ABOUT SOP’S ARM PARK: We had never camped here before although in 2019, we saw the Park and thought we should consider staying here if we came back to Newfoundland again. The campground officially opened this year on June 1. When we called to check their opening date, we asked if we could come in a day early. They told us there would be no services available, but that we could come on in. Two gates were closed upon arrival and the “closed” sign was up, but they’d left one gate open for us. There was no one at the office, so we just drove thru and picked a site, #19, which was large and it allowed us to come in frontwards.
There are 25 camping sites located in a forested area. The campground has no hook-ups and no dump station, but they offer drinking water during season. Most of the campsites would fit our RV and tow car and several were quite large. We could come in frontwards in plenty of sites. It is a small campground and it was clean and nicely maintained. We would camp here again. Our favorite campsites were #s 2, 6, 11, 13, 15, and 19, with the best waterview sites being #11 and #13. Site #19 was closest to the road and had some truck noise. Camping season begins in early June and runs through the month of August. The campground hosts live in the office building during camping season. We paid $71 cash (Canadian currency) for 3 nights. (The host seemed to come up with that number off the top of her head.) The 2023 tour book quotes the price to be $25 to $28 per night, plus the standard $11 camping fee. We had no signal whatsoever. Each campsite offers a picnic table and a firepit/BBQ. There are plenty of restrooms throughout the campground. We saw no playground, but there is a large picnic area.
NOTE: Route 420, the only highway that runs up to this area from Trans Canada Highway 1, was rough and bumpy for much of the drive here. There are several large bumps/dips in the road near the entrance to the Park, and traffic, particularly the large trucks that go by, can be heard from the campsites. The fact that it was very early in the camping season made it not too noisy, but the possibility still exists for a different experience.
Sop’s Arm Park: There was no address listed for the Park. It is located just off Route 420 beyond Pollard’s Point and right before the bridge that crosses the Main River, and before the turn-off for the town of Sop’s Arm. The phone numbers are: (709) 482-2224 or (709) 482-2217 (in season), and (709) 482-2035 (off season). There was no website address available. The e-mail address is sopsarmpark@hotmail.com.
- 2023 – 05/31-06/03