A Boat Ride on Western Brook Pond in Newfoundland
If you’re in western Newfoundland, then the one must-do trip is a boat ride on Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park.
John and I had to do the boat ride out of necessity – as the boat dropped us off at the start of our four day Long Range Traverse – a backpacking trip. But this is one boat ride you’re going to want to do for pleasure.
Getting to the boat tour on Western Brook Pond
To even get to the start of the boat ride, you must walk in three kilometres along a flat, easy path that is part dirt, part boardwalk. Allow about 45 minutes to an hour to do this.
When you arrive at Western Brook Pond, there’s a sheltered waiting area where you can purchase gifts and food. There are also scattered chairs and picnic tables so even if you aren’t doing the boat tour, the hike in and out is extremely worthwhile.
Follow the trail to reach the start of the boat tour
You need to make a reservation with Bon Tours – either online or by calling 1-888-458-2016 0r 1-709-458-2016. The actual tour is two hours in length. It takes you to the far end of Western Brook Pond and back – with stops along the way to learn about the area – and to take photos.
Cliffs tower above you for much of the ride – reaching over 700 metres above the lake. They are an awe-inspiring sight in themselves.
Here’s a look at what you’ll see on the Western Brook Pond boat tour.
Parks Canada red chairs looking out over the “pond”
Western Brook Pond has some interesting features
- The “Pond” is 16 kilometres long and 165 metres deep.
- The only outlet of the lake is Western Brook – so it takes about 15 years for the water to completely change over.
- Western Brook Pond is home to some of the world’s purest water.
- More than 20 streams empty into Western Brook Pond; many of them are seasonal.
- The pH of the pond is close to neutral – mainly because the largest feeder stream is buffered by limestone.
- It’s considered to be one of the last wild, oligotrophic lakes in the world. I had to look that up and what it means is
“(of a lake) characterized by a low accumulation of dissolved nutrient salts, supporting but a sparse growth of algae and other organisms,and having a high oxygen content owing to the low organic content.”
We’re the first boat tour of the day so it’s quiet
Stunning cliffs surround much of Western Brook Pond
It’s just as pretty looking back as it is looking forward
Boat ride on Western Brook Pond when the water is calm
One of the huge waterfalls you see near the far end of Western Brook Pond
The view down the ” Pond”
Although most tours are two hours in length, we took just 25 minutes to whip down the lake as we were more shuttle than tour.
Alone at the end – and getting ready to start the Long Range Traverse
It feels very quiet when the boat pulls away
Boat tours run from July until September 2nd. They are weather dependent and require 15 people to run. Its $56/adult, $26/youth and $20 for children. Should you be doing the Long Range Traverse, it’s $23.50 one way and/or a minimum of $195. It’s a different high-speed boat than is used for regular tourists.
Further reading on Newfoundland
- Kayaking in Iceberg Alley, Twillingate, Newfoundland
- What to do on a Trip to Fogo Island, Newfoundland
- Hiking the Skerwink Trail near Trinity, Newfoundland
Click on the photo to bookmark to your Pinterest boards.
Thank you to Go Western Newfoundland for covering my one way trip. All thoughts are mine – and this is truly an exceptional boat ride, especially on a blue sky day.
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What a gorgeous day you had for that boat ride. The cliffs with the blue sky are out of this world gorgeous. Let’s hope they work on keeping the lake pristine.
@Nancie The boat tours only operate for two months which puts less stress on the lake.
@Lilea It’s an exceptional part of the world.
My gosh what a beautiful place. My thoughts: Unspoilt, pristine, clean, towering, colourful – indeed saturated with colour, and somewhere I’d love to visit one day. The boat ride looked glorious too.
@Johanna I do think you would enjoy this part of the world. It’s a UNESCO site and very interesting to see plus everyone is super friendly
Spectacular! The colors are so intense! I am so glad you share info about destinations I most likely will never see in person. I loved this!
@Suzanne Thanks for your enthusiastic comment. It’s too bad you don’t think you’ll make it to Gros Morne National Park. It’s one of Canada’s jewels.
Hey man, all the shots are fab. Keep clicking and sharing these
beautiful moments with full of adventure.
@Jennifer Thanks for your great comment.
Beautiful photos, Leigh – exactly what I picture when I think of Gros Morne National Park!
@Lisa Hope you get the chance to go; it’s a great place for families.
Hmm, I could have sworn I responded to this already! I would love to take the boat ride and even more so be the boat driver for a job! Maybe you guys went on similar trip that had boat trip like this that I was thinking of. Gorgeous regardless, Leigh! 🙂
@Mike I had a few pictures of the boat ride in a previous post that included the first day of the hike on the Long Range Traverse. Great memory Mike. It is a magnificent boat ride that most people do as a tour and not as a shuttle.
Hi,
So did you rent the boat for $56/person and hike it yourselves?
I see on Bon Tours that the guided tour is like $250 a person so we are thinking of just doing it ourselves?
@Meghan We organized a boat ride that drops off hikers only so it takes you right to the end of the “pond” with no sightseeing stops along the way. Then we did the full Long Range Traverse by ourselves – and took the required navigation test. That price for a guided hike sounds about right. It’s not hard to follow the trail to get the awesome view of the fjord but after that it gets tricky.