ABOUT SIR RICHARD SQUIRES MEMORIAL PROVINCIAL PARK: We had never camped at this park before. Last time we were here they weren’t open during the time frame when we were close enough to check it out. Even though it’s fairly close to the city of Deer Lake, it is out in the wilderness and the roads can be really rough. Before staying at this Park, we needed to drive to the Park in the Honda to see if the road was acceptable for the RV. Although the road was definitely full of potholes, bumps, and some washboard pavement, we figured that if we went slow enough we probably wouldn’t break anything in the RV.
Squires was not originally part of our camping plans; we had reserved a week at La Scie, but as the date of our departure for La Scie neared, the weather took a turn for the worse. Snow, heavy rain, and very rough winds were forecast for our time there. We canceled La Scie and moved our dates for that Park to August. Squires was a perfect place for us to stay instead, followed by several nights at Sop’s Arm, another campground we’d wanted to try some time.
Sir Richard Squires Memorial Provincial Park was an excellent place to hunker down when the storm front moved in. The weather was much milder than La Scie was forecast to be, and it had just opened for the season. There were very few people camping here at this time. Because there were no crowds, we were able to nab site #101 which was large and overlooked Big Falls. There is a trail that runs along the cliff. During summer months, we are sure we’d have plenty of people walking in front of, and maybe through, this site. It was wonderful this time of year. We could easily see the Falls from the RV, and we could hear the roaring of the Falls 24/7. Very nice.
This campground is wooded with large Spruce and White Birch trees. “Big Falls Trail – A short walk from the day-use parking lot brings you to Big Falls, where in July & August, you can see Salmon try to jump up the salmon ladder to get to pools further upstream to spawn.” from Newfoundland/Labrador Traveller’s Guide 2023
There were 3 campground loops with 159 campsites. Our favorite sites were #101 and #112. Both of these sites were large & private and were situated so that we could park front-in, and #101 had the view of the Falls. Sites #63 and #36 were back-in sites but they were reasonably private and large enough for us. In some of the sites the ground was grassy or dirt – it rains a lot here and there’s the possibility of getting stuck in the mud. The four favorite campsites we chose had enough gravel on the site that mud would probably not be an issue. And some of the campsites would be too small or very tight for us, but many of the campsites were large enough and some do allow you to head in, especially in the Sites #82 to #159 loop. Do not go by the campground map; it’s not that accurate and you cannot discern enough about each site.
There are no hook-ups at Squires. There is a dump station. Drinking water is available at spigots throughout the Park. NOTE – the water spigots have signs to boil the water before using. (We came in with a full tank of potable water.) There is a comfort station, a firepit/BBQ at each campsite, a playground/play area, and a laundry room. For 4 nights, we paid $87.60 (Canadian currency).
Sir Richard Squires Memorial Provincial Park near Cormack, NL: Route 422, 40 km from Trans Canada Highway 1, beyond the town of Cormack; Phone in season (709) 636-1509; Phone off season (709) 637-2040; E-mail info@parksnl.ca; Website www.parksnl.ca.
- 2023 – 05/27-05/31