Forteau

Forteau is a Labrador border town near Blanc-Sablon, Québec. Their combined population is about 1,500 people, the majority of them Anglophone.

This article covers a large rural area; the entire southern Labrador coast along the Strait of Belle Isle from Red Bay through Forteau to Blanc-Sablon, and continuing to the end of the road at Vieux-Fort, Québec.

Understand

Forteau and the string of oceanside villages along the Strait of Belle Isle have a long history of nomadic fisheries, including presence of various European fleets (such as Portugal), but the first permanent fishing villages were established from Newfoundland in the 1800s. The region serves as a point of entry to Labrador from Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula directly across the strait; Blanc Sablon's economic ties therefore are closely intertwined not with Québec but with Newfoundland and Labrador.

As Forteau is a border community, its time zones are a bit confusing. The island of Newfoundland is GMT-3.5, with one hour of daylight savings time in summer. Board a ferry and Blanc Sablon (as part of a sparsely-populated fragment of Quebec east of Anticosti) is on Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4) year-round. As soon as the road leads back into Forteau, clocks return to Newfoundland Time through Red Bay to Port Hope Simpson. Further north into Labrador, Atlantic Time (AST/ADT) makes a reappearance, so Cartwright is in Halifax's time zone.

Get in

Blanc Sablon and Forteau are accessible by Trans-Labrador Highway. There is no road from Vieux-Fort westward into Québec. There is a ferry from Blanc Sablon to the island of Newfoundland.

• Air Labrador, Blanc Sablon, toll-free: [phone]. Coastal service which runs westward through multiple small villages with no road (a gap from Vieux-Fort to Kegasha) to an accessible point on the main road to Sept-Îles. 
• Labrador Marine, ☎ [phone], [phone] (St. Barbe), [phone] (Blanc Sablon), toll-free: [phone] (NL only). Ferry to Blanc Sablon from St. Barbe in the summer (at least 1¾ hrs), or Corner Brook in the winter (12 hrs). Crossing time depends on sea conditions. From St. Barbe: car+driver $35, RV+driver $35-78, motorcycle+driver $18, passenger $12. From Corner Brook: car+driver $130, RV+driver $130-271, motorcycle+driver $112, passenger $43. Discounts for seniors, students, children. (updated Feb 2017)
• Relais Nordik, 17 Lebrun Ave, Rimouski, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. M/V Bella Desgagnés leaves Havre-Saint-Pierre, Québec each Wednesday morning on a four-day round-trip to Anticosti and various otherwise-inaccessible communities (La Romaine, Harrington Harbour, Tête-à-la-Baleine, La Tabatière, Baie-des-Moutons and Saint-Augustin), eventually arriving in Blanc Sablon. 

Get around

• The Trans-Labrador Highway (Route 510) follows the coast eastward from Forteau, turning north to Happy Valley-Goose Bay then west to Labrador City.
• A stub of Route 138 leads west from Blanc Sablon 65 km to Vieux-Fort, Quebec (about 2 hrs driving), and abruptly ends; Route 138 resumes 450km away at Kegashka.

See

Forteau

• Labrador Straits Museum, l'Anse-au-Loup. Established 1978 by Southern Labrador Women's Institute, exhibits and artefacts describe the local way of life over the last 150 years. A small souvenir shop carries local crafts. 
• Middle Bay Interpretation Centre, Route 138, Middle Bay, ☎ [phone]. Local marine history, Innu, Inuit, Basque, French and English cultural heritage. 
• 🌍 Point Amour Lighthouse, L'Anse-Amour Road (off Route 510), ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. An 1857 stone lighthouse (automated 1996) stands over 30 m (100 ft) tall, the tallest in the province.  

Do

• Aqua Labadie Scallop Farm, 45, rue Mgr Scheffer, Blanc-Sablon, ☎ [phone]. Tour boats, sightseeing, oceanside eatery, fresh scallops (le pétoncle). 
• Overfall Brook Trail, Forteau. One mile (1.5km) trail along the shoreline of Forteau Bay with a cliff face, a view of Point Amour Lighthouse in the distance and a waterfall (Overfall Brook Falls) which drops over the rocky cliff into the ocean. Exit Route 510 at intersection across from Town Centre, drive to Labrador Pioneer Footpath trail head car park overlooking Forteau Bay. 
• Tour Labrador, 31 Main St, Forteau, ☎ [phone]. Operates Lighthouse Gifts (at Point Amour Lighthouse) and various sea or hiking tours; an opportunity to dine at the lighthouse is offered a few times a year. The same owners run Food Chopper and Sea View Cottages, so the tours may be packaged with lodging in Forteau. 

Events

• Bakeapple Folk Festival, Labrador Straits Arena, L'Anse au Loup, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. second weekend in August. A celebration of local heritage with folk singing, dancing, music, games, crafts, food, local specialties and entertainment. The bakeapple, or cloudberry, is popular in jellies, syrups and pies, which can be sampled in local stores and restaurants. 

Buy

• Labrador Preserves Company, Food Chopper (Forteau), ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Bakeapple, partridgeberry and blueberry syrup and preserves. 
• Poisonnerie Blanc Sablon, 1183, blvd Camille-Marcoux, Lourdes de Blanc Sablon, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Fish market, will ship in frozen cargo to Natashquan, Sept-Îles or Rimouski. 

Eat

• 🌍 Dot's Bakery and Coffee Shop, 32 Main St (Hwy 510), L'Anse au Loup (Southern Labrador Hwy), ☎ [phone]. 7AM-11PM. Café, grocery and baker. Locals eat here for good, hot food on a rainy day. (updated Dec 2017)
• Food Chopper, 33 Main Street, Forteau, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]AM-6PM, closed Sunday. Grocer and bakery under common ownership with adjacent Seaview Restaurant. 
• Gloria's Takeout, Blanc-Sablon, ☎ [phone]. 4:30pm-7:30pm, weekends. Casse-croûte, seasonal. 
• Partridge Garden, Blanc-Sablon, ☎ [phone]. Seasonal (summer only). 
• Seaview Restaurant, 31 Main Street, Forteau, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. 9AM-10PM daily, 9AM-8PM in winter. Restaurant with fresh bakery bread, Outback Lounge pub, cottage rentals. 

Drink

• Bar 138, 138, rue Camille Marcoux, Lourdes-De-Blanc-Sablon, ☎ [phone]. 

Sleep

• Hôtel Motel Blanc Sablon, 1043 boul. Camille Marcoux, Lourdes de Blanc Sablon, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• Grenfell Hall B&B, 3 Willow Avenue, Forteau, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 10AM. Bed and breakfast in former Old Forteau Nursing Station. It was built by the International Grenfell Association in 1946, and replaced by a modern hospital in 1983. Each of the five guest rooms is named after different staff or nurses. Seasonal (May 1-Oct 1), continental breakfast, shared washroom, TV in living room. $90/double, $160/two bdrm cottage. 
• Northern Light Inn, L'Anse au Clair, Labrador, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Hotel open year-round, restaurant with breakfast buffet, traditional Labrador cuisine, Greco Pizza and Chester Fried Chicken. $120-150. (updated Apr 2015)
• Auberge Motel Quatre Saisons, 2, rue Beaudoin, Lourdes de Blanc Sablon, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. 

Connect

Cellular telephone coverage is sporadic to non-extant in Forteau (the only base station is Bell across the strait on the Great Northern Peninsula), although groceries, fuel, lodging and Internet access are available in the village. Venture further into rural Labrador and services at many points are limited to non-existent.

Nearby

Pinware

The Pinware River Provincial Park is roughly midway from Forteau to Red Bay (30-35km from each). There is one hotel nearby:

• Oceanview Resort, West St. Modeste, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Check-out: 11AM. Ten-room hotel with four two-bedroom cottages, serviced caravan park for 5 RV's, laundry. Oceanview Restaurant serves traditional and local cuisine (seats 50). Patty's Lounge serves alcohol and bar food. Conference rooms for 25 to 225 people, souvenir shop. Bills one night stay to credit card at time of initial reservation; two-day/three-night packages for fishing and whale watching start at $525/double occupancy. 

There is no fuel at West St. Modeste, Red Bay or Lodge Bay. There is a snowmobile dealer with propane, petrol and diesel in l'Anse-au-Loup, and a small grocer. Additional services are available in Forteau and Port Hope Simpson.

Red Bay

A Basque chalupa recovered from the waters of the bay

A tiny (population 227) fishing village 65km (43 miles) east of Forteau on Route 510, formerly the base for 15 ships and 600 men as a seasonal Basque whaling outpost on the Strait of Belle Isle in the mid-1500s.

• 🌍 Red Bay National Historic Site of Canada, Red Bay, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. mid-June to September, 9AM-5:30PM daily. Whalers from the Basque region (northern Spain and southern France) hunted right and bowhead whales for their oil during the mid to late 1500s, using the sheltered harbour of Red Bay as a seasonal base of operation for seventy years until whales became scarce. A group of 1560s shipwrecks were discovered in 1978 and an underwater archaeological site established. The site includes remains of rendering ovens, cooperages, wharves, whale bones, living quarters and a cemetery. Red Bay Basque Whaling Station is one of four UNESCO World Heritage sites in the province (the others are Mistaken Point, Gros Morne park and l'Anse-aux-Meadows Viking settlement). $7.80.  
• Gull Island Charters, 18 East Harbour Drive, Red Bay, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Water taxi service to Saddle Island for Red Bay National Historic Site ($3/passenger), sightseeing trips with icebergs, whales and wildlife. 
• Whaler's Station, 72-76 West Harbour Drive, Red Bay, ☎ [phone]. Three-room inn on waterfront, with a guest house and a lone housekeeping cabin on the main road. Whaler's Restaurant serves fish and chips, local cuisine and desserts with hand-picked wild berries (bakeapples, partridgeberries and blackberries) for up to sixty people, with boxed lunches available for take-out. A souvenir shop carries postcards, books about the local area, T-shirts, weatherproof jackets and clothing. Labrador crafts, knitting, slippers, jewellery and soapstone carvings. 

Go next

• Trans-Labrador Highway to Port Hope Simpson
• Great Northern Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland

Routes through Forteau

Blanc-Sablon ← ←

W  NE

→ Red Bay → Port Hope Simpson