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If you're planning a trip to Deer Lake, Newfoundland or the surrounding areas, you've come to the correct place! This region is full of natural beauty and fascinating history. There are various things to do while you're here.
The following are our suggestions of the best activities to do in the region, organized by location. We hope you find this post helpful for planning a day of activities in the area (or a week).
Things to do in Deer Lake
Head to Deer Lake Beach
Deer Lake beach is a great place to spend the afternoon. Its shallow water allows it to get warmer than lots of other swimming spots in the area. This is great because if you have done any swimming around the west coast, you will know a lot of the water is quite frigid.
It has ample space on the beach to find a place in the shade to enjoy lunch with the family. It also has a 1.9km walking path that takes you along the lake shore, where you can see birds, insects, or find a private spot to spend the afternoon.
The sand at the beach is a little coarser than the fine-grain sand you would find in warmer climates, but you don't find many sandy beaches on the island of Newfoundland, so you have to take what you get. The town of Deer Lake does clean the driftwood that washes up on shore every year so overall the beach is clean and safe to walk around barefooted.
So if you are looking for a place to swim in the area Deer Lake beach is one of the best places you will find. Stop in for an ice cream at the local hot spot Poppa Joe’s and find your favourite cold treat to take with you.
For directions click here.
Visit The Roy Whalen Heritage Museum.
This is a great little specialty museum located right off the Trans Canada Highway. The museum offers historical information about Deer Lake and the surrounding area. It is filled with artifacts, antiques and all sorts of knowledge you won't find anywhere else in the area.
The gift shop attached gives local artists and craft creators a place to sell and display their work from hand-knit wool mittens to dark tickle tea and goodies like locally made chocolate macaroons. This is a great place to spot if you are here for a day or even just driving through.
Check out the Roy Whalen Heritage Museums Facebook page.
Hike the Humber River Trails or one of the other trails located around Deer Lake
The Humber River Trail is one of our favourite easy hikes in the region. It's a well-maintained route with a minimal gradient and plenty of flatness. It's an out and back walk that takes roughly 1:30 hours and is a fantastic way to get some exercise while appreciating nature.
Starting at the airport, the first kilometre or so is somewhat exposed, and on a sunny calm day, it might become rather hot. You will be shaded the entire rest of the way once you enter the woods along the Humber River.
Or if you prefer you can start at the entrance by the insectarium and head towards the airport. This is a more covered section of the trail and heads right to the wildlife conservation area on the Humber. There are some great storyboards on the trail to let you know about all the interesting wildlife and plants you might find along the way. Another option would be to head across the road and make your way to Deer Lake beach. The trail has seen a lot of developments in recent years so the new signage will really help you plan your best route from the parking lot.
During your walk, you will see some beautiful flora such as Lupines and Pink Ladyslipper and if you are lucky you might see some fauna along the river such as Bald Eagles and belted kingfishers.
If the Humber River Trail sounds like something you would like to walk the trail is listed on the All Trails App. If you are not an app person you can head over to the Deer Lake Website and see the map of all the walking trails in the town.
Go to the Newfoundland Insectarium
The Newfoundland Insectarium is a world-class insect museum located just outside Deerlake. There are hundreds of live insects on display at the museum, including a butterfly room that houses hundreds of tropical butterflies, a leafcutter ant colony that is performing the incredible act of insect farming, and a fully functioning Honeybee hive encased in glass so you can attempt to spot the queen. And if that's not enough they have thousands more mounted insects, arachnids and arthropods from not just Newfoundland but around the world.
Maybe you just want to eat a few chocolate-covered bugs. Whatever you’re into this is a cool spot to visit! They even have a dog kennel for our furry friends.
So if you are into creepy crawlies the Newfoundland insectarium is definitely a go-to spot for you.
Check out The Hodder Memorial Recreation Complex
The Hodder Memorial Recreation Complex is located right in town next to the Salvation Army and across the road from Jungle Jims. This recreational complex houses 3 main sports.
A Hockey arena where in the fall and winter teams from around the island would play against each other. A bowling alley that is open to the public seven days a week at varying times and a swimming pool that is open to families 3 days a week at varying times as well.
You can find all scheduled times to visit on the Deer Lake website.
Head on over to Humber River Off Grid Tours
Humber River Tours takes you off-grid, away from the electronic and digital tethers of your regular life and wraps you in a gentle wilderness experience.
Ashley Hann offers off-the-grid experiences deeply rooted in tradition. Individual or group tours with an iconic local guides offering day, multi-day, and flexible itineraries including kayaking, boil-ups, farm-to-table, hiking, scenery, wildlife, and guided salmon angling. Located just 45 minutes from Deer Lake Airport. Disconnect and explore the diversity of the Humber Basin.
If you’re prepared for an off-grid adventure or a Sunset Kayak Tour check out her Facebook page.
Things to do in Reidville
Go Horseback Riding at Cache Rapids Stable
Cache Rapids is a family-operated riding stable right here in Western Newfoundland. They offer all sorts of horseback riding adventures for the entire family. From overnight riding packages to wagon rides, kids camps and more.
If horseback riding is your thing or something you always wanted to try out. I would suggest having a look at Cache Rapids Stable and Tack Shop.
Reidville Walking Trails
Located on the other side of the Humber River from the Humber River trail in Deer Lake. Reidville's trails take you through similar forested areas but with a different vantage point. This walking path is well maintained with lots of benches and sitting opportunities throughout and was actually just completed in 2021.
You can see a map of the trails on the Reidville Town Website and pictures of the trails on the Reidville Trail Facebook page.
Things to do in Cormack, NL
Head over to the Crooked Feeder Brewing Company
This is one of our favourites. Local brewmaster Rob Sutton creates all the beverages on tap, and has about 30 recipes on the go, 14 of them are usually on tap. This is a fantastic spot to quench your thirst. They provide delectable food ranging from poutines made with local cheeses to a Settlement Salad made with greens produced on our small farm, not to mention the best wings around! So you won't go hungry.
Their beer is simply good beer, and it has to be since it is made with H20 that has never been chemically treated and flows right from the Long Range Mountains. They also support many local producers when flavouring their many different craft brews and honestly the science speaks for itself:
Good Water + Local ingredients = Great Beer
The staff there are pretty familiar with the area and the stories of our place. The taproom is located right in the Sutton’s old family ran saw-mill that operated for over 20 years. Their craft names also tell many different stories about the land, the waterways and the people of the area.
After a long day of trekking or swimming, this is the place to go.
For more information check out their Facebook page.
Join Upper Humber Settlement on a connecting with the Land Experience
Here at the Upper Humber Settlement, we provide a variety of different experiences and tours that allow our guests to reconnect with the land and learn about local flora and fauna.
We offer tours, like our Farm and Forage experience, where you can explore our property with an experienced guide foraging for edible plants. We will then craft a delicious snack before the end of the tour with some local game meat included.
We also provide an indigenous experience, Medicine wheel and Fire Circle, where you will get a chance to learn about the importance of the medicine wheel in Mi'kmaw culture and much more.
You can check out a full list of our tours here.
Explore Sir Richard Squires Memorial Provincial Park (BIG FALLS)
This provincial park is located 36 kilometres northeast on highway route 422. It was named after the last Prime Minister of Newfoundland prior to confederation with Canada and is a great place to spend a day.
This picturesque park is a common fishing ground for local salmon fishermen and between May and August, the 3-meter high 87-meter wide waterfall located at the park clearly demonstrates why. During this time you can watch large Atlantic Salmon jump up the waterfall as they make their way to their annual spawning grounds.
Take a Tour of the Cormack Bee Company
The Cormack Bee Company is, you guessed it, a local bee apiary. They are a sustainable honey-based business creating all sorts of honey and bee-related products from specialty honey's to skincare products and much more.
They allow customers to take a tour of their facilities for a $20 fee and a fully interactive beekeeping experience for $50. During these tours they will show you how to identify a honeybee, their anatomy, and how bees make honey. These are great tours to take if you are interested in honeybees and would like to help maintain the bee population in the area.
Visit the Cormack Farmers Market
This market is a great way to find quality produce, all locally sourced. Although their website and Facebook page look like they only sell flowers, they actually have a large variety of different products and produce available. From bags of Partridge berries to local jams, pastries and even some locally made crafts. They even make Fresh butter and cream daily! A real treat, especially during Strawberry season.
The Cormack Farmers Market is a great place to drop in and support the local community.
Visit the Historical Veterans Settlement
If you like history and would like to learn how the Town of Cormack came to be. Checking out the Historical Veterains settlement is a great place to start. This little building is a replica of the 96 houses that were originally built in Cormack under the farm settlement program between 1946 and 1948 and is chock-full of little tidbits of the town's history.
To learn more about the history check out the town's website, or head over to the museum’s Facebook page to learn more and make a plan to visit it yourself.
Head over to Funland Resort
Located right at the start of Cormack Road, this family run business is the only place in western Newfoundland with an outdoor waterslide. Their waterslide is accompanied by a 200' pool with lifeguard on duty between 11am and 7 pm. They have an 18 hole mini golf course and a fully licensed bar and poutinerie, with a few new menu items that feature local products including a breakfast poutine made with Quail eggs right from our small farm. They also have a campground on site for those travelling the island in RV.
So if your looking for a place to relax for the day while your kids run wild Funland Resort might be the place for you.
Things to do in Pasadena NL
Head to the Pasadena Beach
The most popular beach on the west coast Pasadena beach is a great place to spend a day out in the sun. The beach has an onsite volleyball court, a changing area and beachside bar and grill called the Oasis. If you are looking for a spot to relax in the sun and water, Pasadena beach might be the place for you.
Go to the Pasadena Ski & Nature Park
During the winter this is a great place to go cross-country skiing and during the summer you can walk or bike these trails. They are full of flora and fauna so you won't be bored if you are a nature lover.
You can look at all the services Pasadena Ski & Nature Park has to offer here.
Visit Meyer's Minerals
This locally owned mineral shop has a wonderful showroom of all sorts of polished and beautiful gemstones. The owners are life long Geologists who know an absolute astounding amount about every rock they bring into their store. Whether you just want to look at cool gemstones or you want to buy yourself some 1 of a kind jewellery, this is a great place to visit.
Visit the local pump track
Pasadena has new pump track called pine hill pump track. It is a dirt pumptrack located at the back on the town. This track is unsupervised so keep that in mind, but its a great place to build your mountain biking skills while getting a great workout in.
You can find directions to the pump track here.
Things to do in Howley NL
Howley is a great place for people who love the outdoors. Althought there is not very many amenities in the town, they do have great access to the untouched wilderness.
Kayak/boat on grand lake
Grand Lake is the longest lake in Newfoundland spanning about 100km and is one of the few places in the world that has an island, inside an island, inside an island.
From the boat launch in Howley, you are pretty sheltered from the wind and the waves of the lake and can choose to either paddle up the lake, stay in the protected waters, or venture out into the larger more exposed part of the lake. Keep in mind that Howley does not have boat rentals so this is an adventure you will have to bring your own boat for.
Check out Grand Lake Tourist Park
The Grand Lake Tourist Park is a nicely treed campground that is fully serviced. It has plenty of places to walk around on the beach and an outstanding amount of nature and wildlife to be viewed.
You can find more information about Grand Lake Tourist Park here.
Conclusion
There are plenty of things to do in the area around Deer Lake. Whether you're looking for a place to relax and enjoy the sun, or something more adventurous like swimming or kayaking, there is definitely something for everyone. We've highlighted just a few of the many places and activities that can be found in