Road Trip: Eastport Peninsula

Published on by J. Kelland Perry

Earlier this fall, Paul and I visited the Eastport Peninsula in the central part of Bonavista Bay. With an economy that traditionally focused on its rich natural resources, it has become one of Newfoundland’s most popular tourist destinations. The peninsula is home to sandy beaches, motels, cottages, campgrounds, bed & breakfasts and inns, and is part of The Road to The Beaches tourism region.

Eastport Peninsula - photo credit: tango7174
Eastport Peninsula – photo credit: tango7174
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Salvage Bay – photo credit: tango7174

This pretty peninsula extends from Terra Nova National Park and follows the coastline along Newman Sound to the south, around the community of Salvage, around Salvage Bay to the east and then following Damnable Bay, Morris Channel, Fair and False Bay, Bloody Reach and Northeast Arm on the north.

Don’t you love the funny place names?

After Paul finished his work in Eastport and before we retreated to our cabin for the night, we took a drive out to the farthest point of the peninsula. This drive brought us through Salvage, population 174. Most of the residents there are retirees.

Canadian radio host Michael Enright calls the 9 kilometre walk from Salvage to Eastport “the most beautiful in the world.” Even though it was on the damp side during our visit, I could certainly see why he calls it that. With its peaceful winding road lined with trees, foliage and gorgeous, tidy properties, I could also see why someone would choose to spend their retirement years there.

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IMG_1671Of course being a fan of all things feathery,
I had to stop to get up close and personal with the lovely ducks in the area.
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I told Paul – and the ducks – that I would love to return to the Park next summer. A longer stay in this area of the island is a highly anticipated holiday for me when the weather warms up again.

32 thoughts on “Road Trip: Eastport Peninsula”

  3. Such a beautiful area. So green and with the rocky coastline and houses far out on the rocks. I love it! also – I really wonder how those places got their names? Like Fair and False Bay for example? 🙂

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    1. There are a multitude of such areas here in Newfoundland, where houses cling to rocky coastlines. Ours included! 🙂
      Another commenter may have the answer to your question, in that some of the names may have materialized depending on the frame of mind of the founder and how homesick he was. haha… Damnable, Bloody, Fair, etc.

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  4. Love! I live in Happy Adventure – also on the Eastport Peninsula….supposedly named after the pirate Peter Easton’s ship.
    We have SeaFest during early August (on Eastport Beach), and a Pirate Day in Happy Adventure later on in August. There’s almost always something on the go in this area!

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  5. Lovely. there’s a great writer’s event in Eastport too. I haven’t attended but it’s well established. Winterset in Summer is the name and you can follow the page for when the guests are announced. Diane

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