Newfoundland and Labrador is Canada’s easterly-most province and is so much fun for teenagers. Whether you love the indoors or the outdoors, whether you’re on the mainland in Newfoundland or travel to Labrador and have great experiences there too! Here are fifty suggestions for you and your teenager as you venture to the tip of eastern Canada.
- Are you or your teenager a fan of music, comedy and theatre? Attend the productions put on by the Spirit of Newfoundland — a theatre group based in Elliston. Specializing in musical theatre with the addition of comedy, a day spent inside laughing and enjoying great drama is a day well spent!
- Embrace the culture of Newfoundland and Labrador and take a simultaneous walk back in time by visiting Elliston’s root cellars. There are 135 cellars in total that were originally built in the 1850s — before pantries and fridges, and freezers, there were root cellars for vegetables. While short tours, a visit to any of these is taking a step back into the history of Newfoundland.
- Is your teenager interested in fisheries or conservation? Then pay a visit to the Atlantic Salmon Interpretive Centre! You get to migrate with the Atlantic Salmon up the Torrent River and explore some of the 8km of walking trails along the John Hogan River till you reach Torrent River Nature Park.
- Does your teenager enjoy fishing? Enjoy fishing for salmon? Pay a visit to the Humber River and fish for salmon! The Humber Valley is a beautiful spot, so you can appreciate the scenery while casting a line.
- Is your teenager up for a challenging hike, complete with gorgeous scenery? Then you’ll definitely want to check out the 5.3km Skerkwink Trail near Port Rexton on the eastern tip of Newfoundland. You get stunning views of Trinity Harbour all around the trail, as well as fantastic cliff faces and waterfalls. In terms of hiking trails in Newfoundland, the Skerkwink Trail is right up there among the best of them.
- If your teenager has an interest in wildlife photography, take a boat to the high seas with Gatherall’s Puffin and Whale Watching charters, experience the beauty of the animal kingdom up close, and hopefully get some fantastic photos too!
- Is your teenager interested in how life was before Resettlement in Newfoundland and how the original inhabitants of the area lived? Then pay a visit to Woody Island Resort, wherein the history of Newfoundland will come alive, and you get to experience what life was like up close by living it yourself! Take a tour of the island’s inlets or gently row in the harbour. There are plenty of hiking trails to keep you busy, as well as sandy beaches to relax on and birds to look out for.
- Part of Newfoundland’s history is mining. An opportunity to tour the mines on Bell Island will leave your teenager better informed and with a new appreciation for miners and the hard work they do.
- Yet more history of Newfoundland’s Aboriginal culture of the Beothuk is on display at the Demasduit Regional Museum. If your teenager is interested in the history of Newfoundland, then a visit to the museum is in order. Featuring many different types of exhibits, from clothing and pottery displays, to those that detail how the Beothuk lived, Demasduit is a must-visit for any budding historian.
- Visit the restored traditional village of Battle Harbour and stay a while! There are many different types of retreats in Newfoundland and Labrador — one of the most unique and beautiful can be found in Battle Harbour, Labrador. Walking trails, wildlife, boat charters and tours are available as well. A great way to spend a few days in the beauty of nature with your teenager.
- Located in the community of Trinity Bight, there is a restored 19th-century fishing village known as Random Passage. Originally created for a TV mini-series of the same name, the village remains standing today and in July and August, on Sunday Mornings, musicians and storytellers offer entertainment to visitors. Take your teen to a real-life TV set at Random Passage.
- Does your teenager have an interest in archaeology? Then a trip to the Colony of Avalon and experience its archaeological wonders. There are seven different dig sites to explore, each having previously turned up unique artifacts, including coins, pottery, gravestones and arrowheads — visit the dig of the 1621 English Colony settlement under the leadership of Sir George Calvert, who later became Lord Baltimore. You and your teenager can view archaeologists and the field crew as they uncover legacies of the past.
- Visit Red Bay National Historic Site and learn about Newfoundland’s history of producing whale oil. Dating back to the 16th century, Spanish and French whalers traveled to the shores of Newfoundland to hunt whales and used the oils harvested for heating lamps back in Europe. Red Bay is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Take your teenager to the easternmost point in North America — Cape Spear! Aside from it’s stunning sea vistas, the Cape is famous for the Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site. The Cape was also used as a defensive position during the Second World War and two gun batteries can be found there. A beautiful place with plenty of history, Cape Spear must be on your list of must-see attractions in Newfoundland.
- If you’ve got road bikes, then a tour of Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula can be on your itinerary by riding what is known as the Irish Loop. Touring the Irish Loop by bike is a fantastic way to explore the Avalon Peninsula and discover the history of the region and its original Irish inhabitants. Cycling is a fantastic way to explore Newfoundland and what better place to start with than the Avalon Peninsula, a great adventure for any active teenager!
- Got a teen with an interest in military history? Visit Signal Hill National Historic Site! Named due to its role during various conflicts as a fortification and signaling installation during the First and Second World Wars. Explore the Cabot Tower on the peak of Signal Hill and get a true appreciation for the vital role that Signal Hill played in Canada’s military history.
- Like Skiing? Newfoundland has you covered! Marble Mountain Ski Resort, located in Steady Brook is one of only two ski resorts in the province, the other being White Hills Resort on the opposite side of Newfoundland. It has 40 ski runs of varying difficulty, and is also home to Marble Zip — a zipline towering above the powdery snow. If your teen loves getting outdoors, then Marble Mountain is the place to go!
- Visit one of the closest points between North America and Europe — Grates Cove! Located right at the northern tip of the Avalon Peninsula, the community is most famous for the hundreds of rock walls that have been scattered throughout the area, formerly used to wall vegetable gardens and keep sheep inside fields, the walls have now been declared a National Historic Site and are very much reminiscent of similar walls found in the north of England and Scotland.
- Hike to the Summit of Gros Morne Mountain at Gros Morne National Park. This hike is a challenging eight kilometres of climbing and will keep your teenager both active and entertained with a gorgeous view the higher you get. Reaching the summit of Gros Morne will surely be a highlight of any summer for a teenager!
- Also available at Gros Morne National Park are several different boating tours, exploring the various inlets and fjords at the bottom of the glorious mountains. These tours will take you so close to some of North America’s highest waterfalls that you’ll feel the spray on your face! If, instead of getting a tour, you bring your own canoe or kayak, you can use these at Trout River Pond and Bonne Bay. If your teen would rather be on the water than up the mountain, check out the boating opportunities at Gros Morne!
- Newfoundland is famous for its Atlantic salmon. They even have a festival which celebrates it — along with some great music! Take your teenager to the Exploits Valley Salmon Festival and discover more about Newfoundland Atlantic salmon than you will probably ever need to know. Taste some delicious salmon yourselves and listen to some great Newfoundland-based musicians while you’re there. A great way to spend a weekend in June in Newfoundland.
- Does your teenager enjoy birding? Then visit Baccalieu Island Ecological Reserve and learn about (and hopefully photograph) eleven different species of birds, including the world’s largest population of northern Storm-Petrel and a whole host of other species.
- The Memorial University of Newfoundland maintains spectacular Botanical Gardens, with five different nature walks, a fully cultivated garden with many different flower species, these attract butterflies and bees as well. Take your teenager on a walk through a natural botanic paradise at MUN’s Botanical Gardens.
- Does your teenager fancy a Newfoundland road trip? Tour the Kittiwake Coast! On this route, you’ll be exploring many coastal areas and beaches and coves. Take a trip to Sandringham and fish for trout, explore the history of the region, and soak up the sun. All of this and more in a drive along the Kittiwake Coast.
- Does your teenager have an interest in the military history of Canada? Well, a visit to Newfoundland’s Castle Hill National Historic Site is in order. Castle Hill was once the place where French and British forces battled over the shores of Newfoundland and the fishing possibilities that lie beneath it’s waters. See a restored cannon and the old fortress walls, as they were centuries ago.
- Is your teenager interested in exploration? Perhaps a reader of Shackleton or Sir Edmund Hillary? Then you’ll want to pay a visit to Hawthorne Cottage National Historic Site. The site was originally the home of Canadian Arctic explorer Captain Bob Bartlett, a commander of over 20 Arctic voyages in the early and mid-20th century. See the house as it was then, with artifacts from his voyages and period furnishings. A must-see for any budding explorer visiting Newfoundland.
- Remember those text messages constantly buzzing on your teenager’s phone? Well, that has to go to space and back. Take your teenager back to a time when the only way to get a message from Europe to Canada was by ship. Learn about the incredible significance of the introduction of transatlantic cable made to nation-to-nation communications. Visit the Heart’s Content Cable Station National Historic Site.
- Take in the religious history of Newfoundland with a visit to the Anglican Cathedral of St. John The Baptist. Completed in 1847, this magnificent church is one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical Gothic architecture in North America. It has been restored once since the Great Fire of St. John’s in 1892. If your teenager has an interest in architecture, then a visit to this historic cathedral is a must.
- Does your teenager have an interest in the science of the ocean, climate change, and much more? Pay a visit to the National Research Council Institute for Ocean Technology and learn more about how our oceans are changing and what role technology will play in the future of oceanography. For a teen with any interest in the sciences of the deep, a visit to the NRC-IOT on the campus of Memorial University in St. John’s is well worth their time.
- Does your teen have an interest in folk music? Every year, St. John’s hosts an annual Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival! The musician card is filled with the top provincial artists performing their own work. For any folk music enthusiast, this festival has to be on your itinerary on a visit to Newfoundland.
- Visit L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site and go back to a time when Newfoundland and Labrador was the home of vikings and norsemen who traveled from Europe and landed on the shores of North America. You and your teen can discover the fascinating archaeological remains of those who came before, meet costumed interpreters and historical experts of the Viking landing in Canada and tour a recreated base camp. A fascinating experience for anyone with a love of history is found at L’Anse-aux-Meadows.
- Not far from L’Anse-aux-Meadows, there lies the village of Norstead. As an homage to the Viking settlers, this entire village has been created as a replica of a Viking-age port of trade. The site spans four hectares and is home to recreations of Viking sea vessels, including a 54-foot Viking knarr, which sailed from Greenland to Newfoundland in 1998, with a crew of only nine men. A chieftain’s hall, church and workshop can also be found on-site. Another opportunity to look into the past awaits.
- Got a snowmobile? Newfoundland and Labrador presents fantastic opportunities to use it! Aside from the myriad of trails, there is also one special endurance event held every year in Labrador — known as Cain’s Quest. The event staggered over a week in March, is a fantastic adventure for any snowmobiling duo and not one your teenager will soon forget. For those not wishing to race, browse the trails and have just as much fun without the pressure.
- Does your teenager have an interest in aviation? Pay a visit to the North Atlantic Aviation Museum in Gander, Newfoundland and take a look back through the history of Canadian aviation. The exhibits on display cover sixty-six years of innovation and engineering from 1935-2001. In addition, you’ll learn about Gander’s role as a strategic base for allied forces during the Second World War and Gander’s role in the crucial days following 9/11. A wealth of aviation history is on display, and any teen with an interest in the field is sure to relish a day well spent.
- Does your teenager have an interest in military history? Pay a visit to Botwood Heritage Park and Museum and discover the military history of the coasts of Labrador. At one time, Botwood was an anti-submarine base during the Second World War, learn about the history of the time period, as well as other avionics history from 1919-1945, there is also an homage to the original inhabitants of the area.
- Escape the hustle and bustle of St. John’s and pay a visit to Quidi Vidi Village. The village provides ample opportunity for relaxation in a cute little setting of cobblestone and brightly coloured houses. The town is also something of an artisan/artist’s playground, with the locals showcasing their artistry and craft, displaying a variety of creations. Touring Quidi Vidi is a great way to spend the day.
- A somber moment of reflection await you and your teen at the Sealers Memorial Statue in Elliston. Located on the edge of the sea in Elliston, the statue commemorates sealer Rueben Crewe and his son, Albert John Crewe, who were among 249 other souls lost aboard the SS Newfoundland who perished in the waters of the bay in 1914. For any visitor to the area, the Sealers Memorial is a must-see for moment of reflection.
- Another sombre moment of reflection for you and your teenager will come at the Commonwealth War Graves in Gander. Commemorating the dead of the Second World War are the graves of over 100 airmen who crashed in the seas and coastline around Gander, NL. Connect with the sombre history of Gander and the lives of those who gave it all. Another memorial you and your teenager might wish to check out is the Silent Witness Memorial in Gander. This time, the statues memorialize the deaths of 256 US military personnel returning from operations in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, to their base in Kentucky. The aircraft went down over Gander Lake with the loss of all souls. The memorial is comprised of one soldier holding the hands of two children, both holding olive branches — symbolizing the peacekeeping missions of the soldiers who died.
- Experience the life of a lightkeeper of the late 19th century at Cape Bonavista Lighthouse National Historic Site. The lighthouse is one of the few remaining lighthouses on earth that gives you that authentic 19th century feel, and your teenager is still able to climb the stone tower and experience the life of a lightkeeper in that era. A 24/7 job of polishing the glass oil lamps, filling them, recording the weather and doing a spot of bird-watching in the rare ‘breaks’. Puffins and whales are sometimes visible. A trip back in time awaits you at Cape Bonavista Lighthouse.
- Visit Newfoundland’s largest cultural space — The Rooms! The Rooms unite the Provincial Archives and Provincial Gallery under one roof spanning several stories. All of which showcase a different part of Newfoundland and Labrador, whether it’s the history, culture, or artistry of the province. The Rooms in and of itself used to be Fort Townshend, a star-shaped citadel, one of the largest British fortifications in North America at the time. Now, it’s where Newfoundland and Labrador — in all of its glory — is preserved for the world to see.
- Stay on Fogo Island and hike the Brimstone Head Trail! A challenging hike over a gorgeous landscape will complete any stay on Fogo Island. Brimstone Head is a fantastic place for a sunset hike with your teenager.
- Experience the vibrant festival scene of Newfoundland and Labrador, filled with celebration and unique experiences.
- Visit the historic Channel Port-aux-Basques, just off the coast of Newfoundland. The small fishing community has been that way since the 1500s, when it welcomed French Basque fishermen to the area. It would be 200 more years until the town became a permanent settlement of British fishermen on the island. Over the years, rights to fish in the waters around Port-aux-Basques have changed a few times, from British Admiralty to French influence in the 18th century and finally Americans were granted rights to fish in the coastal waters in 1818 by the British. You can visit all of that history and this vibrant and welcoming, warm and friendly community known as the hub of southwestern Newfoundland.
- Does your teenager have a thirst for some underground adventures? Then pay a visit to Corner Brook and go on a caving tour! Corner Brook is home to some incredible cave systems and you get to explore some of them with this unique and at-times tight experience. A thrill for any adrenaline and adventure-seeking teen.
- Hike the Steady Brook Falls Trail. A gorgeous few kilometres of hiking await you at Steady Brook Falls, a decent amount of elevation gain from the parking lot below, but with serene views and good steps (so that you’re not clambering up rocks) provides for a great hike. There’s a swimming hole atop the falls, so bring swimming trunks!
- Located in Goulds, is North Atlantic Ziplines — one of Newfoundland’s most exciting ziplining experiences! Is your teenager ready for an exhilarating rush as they soar through the air along the coastline of Newfoundland? Set against a fantastic backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ziplines provides gorgeous views of the ocean and fishing villages below, with lines ranging from 300 feet to 2,200 feet in length — making it Canada’s longest zipline! Take your teenager to North Atlantic Ziplines for the adrenaline-inducing ride of a lifetime.
- Tee off with your teenager at the Humber Valley Resort Golf Course. All eighteen holes are available during the season for Regular Play, with stunning views of the Humber River acting as a distraction from the golfing, such is the beauty of the area. If your teen is a keen golfer, then a visit to one of the Newfoundland’s premiere courses is in order.
- Take your teenager to see the icebergs in “Iceberg Alley”, stretching from the coast of Labrador to the southwest coast of Newfoundland, Iceberg Alley is always a hit among visitors of all ages, probably because it’s one of the only times one gets to see an iceberg in real-life. These awe-inspiring behemoths of the world are constantly floating off the coast and have created a touring industry, as many touring vessels of the Newfoundland coastal area in “Iceberg Alley” also offers tours. So whether you’re seeing them from the land or on a boat, the majesty of the natural world isn’t something you’ll soon forget.
- If you and your teenager are looking for a challenge this Summer — hike the entirety of the East Coast Trail. This 540km trail is Newfoundland’s longest and most challenging trail to hike, it loops around the northwestern part of the Newfoundland and then comes down the coast, allowing you to take in the natural beauty of the coastline and the many communities that dot it. This awesome hike is not to be missed! Of course, one can also hike sections of the trail, which are just as rewarding.
- Embrace the allure of camping with an added touch of luxury by embarking on a glamping trip in Newfoundland. This experience allows you to unwind under the starry sky with all the comforts intact. Accommodations may range from yurts and walled tents to cozy cabins or personal tents, making it a perfect adventurous outing for your teen.
Regardless of what you’re looking for in Newfoundland and Labrador, indoor activities, history, arts, culture, outdoor activities — winter or summer, spring or fall — the province has so much to offer any young visitor.
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