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Trail · from Deer Lake (YDF)

The Snug Harbour Trail

Western Brook Pond from its stony shore near the outlet, the gorge cliffs at the far end.
Western Brook Pond from its stony shore near the outlet, the gorge cliffs at the far end.Photo: David W Enstrom · source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mapped path
7.2 km one way
Parks Canada gives 15 km there and back; the mapped path measures 14.4 km there and back.
Climbing
88 m
Every up added together; the highest point is 52 m.
To the trailhead
98 km

Type of trail

Out and back

Walk to the end, turn round, come back the same way.

Source: Parks Canada, “Return by the same route.”.

challengingRated on the whole walk: 14.4 km there and back, about 172 m of climbing. How

Access: the rating measures effort only. Surface isn't recorded for most of it. Step-free access isn't recorded; ask the park before you go. Easier access in Gros Morne, from Parks Canada →

Drive: 97.5 km from the Deer Lake (YDF) terminal to the trailhead — not the town. OSRM driving profile, terminal to the trailhead, checked 2026-09-03.

The trail itself: 7.2 km, 88 m of climb — the line is coloured by elevation, green at 20 m up to red at 52 m.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles by OpenFreeMap. Route line computed with OSRM.

The trail, measured

Snug Harbour Trail: the mapped path is 7.2 km with 88 m of climbing, from 20 m up to 52 m.

01000 km1234567
to ~8% grade8–15%steeperheight exaggerated ~17×

Every cited segment →OpenStreetMap way/1444537103 + way/421835898 + way/436231908 + way/436231907 + way/39968756 + way/141657508 + way/1449912000; elevation from AWS Open Data Terrarium tiles (z14), sampled ~30 m, ascent over a 3 m noise threshold.
A line that ends at a different height from where it starts is a loop, not an out and back.

terrain from open elevation data — the same source as the profile above

Today's trail conditions and seasonal closures are Parks Canada's — check before you climb →Park bulletins →

Open in Google Maps →
Use another map appApple Maps · Google Maps · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze

Take it on your phone or watch

Only useful with a hiking app or a GPS watch. Just heading to the start? Use the directions above.

Save the track for a hiking or watch app (GPX)
  • Garmin: import it as a Course in Garmin Connect, then send it to your watch.
  • Apple Watch: open it in a route app that runs on the watch, such as WorkOutDoors or Footpath.
  • Suunto, COROS, Polar: import it as a route in the watch's app, then sync.
  • Phone, offline: open it in Organic Maps or OsmAnd and download the map area before you lose signal.

Just a file: no account, nothing tracked.

No recorded track yet.Walked it? Send yours →

Getting here

  • 98 km from Deer Lake to the trailhead.

The measured drive is YDF → Cow Head — 4 stops on it, with the road numbers, the surface and where to eat along it.

What has been recorded near here

Wildlife people have reported within 10 km of Snug Harbour trailhead (Western Brook Pond parking), and the months they saw it. Tap a name for everywhere else on our drives it turns up.

  • Northern gannetseabirdMorus bassanusReports cluster in August, June, July93 reports on record

Reports, not counts: busy harbours report more. No sighting is promised, and the list covers only the species we look up. Source: GBIF, the international record of wildlife sightings, checked 2026-10-07.

Eating, when you come off

Places to eat within 25 km by road of the trailhead, nearest first. 0 of 4 have a confirmed position.

  • Country StyleRoute 430 · (709) 458-20248.4 kmunconfirmed — go by the address
  • Snack ShackHWY-430 · (709) 458-20248.5 kmunconfirmed — go by the address
  • Greco Pizza193 Main St · (709) 243-247121 kmunconfirmed — go by the address
  • Neddy's Pub & Eatery21 kmunconfirmed — go by the address

No opening hours: the map data for these places has none. Phone ahead. Built 2026-10-11.

No photo yet. Walked it? Send yours.

Getting to the trailhead — Deer Lake (YDF) to the start of the Snug Harbour Trail: 98 km by road.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles by OpenFreeMap. Route line computed with OSRM.

The gentle one: 7.2 km of mapped trail with only 88 m of total climb, along the flats toward Snug Harbour at Western Brook Pond’s mouth. This is old fishing-station country under the fjord’s first walls. It shares its approach with the pond’s boat tour, so it uses the same parking lot this site’s Cow Head and Viking Trail drives stop at.

Flat is not short: fourteen-plus kilometres return is an afternoon. Parks Canada maintains the boardwalk sections and reports their conditions.

The full drive from Deer Lake (YDF), with stops and moose notes →

Measured September 3, 2026. Trailhead: OpenStreetMap way/1444537103 — trail start at the Western Brook Pond area.

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