We Show You Unique Things to Do In Newfoundland!
If you want adventure travel experiences in Newfoundland over the next few months, prepare for some spectacular scenery and surprises! During this time, you can take advantage of some unique things to do in Newfoundland. Living on a rock, a big one, mind you, in the middle of the Atlantic, might lead you to believe that once summer is over, there isn’t much left to do.
On the west coast of Newfoundland, the fall season brings brilliant, vibrant and magnificent colours to the forest and an adventure travel experience not to be missed. Take a ride on the zip line near Marble Mountain in the Humber Valley to get a colourful view as you zip across the Steady Brook falls. The breathtaking south view showcases Marble Mountain which can be easily hiked. The spectacular autumn colors are a painter’s palette and to top it off you might witness one of Newfoundland’s majestic moose as it walks onto that palette. To get more of the spectacular scenery, take the 2.5 hiking trail on the part of the Appalachian Trail near Man In The Mountain for truly spectacular views of Corner Brook and Humber Valley area.
Leaving the west coast of the province, discover one of the very unique things to do in Newfoundland – explore the many root cellars found in rural Newfoundland. What are root cellars you might ask? Well, they are a very important part of the cultural landscape of Newfoundland with some dating back over one hundred years. They are free standing structures that dot the landscape in many outport communities. Constructed using very basic materials and tools, they are either built above ground or some are completely/ partly buried in the ground. The root cellars were built by families in the community as a storage unit for the preservation of their root crops (potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnip, beets) throughout the winter months. In the root cellar, the root crops were kept warm in winter and left cool in summer.
If you are looking for different things to do in Newfoundland this summer, visit the root cellars in the small community of Elliston on the Bonavista Peninsula. For those seeking adventure travel, turn off the Trans-Canada Highway in Clarenville onto Route 230A or 230, continue travelling on 230 and turn off on 238 at the entrance to Elliston which is known as the root cellar capital of the world. With its approximately 130 cellars, in Elliston discover an important part of Newfoundland’s history and its way of life and also take in The Roots, Rants, & Roars Festival from Sept. 18 – 20, 2015.
If you see a little door in a hillside, you can almost be certain it’s a root cellar. See a hump on the ground with a cover/hatch on top? Lift the hatch, look down into the cellar and step onto the ladder reaching down to the bottom of the cellar. Visit the McGrath cellar in Tilting, a National Cultural Landscape and a Provincial Registered Heritage District; this is a cellar very much in use today and there is a good chance you will find root crops in the seven or eight pounds/compartments built in the cellar. While in Tilting, hike Turpin’s Trail and locate the cellar that has been restored by TRACS (Tilting Recreational And Cultural Society). When you leave Tilting, Fogo Island, consider dropping into Twillingate where you will find numerous cellars dotting the landscape.
For adventure travel and finding things to do in Newfoundland this summer and fall, find your roots right here!
