Return to alavigne.net home
Overland to the Rock
Table of Contents
[page 1] [page 2]
[Next Page >]
In-Depth: Crow Head Hike
An in-depth account of our Crow Head dayhike (near Twillingate)
Note: This page describes, in detail (and with lots of extra pictures), our dayhike on the Crow Head trail network near Twillingate, Newfoundland. This dayhike was part of our 2-week "overland to the rock" Newfoundland Trip. If you came to this page looking for the general narrative for that trip, then you have come to the wrong place. You should go here instead.

The Twillingate area is famous for its Icebergs, whales, and fishing culture. It is also becoming known for excellent coastal hiking trails on nearby peninsulas and promontories of land. When we visited Twillingate on our road trip, we did a quick section of some of these sorts of trails on Crow Head - a peninsula of land just north of Twillingate.

There are several access points to the Crow Head trail network; we chose the closest one to Twillingate, which is about 3 to 4km north of the town of Twillingate along highway 340 (more specifically, it is on a side road called 'Drongs Hill' - see the map pane associated with the trail sign picture). We planned to do a circuit along the coastal sections of trail, going counter-clockwise.
courtesy JInnes
Crow Head Trail System
Crow Head Hike Start
New Forest Trail
The first section of trail climbs up through forest to a local highpoint. It soon reaches a junction with a trail leading in from the western side of Crow Head. We kept right, aiming for the coast somewhere around Horney Head Cove.

The trail had clearly been recently blazed and routed in this section: the ground was unmolested soft forest turf, the trees were freshly cut, and there were bright temporary blazes tied around many trees.
Thick Blazing
Nearing coast
Descending to HH Cove
Soon the coast was in sight, and we started a steep descent down to a point on the cliffs above Horney Head Cove. An unexpected beam of sunlight illuminated the cove for us, revealing all sorts of aqua-themed colors in the waters of the rocky cove.
Cliffs of Cuckold Point
Sunlit cove
Ups and downs
We continued along the trail at breakneck pace, puffing a little at the continual steep ups-and-downs of the trail. There is no great elevation gain or loss along these trails, just lots of short ups and downs.
Towards Horney Head
Jenn and North Atlantic
Side trail and Twillingate Harbour
As we continued north towards the exposed headlands, the scrubby short forest gave way to open barrens, and we had views in all directions. We could now see back into Twillingate Harbour and the town of Twillingate, and across to the many islands to the east of us, and to the open ocean to the north. Unfortunately, no icebergs to be seen.
Twillingate Harbour
Towards Long Point
Horney Head
courtesy JInnes
Andrew at Horney Head
Across broken coastline
Distant Twillingate
At Horney head, the trail turns west, following the northern edge of Crow Head. We reached another local highpoint, this one totally open, where we could see the Long Point Lighthouse in the distance. The trail then descended (briefly back into a patch of trees at its low point), then steeply back up to the base of the lighthouse.
Long Point Lighthouse
Devils Cove
Another steep little climb
Rugged coast near Long Point
Long Point Lighthouse
Long Point Lighthouse
We crossed the Lighthouse's parking lot and started down the western side of Crow Head. The trails are a bit less rugged and a bit more developed on this side of the Head, but no less beautiful. We walked up towards the rugged tip of Long Point, then back along a very scenic section of trail that wound above western-facing cliffs, towards Sleepy Cove.
View from Devils Cove Head
Jenn at Devils Cove Head
Derelict Dishes
[page 1] [page 2]
[Next Page >]

[ Return to "Overland to the Rock" Home page | Introduction | French Connection | Transition to the North | Manicouagan & Monts Groulx | Mt Provencher & 389 North | Entering Labrador | Churchill Falls | The Trans-Labrador | Southern Labrador Coast | Northern Peninsula & St. Anthony | L'Anse aux Meadows | Norstead | Limestone Barrens and Wreck | Arches Provincial Park | Green Gardens Backpack Day 1 | Green Gardens Backpack Day 2 | Green Point | Western Brook Pond Backpack Day 1 | Western Brook Pond Backpack Day 2 | Twillingate/Crow Head Hike | Awk Island Winery | Heart's Content Cable Station | City of St. John's | Cape Spear | Ferry to Nova Scotia | Cape Breton to Bathurst | Bathurst, NB | In-depth: Provencher Climb | In-depth: Churchill Falls Hike | In-depth: Birchy Nuddick Hike | In-depth: Green Gardens Backpack | In-depth: Western Brook Pond Backpack | In-depth: Crow Head Hike, Twillingate | Where we drove | In-depth: Quebec Highway 389 | In-depth: The Trans-Labrador Highway | Video Clip Index | GPS Data ]

Send feedback or leave comments (note: comments in message board below are separate from those in above message board)
send feedback | homemade custom message board
(24 messages)
(last message posted on Sun. Sep. 07, 21:00 EDT 2014 by Andrew)
Web Page & Design Copyright 2001-2024 by Andrew Lavigne. (Privacy Policy)