Reviews of Terra Nova National Park (Tourist Attraction)

Nelson Bailey

Probably my favourite place on the island to camp. It is absolutely beautiful, with its many walking trails, backpacking trails and popular things to do. Close to Gander and Clarenville with many small, friendly towns to visit in the area.

Sam Higdon

Great except for the road construction. Good news is they are adding passing lanes. That's construction I can get behind.

kyra baker

amazing park! campgrounds are awesome and well kept, as well as trails and the visitors centre, etc. now one of my fav parks!

Dark_Fire2288

Been coming here for 19 years and will still continue to. Best place to relax. Many things to do during the day. If you have kids there is endless things for you and them to do. The programs are all family friendly, although some are not wheelchair accessible. Best park iv been too.

Elise Moore

Lovely hiking trails. Can walk for 15 minutes to lovely spot on lake. Nice gift shop and visitor center. Wish I had more time.

Terry Reid

Great campground, very clean and well kept. Lots of things to keep kids occupied.

Dan Cullen

Beautiful National Park. Lots of great hikes. Brand new (and incredibly clean) washroom facilities in the camp grounds. You could spend multiple days hiking around the expansive park. Staff are friendly, and helpful. If you're traveling through Newfoundland, make a point of stopping at this National Park.

Kyle Pickard

A forgotten and beautiful National Park in the North Eastern corner of Newfoundland, I saw more wildlife than I did people, and if those few people I saw, most were park rangers working there. It is quiet and the views are breathtaking. I never would have dreamed some of these, it was amazing. It is usually less than 3 hours driving from St. Johns, and definitely worth it. Just be on the look out for bears and moose.

NL Republic

Just go there - too much to describe here. You won't be disappointed

Fred Guzzwell

Beautiful fall day. Not many campers this time of year. We really enjoy camping here.

Joey W

It’s a beautiful national park. But unfortunately it’s in Newfoundland... why ‘Unfortunate’? Because it’s beautiful and fun almost everywhere in Newfoundland. Whereas this quality of a national park would have stood out in Ontario, in NL after visiting Gros Morne, it’s very paled in comparison. The most beautiful trail wasn’t even in the park! salvage #17 trail. Summary: it’s on the way, Canada 1 highway. Stop by for a visit but don’t need to dwell.

Matthew Garrett

Nice place for quiet camping before children get out of school. Visitor center is a nice visit if you have not already.

Stephen Pike

Terra Nova Park is a great place to take your family. Our family has spent many summers at the park, hiking, swimming, camping, making friends. One of of our favorite things to do is spend the evening looking at the stars. Being away from the cities bright light you really get to see the sky light up.

Jessica Mayenburg

Walked the Louil Hill trail! Just beautiful

Bernard Ntansah

Great views and plenty of hiking to be done. Get your day started early and see as much as you can

Scott Blundon

Always lots of fun things to do.

BathBomb Jewel

Loved it as always

Matt Perry

We stayed one night in an oTentic facility in the Malmedy Head campground. We found the washroom facilities clean, well equipped and well maintained. The living space was well adorned and comfortable. Took a short walk but the mosquitoes infringed on my enjoyment...but that is to be expected.

Anh Cao

Excellent hike but extremely difficult with all the gears Note to new hikers: DO NOT overpack. Just get all of the 10 essentials and some extra if needed I only did half of the way (7km) and the total round trip takes 8h. So technically I could finish the whole path with that much time too. This path is definitely not ideal for dogs unless your dogs are very tame

Kathleen May

Absolutely gorgeous park. The sites (we stayed in Shallow Bay and Green Point) were decent. There is a lot of construction happening which was noisy and frustrating when walking around. The water was randomly not working in Shallow Bay. But nice new communal building that will be awesome when ready, especially on rainy days.

Renée F MacDonald

Gorgeous scenery! A great place to get out and enjoy nature, not far from town. The park has campsites, washrooms, playgrounds, trails, info boards and lots or nature to explore! Also makes a great pit stop if you're on a road trip. Be sure to check out Cobblers Brook for washrooms, a beach, possible animal sightings and picnic tables! It might make you want to stay for the weekend.

Sergei

A great park in one of the greatest provinces in Canada! Been there in summer 2016, had a great time!! I recommend it especially for families.

MJ

This park attracts a lot of families with young children who stay for weeks. So, beware, if you're just passing by. Well-run National Park, but not ideal if you want to travel to Bonavista/Trinity. It's too far. Great WiFi throughout. Washrooms pretty clean. Sites offer some level of privacy.

Nicole Toope

We camped over night at a back country site on Buckley's Cove. It was soooo amazing. Do not under estimate the beauty of this national park. Just do it. Camp it whatever way and cross it off your bucket list! The vistor center had showers, washer and dryer, Cafe and tours available for tourists.

Gina Studer-Hunt

Great fun on the walking trails. Beautiful.

Carolyn Burke

Snow shoed Louill Hill Trail today. 2 hours of sadistic beauty!!!

Chantelle Wollbaum

Great national park with awesome hiking and camping. Try to book and Oasis accommodation, unforgettable!

Paula Walters

Great park for camping. Updated clean bathrooms with showers. Plenty of family orientated activities and programs (mainly at Newman Sound campground). For a little more privacy, enjoy Malady Head campground where you can have your own campfire. Very helpful, friendly park attendants/staff.

Jonathan Butt

The park has amazing bathroom facilities, well laid out, good selection of lots and even a great playground for the kids. I do wish that it had a splash pad for those crazy hot days.

Susan

Lovely park. Facilities far apart for those with mobility issues. Great staff.

lisa caines

Great place for a hike

Pagan

A beautiful park that is very scenic with lots of places to camp and swim. If you want a beautiful wilderness experience, this is definitely a place to visit in NL.

Andrew Power

Love the tranquil setting and the freedom for kids within Newman Sound. Staff are friendly and helpful. Store is good and the playground is great. Awesome seeing the stars and satellites.

Reta

What a spot for family camping! If you have a bike or scooter, definitely bring it. The park is big enough to explore for older kids, and there are play areas for the younger ones. The washrooms are exactly what you'd expect in a federal park. The staff were very friendly. The only thing we would change is our site is not private at all. Every window in our camper was looking at someone else's window. In the older sections, there is more privacy. Also, they have quite a few Otentiks and the teardrop shaped Oasis, which is on our list once they open again (closed for COVID19).

Mark Hallett

I do find the national parks really do step it up a notch compared to others. The sites are well maintained and private, the facilities are clean and there is something for everyone from tent campers all the way to glamping and RVers.

Mike Celis

We did hike nr. 5, start en finish at the visitorscenter. Beautiful trail from 8 km. Suitable to do with children!

noah gallant

The park itself is very nice, however information about the status of trails was hard to find and trails were poorly marked (especially just finding the start of the trail). Also if you are coming from st John's you have to drive all the way to the other end of the park to find any staff or services. This is annoying if you want to do a trail near the entrance.

Lisa Jacobs

There are many hiking trails. We travel to camp here every year. Great place for kids with playground with a zip line, regular activities at the activity center and visitors center that has kid activities and touch tank. Splash n Putt is also only a minutes drive away.

The Randomer

I went here a few years ago with my Parents and older brother and I would love to go back Where should I start My dad could literally sail here on his boat there was wi-fi tho it was slow when a lot of were on it there was a nice cafe and a gift shop It had really Newfoundland hats and shirts and even candy and It had good smimming spots and beaches and good hiking trails I would recommend this place to almost anyone travelling to Newfoundland

Dubu and more

Perfect Park with excellent trails. Try the Ochre Hill Trail.

Shimoda

We had a nice hike along the water and spent some time at the beach.

Abian Codesal Sabina

Nice calm and clean. Almost no people around. The best place to get lost.

Ryan Pugh

It's hard to beat the nostalgia of childhood camping trips, but Parks Canada has done well to keep all the facilities in modern and great shape. Newman Sound and Malady Head campgrounds are very well-equipped, clean, and professionally staffed. Check out Sandy Pond for a swim and lounge on a sandy beach. All sorts of hiking trails are peppered throughout to satisfy your desire for scenic vistas.

Eytan Ornstein

A wonderful park. Combination of swamps, bays, white sand beaches. Peaceful, utter bliss.

Corey Coakley

Beautiful and fun

Mick Shea

There are two main campgrounds in Terra Nova. Maladay Head is tent site camping only (save for 10 yurts that look awesome), but seemed to be underused. Norman Sound is the biggie right by the TCH, and it is pretty huge, and pretty popular. It is very popular with families and it's a joy to see so many kids outside with their folks enjoying the experience. It also has a very nice hiking trail at each the campground, as well as others in the park.

Melanie Maynard

Loved our night in the OTentik. We had booked 2 but it was frigid and we checked out prior to the second night. We will be back!

Sebastian Kluth

Terra Nova National Park is an amazing place to visit. I can highly recommend the stunning Ochre Hill tower, the beautiful Visitor Information Centre with its exhibits, the long Goowiddy Path that is eight kilometres long and takes about two hours and fifteen minutes and the very short Heritage Trail that only takes fifteen minutes but gives you a great introduction to the park.

Jordan Smith

The park itself is beautiful as many of the other reviewers will tell you. There are kids all over the place on bicycles- they seemed to be having a great time. When I visited, it was very humid and the mosquitoes were quite bad at dusk - bring mosquito repellant. 5/5 if you're a kid, I imagine.

Jenn Griffiths

Facilities are really updated, clean and comfortable. Unfortunately the Otentik we booked was not pet friendly, so we had to cancel our second night in the park. Not much info online to indicate pets were not allowed. So it was a little confusing and disappointing. But our first night in our own tent was lovely, the playground is nice and the cooking shelters had woodstoves and sinks which was really great. The hiking trail was absolutely gorgeous and not terribly difficult.

Karl Hartmann

We love coming to Terra Nova to camp and hike in the summer. We try to get out early in the season to pick up an early bird park pass and enjoy a weekend in the woods with only a few others around. Malady Head has private fire pits (which are brand new this year) and wonderful sites suited for families as well as individuals looking for more privacy. There's a playground surrounded by campsites, which is great for families and groups. They've recently opened some new sites we've yet to try, but they look great! There's only one small bathroom facility, however, it is well maintained. Newman sound has a more family/group vibe, with communal fire pits and several larger bathroom facilities, cookhouses and playgrounds. Both sites we've visited are very close to beautiful hikes in the park as well as some other attractions like sandy pond the communities surrounding Eastport. Parks staff are relaxed and friendly. They're helpful when you need them but not nosy or intrusive. All in all Terra Nova is one of the best spots to escape, for those of us without a cabin.

Jen Konkle

The camping facilities are beautiful and so are the hikes. Next time we'll spend more time here!

Chad Collett

Best park ever.

Master iOqY

Lesser known than Gros Morne, still a must visit when on the Rock. The visitor centre is nicely laid out and informative. A few good hikes are available, most popular being the coastal trail. Washroom facilities at the Newman Sound campground was kept clean by park staff.

Dwayne Vokey

Awesome experience staying here in the park in their new tentix sites.

Sandra Tizzard

Love it here!! Excellent for our 32 foot trailer. Has all services. Clean bathrooms, hot showers. So much to do in the park!!

Miriam MacLeod (Mimi)

Gorgeous campground. Clean washrooms. Potable water. Quiet sites and a very pleasant park. We liked the campground trail, although the poor signage was jaw-dropping. Where does it start? What direction do you walk? We knew, but kept meeting people who didn't read or didn't care about the signs and direction. Great hiking trails and views around the park. Proud of our National Park system.

Robert Tomato

I recently stayed here in August for a night and it was so much fun. We booked an oasis shaped as a teardrop and it was super. The kids slept at the top on the hammock, and below I could turn a game/activity table into a bed. In the morning, we did a hike then went to another section of Terra Nova. There, we did a scavenger hunt and our tourist showed us baby mussels, plants, animals, etc. I'll come back for sure.

dean horlick

Great place to spend a day/week loads of things to do.

Cameron Snow

Lots of activities for kids. Clean and well organized. Downfalls - expensive - no fire pits - no water hook-up

Phillip Whelan

Beautiful place, lots of great hikes, beautiful scenery. Park is very clean. Newmans Sound campgrounds do not have personal fire pits, if that's a concern the other camp ground Malady Head does.

Ivy Li

Good place to visitor in summer and early fall.

Glenn Gleeson

Camped at Newman Sound. Family friendly park, generator free zones, clean and modern washrooms with showers, amazing trails, new playground with zip line. If you are not in the mood to cook breakfast try a feed of toutons or pea soup at the cafe.

Deborah Kuo

We passed through this park briefly because we were on a mission to get to Rock Harbour. We did check out the visitor centre to see the displays and play in the interactive touch pool. The views even from the visitor centre were lovely so we can only imagine the other trails and other features that we could have stayed for. The exhibits were informative and the interactive touch pool was interesting for us because we got the chance to see/touch some of the natural species in these cool waters. If you’re looking for something to eat, there is an eatery attached but it’s a small cafeteria so a quick lunch or snack would probably be what you’re getting. We’re still glad we got to stop and when we return, we’ll make the time to stay longer to explore. I think that Gros Morne gets too much attention that many people forget about the other National parks like this one.

Clint Lutz

Great camp ground. But sites are not very private.

Meghan S

While I only had a short hour in Terra Nova National Park, I managed to visit the Visitor Centre and do much more than I was expecting! I highly recommend starting at the Visitor Centre, the staff are super kind and helpful. They also have a Touch Tank, with lots of great things from the sea. I also recommend the short 15 min loop around the Heritage trail, which is mostly boardwalk and gravel, located a short walk from the Visitor Centre!

Warren Brophy

Had a fantastic stay!!!

Catherine Conway

Great hikes. Staff was friendly. Would absolutely come back!

Lorna Knight

Great park, lots of hiking. Clean campsites. Discovery centre has touch tank.

Derrick Jamieson

Nice park, clean washroom facilities but the organization needs to be more attentive to the campers and what services are needed. Staff needs additional training.

Kim Bastow

Beautiful trails. Amazing park! I enjoy each time i come here!

hermann high

It's hard to review an area of several hundreds of square kilometers but maybe my photos will help a bit. Also, it's worth pointing out that the campgrounds, day use areas, and visitor center all have programs for kids, there are dozens of hikes from a half hour stroll to a multi-day back-country hike and it's all very cheap.

Curtis Z

Great camp ground but bad on info. Told us no fire but common fire pits for use . Great people

Eva Wong

We are rushing through, but notice beautiful sceneries along the route!

Susan Codner

This place is magical...my happy place

Moyra Rushby

Amazing is the only word that comes to.mind. You could spend weeks exploring this beautiful space. If only we had allowed more time.

Chris Moss

So many hidden places to explore from the water when you are done the trails!

Toby Hackett

One of the best parks in nl... Clean washrooms, new Electrical sites and Very kid friendly with park staff organizing many events.

Tracey frive4life

Beautiful untouched natural beauty, I live in a community right off the highway and it is stunning.

Janet Little

Scenic interesting visit. Informative staff with guided walk. Most welcoming.

Cathy Beacom Bedard

Terra Nova National Park is beautiful and breathtaking! A wonderful place to visit!

Reg Hinson

Beautiful trails, Kayaking. Loved the marine touch tank at the visitor centre

Daniel Johnson

Amazing National park.

Ken Weagle

Very beautiful park

Michael Cake

Beauty personified!

Craig Cook

Sandy Pond is a great swimming area. The Marine center has a great interpretation center and cafeteria as well as tour vendors, free wireless. Highly recommend the Otentics at Malady Head; a spot at the western edge of the park that is often underrated and overlooked.

Zachary Fouchard

Beautiful national park; one of my favourites in Canada. The facilities are SO clean!

Linda Davis

One of the loveliest places on Earth. Deserves many, many visits in all seasons ❤

Mark Gray

My wife and I packed up our tent and headed to Terra Nova National Park for a couple of nights this past week . It was awesome. The staff was very friendly and helpful, our site was very clean and perfect for our tent, and the restroom facilities were very clean! It’s late summer and we won’t be returning this year, but we can’t wait for next summer to revisit the park and spend more time enjoying the beautiful grounds and area.

Craig Bursey

Stayed at the otentiks, had a great time, would recommend

Janet Wright

Lots of walking paths. Nice sites. Beautiful place with a lot of attractions in the park and nearby.

Robert Murray

Visited last year, nature is the best gift given by God to humanity

Hilary Keller

Beautiful area, friendly staff, and plenty to do! Great place to bring the kids, especially on special event days like Canada Day.

Joe Sullivan

This place is so picturesque. There are plenty of medium level hikes for novice and expert hikers to enjoy. The short and medium distance hikes are worth it for the views. My wife and I spent 3 days here and it was the perfect amount of time to explore most of the park.

Christy Falke

Nice RV park. Gorgeous views

Denitra Kyle

I was staying in Clarenville for the week and decided to make the hours drive to the national park. Was well worth it. The information centre staff were very helpful and knowledgeable of the trails. I did half the Coastal Trail (other half was closed due to construction) up to the waterfalls. I then drove to the Ochre Hill Trail. This was amazing well kept trail. Some steep climbs but the view at the end was well worth it!

Ray Rector

Great washrooms. Clean, well looked after.

Rob Coombs

A favourite golf course and scenic location that is hard to top. Always in excellent condition in mid-August.

Cameron Campbell

After years of taking the trans Canada highway through the park I finally stopped and stayed. The park is beautiful and has some great trails. I highly recommend doing all or a portion of the Outport Trail - great views and not nearly as challenging as they let on, awesome spot for a trail run. I stayed in Newman Sound camp grounds. The facilities are really nice. Updated bathrooms and plenty of covered cook houses with wood stoves so you have somewhere to hangout if it starts to rain. However, be forewarned that camp sites do not have private fire pits.

Rich Kopanke

Another National park gem! Great hiking, awesome beaches, and a beautiful place for the family to spend time together.