ABOUT TERRA NOVA NATIONAL PARK: The Park is located in eastern Newfoundland, approximately 200 km west of St. John’s and 60 km east of Gander. Terra Nova National Park is accessible by motor vehicles along Trans-Canada Highway 1. From eastern or western Newfoundland, you will enter the Park’s east or west gate respectively along the Trans-Canada Highway. The highway runs through the park for approximately 40 km, with signage indicating campgrounds, trail heads, roadside pull-offs, day-use areas and the Visitor Centre located at Salton’s Brook. To stop anywhere within the Park, a National Park Discovery Pass is required for each person using the Park’s facilities. The passes can be purchased at the Visitor’s Centre and at any campground. There are daily passes and seasonal passes. We purchased the seasonal passes which are good for one year from date of purchase for all National Parks and many historical places within all provinces in Canada. There is a discount for people over 65 years old.
There are three organized campgrounds within Terra Nova National Park: Malady Head, Newman Sound, and Southwest Arm. (There are also back-country campsites accessible only by boat.)
Malady Head & Newman Sound Campgrounds both have campsites that you can drive into to pitch a tent or camp in a vehicle or RV. Southwest Arm Campground is for back-country tent camping; no services are available and you must hike in to your remote campsite.
Malady Head Campground: Open from June 12 to September 22 in 2019 and from June 23 to September 17 in 2023. It’s considered to be more rustic camping without lots of amenities, and it is smaller and not as crowded. There are 92 reservable & unserviced campsites. In addition, there are 10 oTENTik units and 3 Oasis units. There is a dump station and a water fill-up station. Each campsite has a fire pit/BBQ. There is a play area & playground. No generators are allowed. Our favorite campsites at Malady Head are #14, 15, 35, 36, 37, 39, 51, and 61 – with #37 and #61 being the best for us. Malady Head Campground is situated 15 km west of Newman Sound on Route 310, Eastport Peninsula, or off TCH-1 soon after entering the National Park.
Newman Sound Campground: Open from May 15 to October 14 (2019) and from May 19 to October 9 (2023). This is a very large campground with 299 campsites within 13 loops, lettered A thru M. Loop A – 74 camping sites with electrical hook-ups, a playground/play area, and some of the campsites have a partial water view. Loop B – 37 camping sites, 5 oTENTik units, and 1 Oasis unit; includes electric hook-ups, and some of the campsites have a partial water view. Loop C – 15 unserviced campsites, 10 oTENTik units & 1 Oasis unit. Loop D – 20 unserviced campsites; no generators allowed. Loop E – 9 unserviced, extended generator usage campsites; there is a playground/play area. Loop F – 9 unserviced, extended generator usage campsites. Loop G – 12 unserviced, extended generator usage campsites. Loop H – 5 oTENTik units. Loop I – 28 camping sites with electric hook-ups. Loop J – 21 long-term campsites (stays over 2 weeks). Loop K – 11 campsites offering electric, water & sewer hook-ups. NOTE: There is a playground/play area located between Loops K & L. Loop L – 12 campsites offering electric, water & sewer hook-ups. Loop M – 17 long-term campsites (stays over 2 weeks). Amenities include a water station, water spigots throughout the Park, a dump station, parking, a wi-fi hotspot, laundry facilities, telephone, garbage/recycling receptacles, restrooms, showers, kitchen shelters, dish-washing stations, fire hose stations, playground/play areas, picnic tables, campfire areas, hiking, biking, kayaking & canoeing, firewood, convenience store, snack bar, and interpretive programs. A boat cruise and guided kayaking tours are offered. Quiet hours are midnight to 7 a.m. Newman Sound Campground is situated 2 km from the Trans-Canada Highway, 10 km from the western park entrance, and 30 km from the eastern park entrance.
Our favorite campsites in the National Park are in the Newman Sound Campground. All are located in Loops A & B and include electric hook-ups. #80 is the best for us, very private, followed by, in no particular order, #116, 112, 104, 36, 34, and 28. We paid $88.25 for three nights. Check-in time was after 2 p.m. They let us in earlier because no one was at our reserved campsite. Check-out time was before 11 a.m. We had a very good internet connection here in 2023.
Terra Nova National Park: There is no street address. The National Park is off Trans Canada Highway 1near Traytown and Glovertown, NL I0G 4K0. The phone number is (709) 533-2801. The website address is https://pc.gc.ca/terranova. The e-mail address is pc.infopnterra-nova-terranovanpinfo.pc@canada.ca.
- 2019 – 06/08-06/09
- 2023 – 06/22-06/25