Parking
Start at Shallow Bay day-use area, about 3 km north of Cow Head. Trailhead parking capacity and fees were not found.
Overview
About Old Mail Road Trail
Why go
- Easy return walk with only 5 m of reported elevation gain
- The old dogsled mail route gives the walk a specific local story
Heads up
- The beach return is a separate, longer variant with no published distance
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Gros Morne alerts
- ClosureGreen Gardens and Wallace Brook trail sections closedDo not enter the closed sections of the Green Gardens and Wallace Brook trails.Official details
- CautionStuckless Pond Trail bridge outDo not use the Stuckless Pond Trail at the stream crossing. - The bridge is out, and Parks Canada says trail use is not recommended at this time because of high water levels at the stream crossing.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Gros Morne Tour Guide
Your drive to Old Mail Road Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Gros Morne National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Shallow Bay Beach0:00 / 0:36
“Up ahead is Shallow Bay Beach, five kilometres of pale sand with shallow water sheltered by low rocky islands.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Gros Morne Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Shallow Bay Campground
- The Nurse Behind the Theatre
- Three Keepers at Cow Head
- Cow Head’s Walrus Clue
- 87 audio storiesacross Gros Morne’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Moose, Caribou, Black Bear, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 25 trails, 58 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Old Mail Road Trail
A short piece of the old routeOld Mail Road Trail is an easy 2 km return (about 1.
Old Mail Road Trail is an easy 2 km return (about 1.2 miles) from Shallow Bay day-use area north to Slants River. It runs through sheltered forest and sand dunes along the campground edge, on the remnant winter mail road. Allow about an hour; the official elevation gain is just 5 m.
Follow the mail roadThe route is a simple out-and-back: walk north from the day-use area to Slants River, then…
The route is a simple out-and-back: walk north from the day-use area to Slants River, then retrace the same path. It formed part of the only overland route up the Northern Peninsula, and mail carriers travelled it by dogsled each winter from 1882 to 1952. At either end, boardwalks cross the dunes to the beach, where you can make a shore return instead. That optional variant has no published distance; the stored length covers the named Old Mail Road return.
Access and facilitiesStart at Shallow Bay day-use area, about 3 km north of Cow Head.
Start at Shallow Bay day-use area, about 3 km north of Cow Head. The day-use area has beach access, a playground, flush toilets and changing rooms. Pets must remain on leash; the path is shared with cyclists, who are asked to ride in control and yield. Trailhead parking capacity, parking fees and food service could not be confirmed.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Gros Morne
252 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
120 sightingsCaribouMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
22 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
61 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
11 sightingsCommon Minke WhaleMost seen around noonSighting map
70 sightingsHarbor SealMost seen around noonSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Gros Morne. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
