Hike the Discovery Trail: Five Centuries of Newfoundland Coastal Life

Program Registration: 4:00-5:00 p.m. After you check in and have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff, get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived.

At the hotel.

Orientation: The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars or settle in for the night. You may also wish to explore what the city has to offer. The hotel is located downtown on St. John's picturesque harbor.

At the hotel.

We will hike up Signal Hill for sweeping views overlooking the Atlantic. Signal Hill was the site of St. John’s harbor defenses from the 17th century to the Second World War, and where Guglielmo Marconi received the world’s first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901.

On route, we'll enjoy a boxed lunch

We will begin our afternoon with a presentation on Newfoundland geology with a local expert. We will then walk to “The Rooms” for an introduction to the people of Newfoundland. A unique blend of art gallery, archives, and museum, its controversial design mirrors the colorful “fishing rooms” where families came together to process their catch. This is a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to local culture and craft as well as traditional and modern looks at life in Newfoundland and Labrador as it houses the largest collection of artifacts and specimens from the First Nations, Vikings, French, and English.

This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

At the hotel.

We will check out and board the motorcoach for our drive to Port Union. Our first stop will be at picturesque Cape Spear. The easternmost point in North America (not counting Greenland), this cape has been inhabited all the way back to the extinct Beothuk people. It is also home to the Cape Spear Lighthouse, a National Historic Site of Canada. The lighthouse was first operated in 1836 and was the second lighthouse to be built in Newfoundland, to help protect the entrance to St. John's harbor. We will hike along the coast, seeing firsthand the scenery that prompted the building of the lighthouse.

Boxed lunch on the trail.

We will complete our transfer by motorcoach to Port Union, where we will unpack and freshen up before dinner.

At the hotel.

A local historian will deliver a presentation on Port Union and its history. Learn how Sir William Coaker formed a union of fishermen in the early 1900s to fight against the merchant trade of St. John's. His goal was to revolutionize the fishery, placing control of the fish trade in the hands of fishermen. Sir William is noted as an activist, labor leader, visionary, businessman, publisher and politician.

At the hotel.

This morning, we will depart by motorcoach for Port Rexton to hike the Skerwink Trail. This looped trek offers fantastic photo opportunities. Hilly terrain along high cliffs, it is rated moderate to difficult but worth every minute we spend on the trail. This trail is one of the most popular in the area and provides fantastic views of the ocean and sea stacks with magical names like the “music box.”

At a local restaurant in Port Rexton.

We will enjoy an expert-led walking exploration of Trinity, a viable North Atlantic community for hundreds of years. Its defensible harbor, with abundant room for the ships of the day and shores well suited for outbuildings, wharves, and fish flakes, made it ideal for the early migratory fishery. The preservation of Trinity’s cultural and built heritage has made it perhaps the most notable historic community in the province. After the walk, there will be some time to explore the town independently. You may wish to see a play at the Rising Tide Theatre, one of Newfoundland’s best loved professional theatre companies, visit historic sites or go kayaking.

On your own in Trinity. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

We will return to Port Union by motorcoach after dinner, and the remainder of the evening will be at leisure.

At the hotel.

We will depart from the hotel for our hike to Murphy's Cove/Lodge’s Pond trail, Port Union. This looped trail has a variety of headlands that provide viewing platforms where surrounding communities, whales, seabirds and fishing vessels can be photographed. The halfway point provides a lookout where we can view the Green Island Lighthouse, one of the last remaining manned lighthouses in Newfoundland. The trail follows the coastline offering great photo opportunities. Local experts will talk about the area and how the trails were once used by hunters and berry pickers.

In Port Union.

We will start the afternoon on an expert-led visit of historic Port Union, see the buildings of the town, including the factory and the Coaker Bungalow. Many are being restored to their original state. Local experts talk about each site and the part it played in the life and times of Port Union.

In Port Union.

We will take an evening trip to Cape Bonavista to view puffins and possibly whales and enjoy some spectacular scenery.

At the hotel.

We will hike along the Klondike Trail and go from forest to wetlands, heathlands to sea. We’ll learn about the plants and animals inhabiting our area. Look for puffins, whales, kittiwakes, and other sea life as well as spectacular coastal scenery. This area was initially called Bird Island Cove and offers hikers spectacular oceanfront scenery with plenty of seabirds and wildlife along the way. We will then depart by motorcoach for Elliston to see the root cellars; take a walk back in time and enter cellars originally built in the 1850s, many of which are still used today to store root crops. At the Sealer’s Museum and Memorial, we will learn the history of Newfoundland's sealing industry, including the story of the Great Sailing Disaster of 1914.

In Bonavista at a local restaurant.

There will be some free time to independently explore the historic town of Bonavista, the Landfall of John Cabot when he discovered Newfoundland in 1497. You may wish to talk with local residents to learn the history of the town and their unique dialect.

We’ll enjoy a dinner in Port Union with local residents, featuring traditional Newfoundland dishes.

Following dinner with local residents there will be traditional Newfoundland stories, music and dancing. Try your hand at playing the "ugly stick" and spoons. Also, participate in a "screech-in" ceremony where you will be made honorary Newfoundlanders. It is an unforgettable evening of fun and laughter.

At the hotel.

We'll check out and transfer to King’s Cove by coach this morning to hike the King’s Cove Lighthouse trail to Brook Point. The first and last parts of the trail are through meadows known as “Pat Murphy’s Meadow,” and were the inspiration for the famous folk song of that name. Most of the trail is through boreal forest with bogs and ponds. Coastal vegetation consisting of stunted or scrub spruce and fir predominates as we approach the coast. Tuckamore occurs on the coastal cliffs – a thicket of small stunted evergreen trees with gnarled spreading roots, forming closely matted ground-cover or thickets on the barrens and coastal regions. Shrubs of bog and sheep (goo-witty) laurel, Labrador Tea, and rhodora grow in and around bogs, open areas and as forest undergrowth. Blackberry earth, irises, sedum, blueberry bushes, and bakeapple plants are common. Brook Point is at the end of the trail and provides views of layer upon layer of multicolored, 570-million-year-old sedimentary rocks are exposed in these spectacular coastal cliffs.

Boxed lunches en route.

We'll transfer to St. John's, a journey of about 3.5-4 hours. We'll arrive with time to check in and do some independent exploration, or rest up for departure the next day.

At a local restaurant. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.

At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.

At the hotel. This concludes our program.

If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!