Gander International Airport (YQX) → Leading Tickles
Gander Airport (YQX) to Leading Tickles and the Bay of Exploits
The drive from every airport and ferry ↓
- Distance
- 148.4 km
- Drive time
- In your maps app ↗
Use another map app
Apple Maps · Google Maps · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
Faded lines are other drives from Gander International into this area: Triton (224 km), Pilley's Island (220 km), Lewisporte (63 km), Botwood (92 km), Comfort Cove-Newstead (91 km). Each splits off where its line leaves this one.
Stop 1: Glenwood Provincial Park
A campground just off the Trans-Canada, early in the drive, and a first leg-stretch before the long haul west. It is not one of ParksNL's provincial parks, so check who runs it and whether it is open.
Stopping here adds 0.3 km to the drive.
Directions →Show on map: Glenwood Provincial Park ↑Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeStop 2: Upper Falls Lookout
A viewpoint mapped beside the Trans-Canada at the Norris Arm junction, where Route 351 runs north into the town. The turn for Leading Tickles is 23.1 km further west, where the Botwood Highway leaves the Trans-Canada near Bishop's Falls. This is the upper waterfall lookout on the Eel Brook Trail, a short walk past Eel Brook's falls. AllTrails lists it at about 1.3 miles out and back, with Lower Falls Lookout as the other viewpoint.
Stopping here adds 2 km to the drive.
Directions →Show on map: Upper Falls Lookout ↑Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeStop 3: Point Leamington
The working town halfway up the peninsula, and the last one of any size before the road follows the coast. Route 350 runs straight through it.
Directions →Show on map: Point Leamington ↑Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
Scan with your phone to open this page there. Then tap Keep for offline before you lose signal.
⛽ Fuel and gravel, road by road ▾
- Route 1 →Whole road: 54 fuel stations mapped, longest gap 119 km. Unpaved mapped: none; 68% has no surface tag, so unknown.
- Route 350 →Whole road: 2 fuel stations mapped, longest gap 48 km. Unpaved mapped: none; 95% has no surface tag, so unknown.
Drive measured Sep 2, 2026, terminal to town centre. Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure
Add to a trip →Staying here? Days out ↓Keep for offline ↓Download GPX (offline, Garmin)Airport info: Gander International Airport →
148 km. Gander airport to Leading Tickles: the Trans-Canada, then Route 350 from near the Exploits River falls, up the peninsula through Point Leamington to where the pavement ends.
Why people come. The Bay of Exploits, a bay full of islands. Leading Tickles is a fishing town on the outer coast, named for the local word for the narrow channels between islands. The islands themselves, including the resettled village of Exploits, are boat-access only.
Sunrise and sunset at Leading Tickles, by month
| Month (the 15th) | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|
| January | 8:02 am | 4:38 pm |
| February | 7:22 am | 5:29 pm |
| March | 7:26 am | 7:15 pm |
| April | 6:20 am | 8:03 pm |
| May | 5:28 am | 8:47 pm |
| June | 5:04 am | 9:19 pm |
| July | 5:20 am | 9:14 pm |
| August | 6:02 am | 8:30 pm |
| September | 6:47 am | 7:26 pm |
| October | 7:31 am | 6:22 pm |
| November | 7:22 am | 4:30 pm |
| December | 8:01 am | 4:12 pm |
Worked out for the 15th of each month at this spot, in local time. The weather line at the top has today's.
Places to eat on the way
28 near the start: where to eat in Gander →
7 places to eat within 2 km of this drive, in the order you pass them.
The longest stretch with nothing mapped on it is 68.7 km — after Riverside Diner, until Dockside Restaurant.
Every one of them, in the order you pass them
- Riverside Dinerfast foodkm 25.1 · 598 m off the road
- Dockside Restaurantrestaurantkm 93.8 · 1510 m off the road
- Donninis Express and Railway Caferestaurantkm 93.9 · 1523 m off the road
- The Landing Pubpubkm 94 · 1611 m off the road
- James Restaurantrestaurantkm 94.1 · 1361 m off the road
- Mary Brownsrestaurantkm 94.1 · 1279 m off the road
- Daisy's Dinerrestaurantkm 94.2 · 1662 m off the road
Not ranked or complete, and nobody pays to be here. No opening hours: phone ahead. Open map data, swept 2026-09-12. How we measure · Add a missing place
New place to eat, or one that's missing? This list comes from OpenStreetMap, so nobody can pay to be on it. Add it to the map yourself (about twenty minutes on a phone), or email us the details and we'll put it on the map.
Short drives from Leading Tickles
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeOr any of these: nearest first, measured by road from Leading Tickles.
- Botwoodtown55 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Peter's River Hiking Trailtrail · 5 km walk · easy58 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Bishop’s Falls Heritage Centrestop74 km
A small heritage centre in Bishop's Falls, just off the Trans-Canada.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
Distances by road, measured on OpenStreetMap October 16, 2026, from where this route ends. Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure
Doing it electric
- Fast chargers on this drive
- Gander km 3
- Longest stretch without one
- 145 km
- Gander → Leading Tickles, of 148 km driven
- Nearest fast charger to Leading Tickles
- 78.4 km
- by road, at Bishop’s Falls
No fast charger at Leading Tickles. From Gander it is 145 km there and the same back: plan on about 290 km on one charge, more in cold weather or with the heat on. Or charge at Bishop’s Falls, 78.4 km from Leading Tickles by road, off this drive's own road.
Coming in 2026 (NL Hydro, 2026-10-22): Gander (km 3). Not counted until it opens.
NL Hydro fast chargers within 3 km of the drive. Check the app for one that's working. Exported 2026-10-22. How we measure
Paved or not, per the map
- Mapped as unpaved
- none
- Not proof it is all paved: 81% has no surface tag.
- Mapped as paved
- 19%
- 24 km of 148.4 km driven
- No surface tag on the map
- 81%
- 99.6 km: surface not recorded
In a rental car: Hertz Canada’s terms say “use off paved roads or on roads which are not regularly maintained” voids the damage waiver. Check your own agreement. Hertz’s terms ↗. Source for these figures: OSRM driving profile, stored route query, with node annotations; OpenStreetMap surface tags via Overpass, checked 2026-09-06. Today's road conditions: 511.
Before you go
These change, so we link to the people who keep them up to date.
MooseYear round, worst between dusk and dawn
The province states that the likelihood of injury in a moose collision is twice as high between dusk and dawn as in daytime. Route 350 north of Point Leamington is long, wooded and empty, which is moose country after dark.
gov.nl.ca →Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April
Check before leaving the Trans-Canada. Route 350 is a dead-end spur up a peninsula, with no second way out.
511nl.ca →
Renting a car? Book the car when you book the flight.
Summer rentals sell out, says NL Tourism, and in June 2026 BNN Bloomberg reported St. John's airport agencies booked for nearly all of summer.
Both checked October 7, 2026.
Rental counters at Gander, with numbers →Arriving without a car
Not renting? Here's who Gander International Airport Authority lists at the terminal.
No rideshare here.
The Airport Authority's transport page lists no rideshare service (checked 2026-09-15).
Taxi
Busy Bee Cabs, which the Airport Authority says runs a 24-hour service available curbside in the Domestic Arrivals area.
Coach
DRL Coachlines runs the island's one scheduled coach, once a day each way, between St. John's and the Marine Atlantic terminal at Port aux Basques. It stops at Gander Airport itself (the restaurant), and at Lewisporte, Grand Falls-Windsor, Deer Lake and Corner Brook among others. It reaches no island and no national park. Tickets are bought on the bus, cash only. The Airport Authority says a wheelchair-accessible bus needs 48 hours' notice. Times and fares are DRL's: drl-lr.com.
Limousine
Nobel Limousines, listed by the Airport Authority.
Avis, Budget, National and Enterprise are listed at the airport. The Authority says accessible vehicles with wheelchair accommodation or hand controls are limited and need 48 hours' notice.
Source: Gander International Airport Authority,2026-09-15. Check there for fares and times.
The drive back
Measured the other way, Leading Tickles back to Gander is the same distance: 149 km.
Plan back from your check-in time. Give the planner your flight time and it tells you when to set off.
How early to arrive depends on the carrier and the season: check Gander International Airport →
Return measured 2026-09-29, the same way as the drive out. How we measure
Questions
Should I fly into Gander or Deer Lake for Leading Tickles?＋
Gander: 148 km against 299 km from Deer Lake. The Route 350 turn is on the eastern half of the Trans-Canada.
Is this actually the Bay of Exploits?＋
The road runs up the peninsula that forms the bay's western side, and Leading Tickles sits at its tip, where the Bay of Exploits opens into greater Notre Dame Bay. The same road forks toward Fortune Harbour, deeper inside the bay itself.
What about the bay's islands — the village of Exploits?＋
Boat access only. The Exploits Islands, including the resettled village of Exploits, sit out in the bay's mouth. This site measures roads only; ask in the wharf towns about getting out there.
What is the drive actually like?＋
Trans-Canada west past Glenwood, then Route 350 north near the Exploits River falls. From Point Leamington on, the road follows the peninsula until it runs out of land at the tickles that named the town.
No recorded track yet.Drove it? Send yours →
Put this map on your site
Run a place to stay, a tour or a town page on this drive? Add this map to your site. It shows your guests the drive and its distance. It is free, needs no account, and we keep the figures current.
<iframe src="https://fromtheairport.xyz/embed/yqx-leading-tickles"
width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
title="Driving route: Gander International Airport (YQX) to Leading Tickles"></iframe>?lat=&lon=&label= to the URL to pin your own property on the map.Every distance and coordinate on this page was checked against its source on September 2, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/154350645 — passenger terminal. Destination: OpenStreetMap node/1524285455 — Leading Tickles place node.