Trail to Hay Pook Lookout in Kings Point
From our adventures on the North Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada we backtracked down the peninsula to the villages and towns located in the central region of Newfoundland. There is only one main road in the central region connecting the west coast and the east coast of Newfoundland together and it is called the TCT – Trans Canada Hwy.
From the TCT there are access highways leading north and south connecting to small villages located on remote islands and peninsulas. We set out for the Baie Verte Peninsula and the small communities of Springdale, Kings Point, Baie Verte, La Scie and a smattering of smaller villages.
For those who like to do museums you are in luck. Many of the villages on the Baie Verte Peninsula have a museum depicting the history of the town and how it came to be. One of the more popular historic destinations in the northern part of the peninsula is the Dorsett Soapstone Quarry National Historic Site located near the village of Baie Verte. The site documents Paleo-Eskimo carvings dating back to 1600 years.
“What would a tourist want to see and know more about,” we often ask ourselves… and that is where we go to research. In this case… the area on the shores of Notre Dame Bay near the village of Rock Point, Newfoundland provided the best selection of trails, parks and sightseeing opportuities in the region.
Other areas had trails too …. some following creeks or circling ponds or leading to lookouts over villages… blah, blah, blah. When in Newfoundland people come here to look at craggy cliffs, jagged coastlines, unique rock formations, crashing waves, sea stacks, beaches, caves, rock pillars, islands, historic sites, mountain peaks and wildlife like whales, bears, caribou, puffins or moose. Those are the areas of tourism we want to build on, protect and share with the world.
Gull Falls on Alexander Murray Trail
Take the small community of Rock Point for example. Their main trail is called the Alexander Murray Trail. It is an 8 kilometre loop trail exploring rivers, forests, wetlands and mountain tops. It is probably the most popular trail on the peninsula. Why? Because it is well maintained, it is dressed up real nice and it delivers prime-time scenery making for lasting good impressions.
The Alexander Murray Trail follows an endless series of boardwalk trail, stairs and dirt paths. The big challenge on this adventure are the hundreds of stairs, one after the other, climbing up a gorge leading to a mountain peak and 3 lookouts and 3 waterfalls. In total there are 2200 steps on this route… you go up slow and you come down fast.
Built around the trailhead are community buildings, a picnic site and a gift shop/info centre. I know it seems trivial but the grass was mowed, people were smiling and the litter non exsistent. You would be surprised.. or maybe not.. how many trails are in disarray across Canada and look very non inviting. But not this one, it was a class act in the middle of the wilderness.
The trailhead and picnic area are popular for community gatherings. One was being set up when I arrived. No party for this cat. I had work to do. The first section of trail follows a dirt path along a river bank. It wanders in and out of trees and over a few creek bridges before the forest gives way to an open field of wetland and grassland called the “moose barrens”. Watch for moose sightings… on my visit my moose radar was broken and no sightings were recorded. Hmmmm.
Hay Pook Lookout on Alexander Murray Trail
From the “moose barrens” the one way trail connects to the loop section of the trail. In the far off distance one can see the stairs going up and a mountain ridge high above. On top of the mountain ridge there is a waving flag and the main destination – the Hay Pook Lookouts.
From the “moose barrens” most hikers go left because they want to get the big stair climb out of the way so they can enjoy the rest of the hike with less leg work. Go right and there are smaller stair climbs but just allot more of them in a row. A left means quick access to the top and a right meant a slower, sometimes more painful, acess to the top. I took left being a quick and fast type of guy.
I realized long ago that with every good hike seeking a big prize there is always an effort involved. The stairs up to the summit… oh my… what to say. Good and bad… there were so many of them. They were relentless and gratifying at the same time. The stack of stairs climbed a barren mountain slope with little tree cover and lots of views. My pace quicken.
The mountain top was covered in low lying shrubs and a green blanket of moss. Every here and there a wildflower would be bobbing around in the wind doing some unatural dance. Huddled together in the corner were groups of drunken trees leaning over on their sides… permenantly hungover from drinking too much of nature’s liquor – wind.
Views from Hay Pook Lookout
From the top of the stairs the trail continues a slow climb following raised boardwalk and stairs over barren rock to 3 lookouts. The first one is more like a rest stop while the top two lookouts are the sightseeing prize on the hike called the Hay Pook Lookouts. Both cling to the mountain cliffs only a couple feet from the ridge. It is from here, I could see the valley, ocean, islands and the surrounding mountains smiling back at me.
From Hay Pook the route is all down hill back to the “moose barrens”. The hard part is over. The downward trail connects with 2 waterfalls. The best viewed and bigger falls is the Gull Brook Falls. There is a lookout overlooking the falls with a picnic table. From the “moose barrens”. you follow the trail back to the trailhead.
There are other trails in the region but this one caught our attention. Some of the other trails we explored in the region include the Harry’s Harbour Trail, Jackson’s Cove Trail and the Rattling Brook Falls Trail. We cannot spill all the beans so you will have to check them out when we launch the NewfoundlandEH.ca Travel Website in the near future.