Discover the best top things to do in Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador including Battle Harbour National Historic District, Point Amour Lighthouse, Red Bay National Historic Site, Lawrence O'Brien Arts Centre, Maritime Archaic Burial Mound National Historic Site of Canada, Sunday Hill Lookout, The Seashore Boardwalk, Birch Island Trail, Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St. Modeste Island Lighthouse.
5.0 based on 115 reviews
4.5 based on 54 reviews
My husband and I have been visiting Newfoundland and Labrador every July for the past 24 years and this is one of my favorite stops. You approach on a gravel road winding very close to the ocean past the archaic burial site of a boy and past a small community of all Davis families. There is also the remains of shipwrecks . The Davis family rescued some of the sailors and as a reward the king of England granted the family rights to that land in perpetuity. The lighthouse stands tall overlooking the ocean and one look at the coast will tell you why it is here. You can go inside and climb the steps to the top or just take in the scenery from the ground. In early summer you could be lucky and see icebergs and whales here. There is also a small gift shop and restrooms in a separate building, There is also an ample parking lot. Enjoy!
4.5 based on 115 reviews
Modern small two floor museum has artifacts and well laid out information about the Basque whalers who spent summers here in the 1590s. It depicts their lives on ship, hunting whales and rendering the fat into oil. They brought pieces of wood ready to fit together into barrels to ship the oil back to Europe in the fall. Much of the information comes from study of one wrecked ship found in the bay in 1978. After that excavations on the island found rendering sites, burial sites and other evidence of their lives. Staff are available to answer questions but there is mo guided tour. A 10 minute boat ride takes you to Saddle Island in the bay where sites are marked and when we were there on a chilly rainy day a parks ranger was out in the trail to answer questions. Flowers were blooming and gulls were in their nesting grounds. It is not an accessible adventure as you need to climb down into the boat and out again. The trail is mostly gravel and boardwalk with wooden steps up and down. We spent about an hour in tge museum and another hour walking around the island. There are restrooms and a gift shop in the museum, but no facilities in the island.
4.5 based on 11 reviews
I visited this site as part of a shore excursion through Holland America's "Voyage of the Vikings" cruise, a shore excursion that originated in Red Bay. Cruise presentations from three "experts" in Viking history and their travels, plus reading on my own and a background in geology/geologic history of the North Atlantic region, provided background in which to place, and appreciate the significance of what this National Historic site represents. Arriving at the site 'today' via the luxury of a cruise ship and climate controlled motor coach is a extremely far cry to arriving at the site via the open "dragon boats" built and sailed by the Viking peoples. Standing at the site, looking at 360 degrees of "desolation" (land and water), and thinking of landing here in a sail/oar powered dragon boat after weeks in that open boat, can only enhance one's admiration for those folks who survived the trip to these shores and attempted to settle and prosper here. So, yes there is not a lot to see, but what this site represents sent me back to the library, and to other Viking history-related shore excursions.
5.0 based on 1 reviews
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