Parking
Use the Western Brook Pond trail parking area on Route 430, about 27 km north of Rocky Harbour.
Overview
About Western Brook Pond Trail
Why go
- Easy gravel walk reaches the pond shore without a boat trip.
- Cliff and Long Range Mountain views at the dock.
- Optional 1.8 km bank loop.
Heads up
- The main route follows the same path back.
- The famous inner-fjord waterfalls require the separate boat tour.
At the end, the trail reaches a boat dock beside Western Brook Pond. Across the water, steep cliffs rise into the Long Range Mountains. It's an unusually accessible look at a glacier-carved, landlocked fjord; the cliffs are about a billion years old. The walk to the water is worthwhile on its own, but the boat tour is a separate paid trip farther into the fjord, where waterfalls spill from ponds on the plateau. Those falls are a boat-trip highlight rather than a promise of the shore walk.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe payoff at the shoreMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Gros Morne map
Full mapElevation15–37 m
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 Western Brook Pond 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
Western Brook Pond and the Fjord0:00 / 0:38
“You're coming up on the Western Brook Pond trailhead. Reaching the water takes a roughly six-kilometre return walk on a mostly level gravel path through bog and forest, so this isn't a quick roadside view.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Gros Morne Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Bog’s Insect Hunters
- Why the Fjord Is Fresh
- How Moose Made Meadows
- Western Brook Beach
- 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 Western Brook Pond Trail
An easy walk to the fjordWestern Brook Pond Trail is a 6 km return out-and-back from its Route 430 parking area to the…
Western Brook Pond Trail is a 6 km return out-and-back from its Route 430 parking area to the pond's boat dock. The route crosses coastal bogs and forested ridges on a developed gravel track, finishing at the water beneath the Long Range Mountains. This is the easy way to get a fjord shore into your day, not a mountain climb: the listed elevation gain is just 42 m. Allow one to two hours for the walk itself, then give yourself time at the dock. You can make the walk without taking the boat tour.
Bogs and forested ridgesThe route begins in low coastal terrain and follows a broad gravel track toward the pond.
The route begins in low coastal terrain and follows a broad gravel track toward the pond. It passes bogs and wooded ridges; some wooden boardwalk carries walkers across wetter ground. The surface is straightforward, and the grade stays gentle. There is no steep ascent or scramble to budget for. Interpretive signs along the way explain some of the area's natural features, so this works better as a slow look around than as a fast march to a boat departure.
Most of your effort is spent covering the distance, not climbing; the shore is the payoff. If you want a challenging hike, choose another trail; if you want the fjord landscape without climbing a mountain, this walk earns its time. The optional bank loop adds a little variety, but it is separate from the main dock walk.
Make it workUse the Western Brook Pond trail parking area on Route 430, about 27 km north of Rocky Harbour.
Use the Western Brook Pond trail parking area on Route 430, about 27 km north of Rocky Harbour. The main route is out and back. A separate 1.8 km side loop reaches the banks of Western Brook and also leads to the start of the Snug Harbour route, a backcountry hike with a different level of commitment. Don't fold that route into the dock walk's mileage.
The dock area has a sheltered waiting space, indoor washrooms, canteen services, a gift shop and picnic areas; these are at the far end, not along the trail. If you're combining the walk with the cruise, allow roughly two more hours at the dock. Boat trips generally run from mid-May to mid-October, weather permitting. Dogs can walk the trail on leash, but can't board the boat.
The payoff at the shoreFor a photo, include the rocky edge or shallow water in front of the cliffs; the foreground…
For a photo, include the rocky edge or shallow water in front of the cliffs; the foreground makes the scale easier to read. Take a moment at the shore before heading back, whether or not you join a cruise.
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.
