Newfoundland 2015

[honda03842]

Ginny and I are planning our spring return to Newfoundland, planning to get there for a mid-May music festival and than heading to the north coast of Newfoundland to spend some time on 3 islands.

Ginny commented that we may have to stay in Newfoundland later this year due to all the snow in the northeast. We'll see. Our son now has 72" with 24 more expected this weekend in southern Maine. Truly a significant snow year.

This will be our 8th trip to NL.

[starbrightsteve]

Tess and I are going too. We were wondering about camping on the way from northern PA. We haven't found any places, public or private that are open in the beginning of May. I guess there are mallwart parking lots and truck stops but I was hoping for alternative options.
Steve

[honda03842]

Steve,

We have places to camp the whole way to Newfoundland. We plan to get to Gros Morne around May 15th. I'll post a list. At the early date we leave we try to stay in campgrounds with electricity. I'll dig out our log and post by Sunday.

Do you have any particular places you're going in NL?

Im Newfoundland the Provincial parks are very good, particularly of you're a senior.

[Cathi]

Norm and Ginny, I was thinking just yesterday that you two are probably packing. Want to get there myself sometime.

[starbrightsteve]

Norm,
Thanks for any info you can offer!
We are planning to visit Gros Morne and the area around the festival. We have noticed that parks in that part of Canada are open early. We are planning to leave north central PA on the 4th or 5th of May.
When you are attending the festival, do you stay in a provincial park or at the KOA ?
Steve

[honda03842]

Steve,

Order a map and travel at the following site if you don't have one.

Order Travel Brochures – Newfoundland and Labrador – Know Where to Go and What to Do

We stay at the KOA, it's a little pricey but the first year we went to the festival a rally was planned for the KOA so we stayed there and did again last year. Nice people with Wi-Fi and close to the festival.

We do stay in a lot of Provincial parks. When you get off the ferry you can stay in J.T. Cheeseman Provincial park. The Provincial parks are inexpensive for seniors (buy a years pass for $18. It allows seniors to stay for 9-14 a night. They always have WI-fi at the entrance point of Provincial parks. We sometimes stay in Grand Codroy RV park in Doyles, NL. It was formerly a Provincial Park. It's nice and expensive ($30) of course everything is discounted by the exchange rate. It has wi-fi and nice owners.

Gros Morne is a great park, you could spend a month there. We've accumulated a lot more time than that in Gros Morne.

Schedule | Trails Tales Tunes Festival

The festival starts on May 15th.

On our last trip we stopped in northern Maine, typically at Harrison, Me Sunset Point campground. a passport park, when you get there you can order a lobster delivered to your trailer.

We spend a night in NB, a night in Pictou and the next day take the night ferry to NL.
We usually take a break after the ferry and the next day drive to deer lake staying at Gateway to the North, passport with Wi-fi. From there we go to the KOA. We usually spend a week there. The festival has events beyond music. To make the first day of the festival I would say we have to leave around the 9th from NH.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESmvFKMozuM

I'll list all the campgrounds. The Pictou one is also a Passport.

[Donna D.]

I can't offer anything.. except... safe travels, ALWAYS! And make a ton of memories (safely) along the way

[Mike Magee]

Like migratory birds, heading north. Honk as you go!

[honda03842]

We stay at the following campgrounds:

Maine
Sunset Point, Harrington, ME
Sunset Point Campground - Home | Campgrounds Maine Coast | RV Parks Maine | Recreational Vehicle Camp Sites Maine
Opens officially May 15th but we call ahead and they always have let us stop. Small place, nice people and can provide a cooked lobster if you like. Good bathrooms. Passport America

New Brunswick
Lone Pine exit 211 off highway. Open because Victoria weekend is the next weekend. Not too fancy. Good overnight stop.

Lone Pine Park Campground & Cabins

Nova Scotia
Harbour Light, Pictou. A little way off the main north south Trans Canada.

We like this little park because we like the owner and he gives us a nice sight right beside the water. We also like to ear in a little scottish restaurant in town, I think McDermotts.

Harbour Light Trailer Court & Family Camping Grounds | novascotia.com

Ferry.
We drive from Pictou to the ferry terminal most of the time. Sometimes we do a little loop of the Cabot trail depending on our timing. There are two ferry crossings, one around noon the other around midnight. Once a ferry leaves you can enter the ferry yard and stay there until your ferry loads. We often take the midnight ferry and spend the next day at a campground not too far from Port aux Basque.

On the ferry we usually sleep in the airline chairs, larger than plane seats. Bring head phones if you want to listen to any of the multiple TVs You can also get a cabin if you like, we do not get cabins. The crossing takes 6 hours.

After getting off the ferry we usually stop at the Prov Park or the former Grand Codroy Prov. Park. Grand Codroy is a nice park, great bathrooms, nice owners, usually wi-fi. It has always been open. Expensive but a long time favorite for us.. $30 Cnd,
Grand Codroy RV/tent Camping Park, Doyles, NL
https://www.facebook.com/GrandCodroyRVCamping

J.T. Cheeseman Prov. Park
Newfoundland and Labrador Campsite Reservation Service
Not far from Port aux Basque and the Ferry Terminal. Port aux Basgue has a large grocery store.

Cornerbrook is the largest community in western NL and has large stores and a Walmart. Deer Lake has a large grocery store and is our last stop before driving to Gros Morne.

We do not drive from Port aux Basque in one day. We stop at Gateway to the North just past Deer Lake, a Passport Park with Wi-fi with OK
bathrooms. Very nice owner.

Driving from Port aux Basque you go through Wreckhouse. The winds can be over 100 mph. We have seen two semis turned over here.

There are lots of campgrounds in NB and Nova Scotia and numerous things to see but I assume you want to blast thru.

Anything else let me know.