-km (2-mile) stretch of soft sand ready-made for beachcombing. Woody Point, a community of old houses and imported Lombardy poplars, is in the southern part of the park, on Route 431. Rising behind it are the Tablelands, a unique rock massif that was raised from the earth's mantle through tectonic upheaval. The Tablelands provide a remarkable exposure of mantle rock, rarely seen at the earth's surface; it's the main reason Gros Morne National Park has received UNESCO World Heritage status.

L'Anse aux Meadows is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Norwegian team of Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad discovered the remains of Viking settlements here in 1960. In 2021, researchers determined that the settlement had been active in 1021 AD. Parks Canada has a visitor center and has reconstructed four of the huts to give you a sense of the era and how the Vikings lived. An interpretation program introduces you to the food, clothing, and way of life of that time. The site has also turned one reconstructed hut into a very fun, interactive escape room called the Test of Tykir.