ECT Series: Long Shore Path

July 13, 2022August 20, 2024 / Maria / Leave a comment

Long Shore Path is an interesting section to write about. There’s currently 3 trails on the northwest side of the Avalon peninsula between Topsail and St. Francis: Long Shore, Piccos Ridge, and White Horse. All 3 trails have been around for a while, but only officially opened in the Spring of 2022. I’ve already done Piccos Ridge, and White Horse has a reputation as a challenging trail, so I decided to tackle Long Shore Path while I was home in June.

It’s an interesting section of trail because it’s technically the start of the East Coast Trail. The trail is always changing and evolving, so it may not stay this way forever, but it currently runs north from Long Shore Trail to Cape St. Francis at the far north peak of the peninsula, where it then turns south all the way to Cappahayden.

The reason I say that Long Shore is interesting is because it’s marked as a 17km long section of trail, but there’s ~4km of road walking in the middle of it. Typically sections of road this long aren’t included in the trail sections (though I believe they are included in the overall length of the ECT, as you would have to walk all the road sections if you did it as a true thru-hike). I find it a bit odd that they decided to include so much road walking in Long Shore Path instead of just breaking it into 2 sections. I didn’t want to do 4km of walking along the road, so I opted to do the trail in 2 sections over 2 days. So I guess I technically haven’t done the entire thing, but I’m going to count it as close enough.

I did the first section in late afternoon with Emily after she got off work one day. We drove out to Topsail Beach and hiked the first 4km of coastline to St. Thomas and back for a total of 8km. The trail starts right at the beach in Topsail Rotary Park and is primarily through the woods the entire way. Generally I don’t love long wooded sections, but I didn’t mind this part because it’s pretty sparse forest and you can still see the coast through the trees. The trail is a little bit technical, with tree roots and rocks, and undulates up and down.

When you get to the end of the trail, you can take a left to walk down Lorry Road to the beach at St. Thomas. It’s a quiet and lovely beach that I’d never been to before and it makes for a nice end destination. It was overcast when we started the hike, but we sat on the beach for a while as the sun started to break up the clouds. It took us about an hour to hike the 4km and we had a few snacks before turning around to hike back. The sun properly came out on our return, which really brightened up the trail.

The following day I returned with Seth and his parents to hike the rest of the trail. After St. Thomas is the 4km of road walking to St. Philips Beach, followed by another 9km of hiking to Portugal Cove. We parked one car in St. Philips and then started from the trailhead in Portugal Cove to hike backwards. The first part of the trail out of Portugal Cove is another odd section because it doesn’t actually follow the coastline at all. Instead, you hike up behind Portugal Cove to a series of lookouts along the bluffs. It doesn’t feel very East-Coast-Trail-like, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.

It’s about 225m of elevation gain to the top – we didn’t find it too challenging, but if you don’t like climbing you may want to take your time. There are some excellent views of Bell Island from the top as you hike along the bare rock before descending to Beachy Cove. The descent isn’t very nice as you go through a huge section of blowdown, with tons of knocked over and destroyed trees. It’s not hard to follow the trail as the debris has been cleared, it’s just not very scenic. Once you reach the bottom, you hike out along an ATV road and then swing left on the road for a few hundred metres before turning right to go down to Beachy Cove.

Beachy Cove is easily accessible from the road, but it’s another beach I’d never been to that is really lovely. There’s a big waterfall flowing down to the ocean and the river can be a bit challenging to cross when the flow is heavy, but if you’re able, there’s a picnic table on the other side where we stopped for lunch. To get to Beachy Cove was ~6km, then there’s another ~3km along the coast to get back to St. Philips. This section is very similar to the 4km between Topsail and St. Thomas in that it’s mostly in the trees and undulates up and down (though I’d say it’s more challenging than the Topsail section).

The only tricky part of this trail is when you reach Goat Cove. There’s a creek flowing down to a small pocket beach, so you have to descend down a sketchy rope section to the beach. From what I’ve heard, there used to be ropes on both sides of the beach, but there are stairs on one side now, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a second set of stairs is added in the near future, which would make this trail much more accessible. As it is now, it is a particularly long rope section that is manageable, but not easy. I’d recommend bringing gloves for the rope and taking your time.

We didn’t have quite enough water for the entire hike, but fortunately I’d brought my water filter, so we filled up with fresh cold water before continuing on. The rest of the trail isn’t particularly difficult and we enjoyed the glimpses of sun through the trees while still enjoying the shade.

So it’s a bit of a complicated trail with so many sections. I’d definitely recommend doing it in 2 sections to skip the road walk, but if you wanted, you could even do it in 3 sections as return hikes, which is what Emily ended up doing. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did with so many forest sections, but it’s actually quite scenic (especially the views from the hill in Portugal Cove) and I loved hiking to all the little beaches along the way. Whether done as 1 long trail or several sections, it makes for a really nice hike.

ECT Series: Father Troy Trail

July 6, 2022August 20, 2024 / Maria / Leave a comment

One of the things I find hilarious about hiking in Newfoundland is how quickly and frequently the weather can change. I took a lot of videos on my trip home to compile for reels on Instagram and it’s hard to believe any of the reels were all filmed on the same day. The weather loves to go from sun to fog to wind to rain, sometimes all at the same time! Such was our hike along Father Troy Trail in mid June.

This was my third time hiking Father Troy Trail and I’m always blown away by the scenery on this part of the East Coast Trail. It’s approximately 9km in length and runs from Flatrock to Torbay. Given its proximity to St. John’s and it’s relatively easy rating, it’s a great hike to do when you have limited time – though be cautious because it’s so scenic it’s easy to lose track of time!

Emily was working the whole time I was home, but she went in early so that she could get off at 3pm and we could hike together. Karen and Grant also recently moved home to Newfoundland and I had a brief window in which to see them when I was there in June. We agreed to meet up in Torbay to ferry a second car to Flatrock to do a thru-hike of Father Troy Trail when Emily got off work. We parked Grant’s car on Spray Lane in Torbay (there’s a small parking lot here) and drove Emily’s car to Flatrock to start the hike.

The trail starts right at the public wharf in Flatrock and hikes out along the rock to the point before doubling back on itself. There’s a lovely view of the water and Flatrock from the point, but it’s mostly the same view along the whole point, so we cut across the headland to shorten it a bit on the way in. If it’s your first time on the trail though, I recommend going the whole way to the point!

It’s always windy in Flatrock because the wind blows right up over the rock and this trip was no exception. There are some lovely views looking out towards Silver Mine Head Path and the trail meanders along the bluff in and out of the trees. It’s a sheer rock face on the south side of the headland and people rock climb it from below, so use caution along the bluff.

The trail continues in and out of the trees before eventually heading into a wooded section. We started with clear views, but the fog bank that had been sitting offshore all day was on the move with all the wind and every time we popped out of the trees, less and less of the coastline was visible. Before cutting into the woods we got our first whale sighting of the season and spotted a small minke whale fishing off the cliffside. The seagulls were going nuts in the water as well, so we were encouraged that the caplin had likely made it to the island. Eventually we lost the view entirely and cut into the forest for the longer wooded section of the hike. There are a few shortcuts through the woods, but they’re in rough shape, so I don’t think they’re really any faster than the main trail.

From there the trail continues through the woods along an old road. It doesn’t sound super exciting, but it’s one of my favourite parts of the trail! There’s a really quaint wooden fence and huge fields of wildflowers, behind which you can see the beginnings of Torbay. I believe it’s privately owned farmland, but it’s currently unoccupied, so we frolicked in the flowers for awhile before hitting another parcel of farmland that was occupied by cows. Cows really are some of the sweetest animals, so we stopped for a while to let them stare at us before continuing on.

After you exit the woods, you get to my true favourite part of the trail – the hike along the bluffs that form the edge of Torbay. Again, it’s all meadows and farmland, which make for the most idyllic views on a nice day. We were expecting to have completely lost the view to the fog, but fortunately the wind had changed direction again while we were in the woods and we were treated to bright blue water and sunny skies! It’s an easy hike all along the bluffs and we frequently stopped for photos. It’s a steady downhill to Torbay Beach and then it’s just one more short uphill section back to the parking lot on Spray Lane. We cut off ~1km by skipping the point in Flatrock and ended up finishing the hike in just under 2.5 hours, so it was a great late afternoon/early evening hike for us.

Many sections of the ECT are “one of my favourite trails”, but this definitely still holds true for Father Troy. I’ve hiked it 3 times now and I’d definitely hike it again. At under 3 hours for a thru-hike, you get a lot of amazing scenery! Plus, I loved the opportunity to hike this one with Karen and Grant. A great trail for beginner hikers!

Hiking ECT: Deadman’s Bay Path

May 18, 2022 / Maria / Leave a comment

I haven’t hiked Deadman’s Bay Path since 2019, but it is one of my favourite trail sections on the ECT and I’ve done it 3 times. Most recently I did it with Lien and Brandon when they visited Newfoundland for my wedding, but I’ve also solo hiked it in the past. This section of the trail runs from Fort Amherst to Blackhead and is approximately 10.5km in length. I feel like it has a bit of a bad rep because of the steep climb out of Fort Amherst, but I think it’s unjustified because it’s only a steep climb and the views from the top and along most of the trail are really unparalleled.

You can hike the trail in either direction, but I’ve always done it from Fort Amherst to Blackhead. If you try to logic that the other direction will avoid the steep climb, you’ll just have to do it out of Freshwater Bay instead, so either option is basically the same. I definitely recommend 2 vehicles for this trail since you won’t want to have to turn around and go back the entire trail, but given the proximity to St. John’s, it’s easy to get dropped off or picked up on one end. If you’re looking for a shorter day, you could also exit at Freshwater Bay or just turn around at Freshwater Bay and only do half the trail. I haven’t done the Freshwater Bay access trail in years, but I believe it’s about a 45 minute walk.

If you start in Fort Amherst, you can visit the lighthouse and get the climb out of the way early. It only takes me about 15 minutes to climb up to the top of the bluff and once there, you’ll have an amazing view of Signal Hill and downtown St. John’s. One time I started the trail around noon and ate my lunch once I reached the top so I could enjoy the view a bit longer. If you don’t want to do the whole trail and are just looking for an hour long walk to get some exercise, I suggest doing the climb up to the top and just enjoying the view before turning around. It’s a great workout and will help build up your stamina.

After that, the trail meanders along the top of the cliff without too much up or down. It goes in and out of the trees and past a few water holes, all with fantastic views of the coastline. Right around the 4.5km mark you start the downhill section into Freshwater Bay (which is the worst uphill part if you go the opposite direction). Freshwater Bay is another lovely short hike on it’s own if you want to park off Blackhead Road on the way to Signal Hill and hike in. It’s marked by the long strip of beach that separates Freshwater Bay Pond from Freshwater Bay – I’ve never swam in the pond myself, but Emily has and it makes for a good cool down on a nice day.

I had a minor breakdown at Freshwater Bay when I hiked it with Lien and Brandon because I forgot sunscreen and was petrified of getting a sunburn or awful tan lines before the wedding, but fortunately a kind stranger happened upon us at the exact right moment and lent me some! Freshwater Bay is located at ~5.5km, so it makes for a good halfway point to stop and have lunch if you’re doing the whole trail.

After crossing the beach, you head back up into the woods and traverse along the edge of the bay. The trail comes out of the woods at the end and I recommend following the trail out to the viewpoint on Small Point for amazing views back to St. John’s and out to Cape Spear. After Small Point the views are more about Cape Spear than St. John’s and the trail winds it’s way around Deadman’s Bay before finally heading into Blackhead. The trail is pretty exposed walking into Blackhead, so gets pretty windy and you can get hit with ocean spray on a particularly blustery day.

If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can continue for another 4-5km to Cape Spear on Blackhead Path. I did this once when I was hiking solo and I was ahead of schedule for when my Dad was going to pick me up. It’s not a difficult trail, but it will significantly lengthen the hike, so most often I just end at Blackhead. I’m about 60% through the East Coast Trail to date, but Deadman’s Bay Path remains one of my favourite trails, and given it’s proximity to the city, I definitely recommend!