Town of St. Paul's, Newfoundland & Labrador

About

Welcome.

St. Paul's is a fishing town of about 225 people on the west coast of Newfoundland, about halfway up the Northern Peninsula. We sit on the shore of St. Paul's Inlet, where the Atlantic meets a wide saltmarsh at Tickle Point, and the Long Range Mountains rise behind us.

The town grew up around the fishery — cod, salmon, herring, and especially lobster, which has been harvested here since 1887 and remains the base of the local economy. Today, residents continue to live in close connection with the land and sea, and welcome visitors travelling the Viking Trail to the north.

Things to See

The places that make St. Paul's.

Seven places worth slowing down for — the landmarks residents point to when you ask what to see.

St. Paul's Inlet

Brackish tidal basin · 14 km long

A wide tidal inlet that opens to the Atlantic at Tickle Point. At low tide, eelgrass — locally called goosegrass — shows through the shallows. Harbour seals haul out on the rocks.

View of the St. Paul's saltmarsh framed by the lookout pavilion

The view · Tickle Point

Tickle Point & the Saltmarsh

One of the most interesting habitats in Gros Morne

The saltmarsh at the inlet's mouth is considered one of the most productive habitats on the west coast — a resting stop for migrating birds, a nursery for fish, and a working landscape for clam diggers and duck hunters alike.

The Bridge

Steel truss · Completed 1962

The current bridge replaced an earlier one carried away by ice in 1911. Completing it linked the Northern Peninsula all the way to St. Anthony. At sunset, its reflection in the inlet is the town's most photographed view.

Tickle Point · Summer evening

Old House Rocks

The heart of the local fishery

Old House Rocks is where the fishermen keep their summer cabins, wharves, and boats — weathered wood buildings where generations of shore crews have worked the catch. You can often see boats moored here in the early morning before they head out to set lobster traps.

The Long Range

Ancient Appalachian backdrop

The Long Range Mountains form the eastern horizon of the town — the northernmost reach of the Appalachian range. Their silhouette is a constant presence, different in every season and every weather.

Birds & the Inlet Walking Trail

Arctic Tern · Willet · Heron · Harbour Seal

Over a thousand nesting pairs of Arctic Terns use the inlet in summer. Willets — a sandpiper whose global population is under 750 pairs — breed in the saltmarsh. A short walking trail along the inlet is the best place to see them.

The beach at Western Brook

Western Brook

Day use · Beach · Hiking · Picnic

Just down the road, Western Brook is where locals go for the long sand beach and the walking trail along the brook. It's a classic day-use spot — easy to find, easy to love.

History

A hundred & fifty years.

Evidence of human presence here reaches back 5,500 years — Maritime Archaic, Dorset, and Recent Indian peoples all lived on these shores before the first European settler arrived in the 1870s.

1874

Elias Gifford, a fur trapper, becomes the first European settler recorded on the census. He processes 6,300 lbs of cod in his first season.

1887

The first lobster factory opens, run by Nova Scotia firm Payzant & Frazer. Within a generation it grows to one of the most successful canneries on the coast.

1911

The first bridge across the inlet is built — and is carried away by ice the following spring.

1949

Newfoundland joins Canada. The road system begins to reach the Northern Peninsula.

1962

The present steel truss bridge is completed, finally linking Deer Lake to St. Anthony through St. Paul's.

1968

St. Paul's is incorporated as a town. Council is elected; civic life begins in earnest.

1973

Gros Morne National Park is created around us — St. Paul's becomes an enclave within a protected landscape.

1992

The cod and salmon moratoria end the commercial fisheries that built the west coast. Lobster endures.

"The saltmarsh in St. Paul's is considered one of the most unusual and fascinating habitats in the Gros Morne area."

Community-University Research for Recovery Alliance

Visiting

A great stop on the Viking Trail.

St. Paul's sits on Route 430 — the Viking Trail — about two hours north of Deer Lake and six hours south of St. Anthony. Most visitors stop for a meal, a walk along the inlet, or to look for Arctic Terns in the saltmarsh. A few stay longer.

The town has everything you'll need — convenience stores, a gas station, accommodations along the highway, an 18-hole golf course, and plenty of opportunities for wild camping in the heart of Gros Morne.

The inlet is at its best in late spring and early summer — when the terns return, the bog is in flower, and the lobster boats are working the bay.

The lookout pavilion on the shore of St. Paul's Inlet

The view from here

What to know before you come

Peak seasonLate May – September

HighwayRoute 430 — Viking Trail

From Deer Lake~2 hrs north

Cell serviceFull coverage in town

What to findSpectacular views & hidden gems

Getting Here

The Viking Trail runs through town.

St. Paul's is the midpoint between Deer Lake — the regional airport — and St. Anthony at the tip of the peninsula. The drive north from Deer Lake follows the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast and climbs into Gros Morne. You will know you have arrived when you drive into town and see the bridge at the north end, silhouetted against the Long Range Mountains.

From Deer Lake

Route 430 · North

105 km

From St. Anthony

Route 430 · South

310 km

From Corner Brook

Route 1 & 430

158 km

Route 430 · Viking Trail

Drive in at golden hour.

St. Paul's, NL

A small town on a big inlet.