Eastport Peninsula

The Eastport Peninsula has long been a popular vacation destination in Newfoundland. It offers many affordable accommodations and is a great launching point for exploring Terra Nova National Park. The peninsula's excellent beaches, fishing villages and active arts community are also attractions for many visitors.

Understand

The Eastport Peninsula is a small extension of land into the central part of Bonavista Bay in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The peninsula is adjacent to Terra Nova National Park and contains seven small outport villages: Eastport, Happy Adventure, Sandy Cove, Salvage, St. Chad's, Burnside and Sandringham. Fishing, farming and tourism are the backbone of the local economy.

Cities

Salvage, at the tip of the Eastport Peninsula

Arial view of Eastport Peninsula with Sandy Cove in the foreground

• 🌍 Burnside Initially composed of two settlements -- Squid Tickle and Hollett's Cove. Features a prominent church, easily visible from the whole community. It is the headquarters of an archeological dig and the ferry departure site for St. Brendan's.
• 🌍 Eastport the hub of the peninsula, is widely known for its white sandy beaches and arable soils. Its beaches and pleasant maritime vistas make it a popular destination for holiday makers and retirees.
• 🌍 Happy Adventure A pretty seaside village built around three inlets on Newman Sound -- Upper Cove, Little Sandy Cove and Powells Cove. Local legend attributes the name to a pirate's favorable adventure, evading detection, in one of the sheltered coves.
• 🌍 Sandringham Newest community on the peninsula and site of abundant farmland.
• 🌍 Sandy Cove was formerly known as Silver Buckle according to local legend Silver Buckle referred to a buried pirate treasure in the area. In modern times Sandy Cove is best known for its most prominent feature -- a long sandy beach. in fact, Sandy Cove features the longest sandy beach on the peninsula and is famed for being a well-kept and pretty community. It has been granted the 'Tidy Towns' award numerous times.
• 🌍 Salvage is situated on barren rocky headland near good fishing grounds and the migration routes of harp seals. The village is built around a rugged but protected harbour that has drawn tourists, site-seers and artists for generations. According to visiting Archdeacon Coster in the 1820s, "rugged as the spot is, it has always appeared to me the most interesting little settlement in the Bay of Bonavista, if not in Newfoundland".
• 🌍 St. Chad's Small fishing village. Once known as Damnable Bay (pronounced Damn The Bell). Like Silver Buckle and Happy Adventure, this whimsical nomenclature is attributed to pirate lore.

Other destinations

Understand

Get in

By boat

Marine Atlantic ferry service runs from North Sydney to Port aux Basques (on the west coast of the island) throughout the year, and to Argentia (about 90km from St. John's) during the summer.

By car

• Driving from the ferry at Port aux Basques, take the TransCanada Highway east 650 km to HWY-310 and the Eastport Peninsula. HWY-310 exits the highway at the western entrance to Terra Nova National Park.
• Driving from the ferry at Argentia, take HWY-100, HWY-101, HWY-202, and the TransCanada Highway and HWY-310 the 230km to the Eastport Peninsula. HWY-310 exits the highway at the western exit of Terra Nova National Park.
• Driving from St. John's, take the TransCanada Highway west 280 km to Route 310 and the Eastport Peninsula.

By plane

• Gander International Airport, Gander
• St John's International Airport, St. John's

By bus

DRL Coachlines operates a daily bus departing from St. John's and Port Aux Basques that stops at the Eastport Junction on the TransCanada Highway. you will have to arrange travel from the bus stop at the junction to the community itself (approx 15km).

Get around

See

Art & culture

Sandy Cove Beach

• The Veteran's Gallery, Eastport
• Pinsent's Studio and Gallery, Church Street, Eastport
• Concerts and Plays (throughout the summer) at the Beaches Heritage Centre Theatre, Eastport.

Architecture

• St. Stephen's Anglican Church, Salvage -- A 125+ year-old wooden church.
• Holy Cross Church, Eastport -- 115 year-old wooden church.
• Traditional Newfoundland saltbox houses
• Red ochre coloured fishing stages built on stilts above the ocean.

Sandy beaches

• Eastport Beach. 
• Capelin Gulch. 
• North Side Beach. 
• Sandy Cove Beach. 

Terra Nova National Park visitor's centre

History

• Salvage Fisherman's Museum, Salvage -- learn about the life of a Newfoundland fisherman.
• Burnside Archeological Dig, Burnside -- learn about the Maritime Archaic, Paleo-Eskimo and Beothuck Indians and see the ancient tools they left behind in the Eastport area.

Terra Nova National Park

The communities of the Eastport Peninsula border on Terra Nova National Park making the Eastport area an ideal base from which to explore the park. In Terra Nova you'll find: Hiking, Swimming, Canoe rentals (Sandy Pond), Golf, Sea Kayaking etc.

Do

Amusement parks

• Family Funland, Eastport -- Storybook village with boat rides, mini-golf, surf bike and petting farm.
• Splash n Putt, Eastport Junction -- Waterslide, pools, mini-golf, bumper cars, bumper boats and go-carts.

Alexander Bay, Terra Nova National Park

Hiking

• Sandy Cove Head Trail for spectacular views of Terra Nova National Park, Newman Sound and Bonavista Bay.
• Old Trails Network between Sandy Cove and Salvage.
• Long Chute Trail, near Burnside.
• Salvage Trails, Salvage NL fantastic hiking trails

Swimming

• Crooked Tree Park, Sandy Cove -- fresh water swimming available in this municipal park.

Festivals & events

• SeaFest, Eastport -- A beach celebration with concerts, games of chance and fireworks. Usually held the first weekend in August.
• Winterset in Summer Literary Festival. World-renown writers to the peninsula for round-table discussions, book launches and a chance to interact with fans. Held mid-August. 
• Targa Newfoundland. Car race, Eastport Peninsula leg in September. 
• Fall Exhibition. A harvest festival with scarecrow contests, scavenger hunts and ribbons awarded for best farm animals, vegetables, and baking. Held Mid-October. 
• Happy Adventure Pirate Fest. Aug 6 Pirate landing in upper cove followed by a treasure hunt and BBQ. Entertainment by Terry Riely and his Teddy Pirates. Pirate dance at Legion 

Buy

Eat

• 🌍 Eastport Organics, 16 Church St. (Across from Pinsents Art Studio, Next to the Beaches Heritage Centre). Farm store open all summer. A small sustainable organic vegetable farm specializing in salad greens and specialty vegetables. 
• Chuckys Seafood and Wild Game, 8 Harbour View Road. 12:30 to 9:00. Fresh Seafood and Game overlooking Happy Adventure Harbour 

Drink

Sleep

Stay safe

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