I will be tagging along on my wife's business trip to Newfoundland in late April. Will be there for about 7 days. Will of course have a rental vehicle but how easy is it to get around? Do I need a SUV vehicle? How much snow will there typically be at this time of year? Will there be any "greenup" occuring then? Any other suggestions are appreciated. We will be in St. John's.
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Hi Ken,
Lucky you going to Newfoundland. Such a beautiful place. I was there last July and can't comment on snow conditions in April, but can certainly recommend a few places to check out.
Near St. John's check out Signal Hill, Quidi Vidi, and drive to Cape Spear. Going south along the east coast, a few great villages/towns to check out are Petty Harbour, Bay Bulls, Witless Bay, Tors Cove, Cape Broyle, and especially Ferryland.
If you can get up to the Bonavista Peninsula, Cape Bonavista and surrounding towns are spectacular, as is Salvage, one of the most scenic fishing villages we saw. Also, Trinity is a quaint town with old buildings and a very scenic church.
On the west coast of The Rock, (a full day drive from St. John's) Gros Morne is amazing, and while hiking was at times fairly strenuous even without snow on long hikes, I'm sure some of the shorter hikes to falls and lookouts aren't so bad. In particular, the Tablelands were astounding and easy to hike to. More of a walk from the parking lot, really. If it's open (probably won't be), the boat cruise on Western Brook Pond is well worth the modest price. Further north on the west coast, Broom Point is like going back 100 years in a time machine. I've also heard (but didn't visit) that the Blowmedown mountains near Cornerbrook are very scenic.
Please feel free to browse my photos of these places and some others, and if you have any questions, drop me a line. The photos all have links to Google Maps for location.
[a href=\"http://www.pinciuc.com/photos/gallery/117]http://www.pinciuc.com/photos/gallery/117[/url]
Have a great trip!!
-Rob
PS: Take heed to the Moose warning - driving after nighfall, you are VERY likely to come across moose on or beside the road. We only drove at night 3 times and saw several moose each time, so be very careful driving at night!