Walking the Trans Canada Trail in Newfoundland: Research, Resources and Planning Information

Communities, resupply, camping and distances along the Newfoundland T’Railway
 

Preparing to Walk Across Newfoundland

 
Before setting out on the Trans Canada Trail in June 2019, we spent more than a year researching and planning our route across the country. With no single comprehensive guide to walking the entire national trail network, we gathered information from maps, provincial trail organizations, tourism resources, community websites and other available sources. Our research focused on the practicalities of travelling long distances on foot: identifying communities, estimating distances, locating grocery and convenience stores, investigating formal camping opportunities and determining where supplies might be difficult to obtain.

 
The following information brings together our research for Newfoundland, the first province of our #Hike4Birds journey across Canada. We have condensed our extensive planning notes into an overview intended to help future walkers understand the distribution of communities, available services and significant logistical challenges along the route. This information reflects research undertaken in 2018–2019 and should be treated as a planning resource only rather than a current directory. Anyone preparing to walk the trail must verify existing services, access arrangements and trail conditions before departure.
 

The Newfoundland T’Railway

 
Having completed the East Coast Trail around the Avalon Peninsula in 2018, our ongoing planned journey across Newfoundland on the TCT will primarily follow the former Newfoundland Railway corridor, now known as the Newfoundland T’Railway Provincial Park. The route crosses the island between St. John's and Port aux Basques, passing through urban communities, smaller settlements, forests, wetlands, river valleys and former railway stations.

 
Although the railway alignment generally offers moderate gradients, the condition of the trail surface varies considerably. The distances between communities also change significantly as the route leaves the more populated eastern portions of the province and enters central and western Newfoundland.
 
The Newfoundland T’Railway Provincial Park extends approximately 883 km across the island between St. John's and Port aux Basques.  Regardless, the distances below should be understood as approximate planning figures rather than exact trail measurements.
 

Communities and Resupply

 
The following communities were identified during our initial research as places offering groceries, convenience stores, food services or other useful supplies.

Community or region	Supplies identified during research
St. John's	Extensive groceries, pharmacies, outdoor and general retail
Paradise and Conception Bay South	Supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies and restaurants
Holyrood	Restaurants, pharmacy and other local services
Whitbourne	Foodland, mini-marts, pharmacy and highway services
Arnold's Cove	Grocery store, pharmacy and accommodations
Goobies	Highway restaurants and service facilities
Clarenville	Extensive grocery shopping, pharmacy, hardware and general retail
Port Blandford	Convenience store and accommodations
Terra Nova	Small grocery/convenience store
Glovertown	Grocery, pharmacy and hardware; off the main trail
Gambo	Grocery and convenience stores; some off-trail access
Gander	Extensive groceries, pharmacy, retail and hospital
Glenwood	Convenience stores and accommodations
Norris Arm	Grocery and convenience stores
Bishop's Falls	Grocery, convenience stores and outfitters
Grand Falls-Windsor	Extensive grocery shopping, pharmacies, retail and hospital
Badger	Small grocery and convenience stores
Howley	Limited convenience supplies and accommodation possibilities
Deer Lake	Grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware and other services
Pasadena	Grocery and convenience stores
Corner Brook	Extensive groceries, equipment, pharmacies and other services
Stephenville Crossing	Grocery store, convenience stores and pharmacy
St. George's	Convenience store and pharmacy
Robinsons	Limited convenience supplies, some requiring detours
Doyles / St. Andrew's area	Convenience stores and highway services
Port aux Basques	Grocery shopping, pharmacies, general retail and ferry services

Larger communities such as St. John's, Clarenville, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Deer Lake and Corner Brook were particularly important in our preparations because of the greater variety of supplies identified there. Smaller communities often appeared to offer basic groceries or convenience items, although the selection could not be established from our research alone. Some services were located directly along the T’Railway, while others required leaving the route. This distinction is especially important where a community appears close to the trail on a map, but the available stores may be several kilometres away.
 

Distances and Significant Gaps Between Services

 
Much of eastern Newfoundland offered relatively frequent opportunities to reach communities, although individual sections still required careful planning. Our research identified approximately 72 km between Whitbourne and Arnold's Cove, with former railway stations but no dependable grocery resupply documented along the intervening route.
 
In central Newfoundland, the section between Badger and Howley stood out as one of the most significant logistical challenges. Our notes identify a service gap of approximately 100–106 km across the Gaff Topsails region. Walkers considering this route would need to plan carefully for food, water and overnight stops rather than assume services would be available at former railway stations.
 
Western Newfoundland presented further considerations. Our research described a lengthy wooded section between the Corner Brook/Mount Moriah area and Stephenville Crossing, with limited supply opportunities. Beyond Stephenville Crossing, smaller settlements and convenience stores appeared intermittently along the route toward Port aux Basques.
 
Distances in our research were estimates, and different route alignments could change the length of a particular section. We recommend treating them as a starting point for planning rather than substituting them for current route maps.
 

Formal Camping Opportunities

 
It is noteworthy to mention that Wild Camping is permitted across Newfoundland outside of communities. In addition, our research identified a variety of provincial, municipal and private camping facilities across Newfoundland. These included Pippy Park in St. John's, Gushue's Pond near Brigus Junction, Jack's Pond near Arnold's Cove, the Lakeside facilities at Thornburn Lake, David Smallwood Park in Gambo, Falls View Municipal Park and Brookdale RV Park in Bishop's Falls, and campgrounds in the Grand Falls-Windsor area.
 
Further west, our notes identified Grand Lake Tourist Park at Howley, camping near Deer Lake and Pasadena, facilities in the Steady Brook and Corner Brook region, Pirates Haven near Robinsons, Grand Codroy camping in the Codroy Valley, Little Paradise Park near St. Andrew's and J. T. Cheeseman Provincial Park near Cape Ray.
 
Not all of these facilities were directly accessible from the T’Railway. Several required travelling along connecting roads or leaving the trail, and their inclusion in our research does not establish that they were available for tent camping without advance arrangements.
 
Beyond formal campgrounds, our research raised questions about potential overnight stopping places along more remote sections of the railway corridor. Newfoundland's wetlands, uneven ground and raised railway embankments could make suitable locations difficult to identify from maps alone. We have therefore not treated informal camping locations as guaranteed or authorized campsites.
 

Other Practical Considerations

 
Trail access and navigation: Much of the former railway corridor appeared straightforward to follow, but our research raised particular questions around the approach to Corner Brook, where the continuity of the trail was unclear, and local roads or highway connections might be necessary.
 
Water: Rivers, ponds and lakes appear frequently along the railway alignment, but their proximity to the trail does not necessarily mean they can be reached safely or easily. Water availability and treatment require independent planning.
 
Food and supplies: Smaller communities may offer convenience-store provisions rather than a complete selection of groceries. In remote sections, walkers should not assume that a named railway station or settlement will contain an operating business.
 
Transportation: Our planning identified Marine Atlantic ferry services at Port aux Basques, provincial bus services and regional airports as potential connections for beginning, ending or interrupting the journey.
 
Medical and emergency services: Larger communities, including Clarenville, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor and Corner Brook, were identified as important centres for medical and other services.
 

A Note for Future Walkers

These notes represent the information we assembled before beginning our walk across Newfoundland in 2019. They were prepared to answer the practical questions we faced while planning a long-distance journey across Canada, and we are sharing a condensed version in the hope that they will be useful to others considering the same undertaking.
 
The Trans Canada Trail is an evolving network, and the availability of businesses, camping facilities, route connections and other services cannot be guaranteed from historical research. We encourage future walkers to use these notes alongside current provincial trail information, maps and direct inquiries to communities and service providers.
 
For a fuller account of the landscapes, communities, wildlife and experiences of our journey, we invite you to follow our daily Newfoundland #Hike4Birds entries.
 

Following Our Research: Additional Notes from After the Trail

 

We subsequently completed our walk across Newfoundland on July 18, 2019, having begun at Cape Spear on June 1. Although the official length of the Newfoundland T’Railway is 883 km, we recorded walking 872 km of the route. Our experiences reinforced the importance of checking the information available during planning. Some businesses identified on maps had closed or were considerably farther from the trail than expected, while sections around Corner Brook required additional navigation and roadway walking. These experiences reminded us that even extensive advance research cannot replace current local information and careful judgement on the ground.

 
For more detailed information, check out our Reflections on Hiking the Trans Canada Trail in Newfoundland.
 
See you on the trail!