Guide
Snowmobiling: the railbed runs past both airports
Scan with your phone to open this page there. Then tap Keep for offline before you lose signal.
Snowmobile season: not yet
Snow usually comes December to March, sometimes in November or April. Right now:
Trails open when the NL Snowmobile Federation says so, not by the calendar.
Season status and trail passes →Getting ready now
- Bookmark the NL Snowmobile Federation's page. Openings, grooming and passes appear there first.
- Pick your crossing below. The drive to it from each airport is already measured.
- Plan the tow as a winter drive: moose after dark and the road cameras are under "Before you go".
- Check back in November. The snow readings here are live, and this box changes to "in season" on its own.
Yes: the old railbed runs past both airports. It is the T’Railway Provincial Park, mapped as a snowmobile trail, and the drives from each airport meet it at the three places on this page.
Check the NL Snowmobile Federation before you ride: it sells the trail passes and says what is groomed. Locally, Junction Trail Blazers in Deer Lake grooms and posts updates. For the roads to the trail, check the provincial road report. Side-by-sides share the corridor under the T’Railway Council’s rules.
Then pick a measured leg: Gander-to-Appleton, the Deer Lake railbed or the Exploits Valley line, all on the snowmobile routes.
One ask for OpenStreetMap contributors: the railbed is well mapped, but the parking aprons and crossing gates where a truck and trailer get onto it near either airport mostly are not. Map a trailhead and this page will cite it.
Where to get on the railbed
Where Route 330 meets the railbed, Gander
The first place a drive from Gander airport touches the corridor: the Route 330 crossing on the edge of town, close to the terminal. In town the railbed is paved and not marked for snowmobiles. The packed, marked stretches start beyond the town limits in both directions.
4 measured drives pass here:
- YQX → Twillingate — 114 km to the end of that drive
- YQX → Fogo Island — 86 km to the end of that drive, then a ferry
- YQX → Change Islands — 86 km to the end of that drive, then a ferry
- YQX → Musgrave Harbour — 93 km to the end of that drive
Every Route 330 drive from YQX crosses it — the routes above, read off their own measured lines
Directions to Where Route 330 meets the railbed, Gander:Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeThe railbed at Notre Dame Junction (Trans-Canada, west of Gander)
Where every westbound drive from Gander crosses the working railbed: the old junction where the Lewisporte branch left the main line. The map marks this stretch packed and open to snowmobiles. The Trans-Canada crosses it at grade, so a truck and trailer meet the trail without leaving the highway.
9 measured drives pass here:
- YQX → Lewisporte — 63 km to the end of that drive
- YQX → Botwood — 92 km to the end of that drive
- YQX → Grand Falls-Windsor — 98 km to the end of that drive
- YQX → Leading Tickles — 148 km to the end of that drive
- YQX → King's Point — 207 km to the end of that drive
- YQX → Pilley's Island — 220 km to the end of that drive
- YQX → Triton — 224 km to the end of that drive
- YQX → St. Alban's — 235 km to the end of that drive
- YQX → Hermitage — 276 km to the end of that drive, then a ferry
Every Trans-Canada-west drive from YQX crosses it — the routes above, verified against their measured lines
Directions to The railbed at Notre Dame Junction (Trans-Canada, west of Gander):Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeThe railbed west of Deer Lake (Trans-Canada)
The gravel railbed runs alongside the Trans-Canada here, just past the Deer Lake airport junction toward Corner Brook. The federation that stewards the province's snowmobile network is based in Deer Lake, and trailering runs to this stretch are short.
5 measured drives pass here:
- YDF → Corner Brook — 57 km to the end of that drive
- YDF → Marble Mountain — 47 km to the end of that drive
- YDF → Port aux Basques — 271 km to the end of that drive, then a ferry
- YDF → Burgeo — 266 km to the end of that drive, then a ferry
- YDF → Cape St. George — 188 km to the end of that drive
Every westbound drive from YDF runs beside it — the routes above; the northbound Route 430 drives and the eastbound Trans-Canada drives pass the railbed about a kilometre off and do not cross it inside town
Directions to The railbed west of Deer Lake (Trans-Canada):Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
Before you go
Snow seasonWinter — opening and grooming are declared season by season
The federation states each season what is groomed, what is open and what a pass costs. Check their site.
nlsf.org →Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April
Most riders trailer their machines to the corridor, so the trip starts as a winter drive. Check the provincial cameras before towing anywhere.
511nl.ca →MooseYear round, worst between dusk and dawn
The province says the chance of injury in a moose collision is twice as high between dusk and dawn as in daytime. Short winter days put ordinary trailering runs in that window.
gov.nl.ca →
Questions
Are side-by-sides allowed on the T'Railway?＋
The T'Railway Council's permitted-uses list includes ATV riding alongside snowmobiling. The Council sets which sections, seasons and rules apply; check trailway.ca.
Do I need a trail pass?＋
The NLSF sells trail passes for the groomed network it stewards and posts the season's status on its site. Whether your ride needs one depends on whose trail you are on. The federation's network and the T'Railway park are run by different stewards, and each sets its own rules.
Can I rent a machine at either airport?＋
This site does not list rental operators. The federation and the local clubs know who is operating each winter; ask them.
Which airport is better for snowmobiling?＋
It is a tie on access: the same railbed is about 6 km by road from Gander airport and about 7 from Deer Lake's. As a tiebreaker, the federation is based in Deer Lake, and so is the Junction Trail Blazers club.
Every figure on this page was checked against its source on September 5, 2026.