Burin Peninsula

On Newfoundland’s boot-shaped Burin Peninsula, most fishing villages feature brightly colored frame houses crowding around small harbors, where lobster pots are piled up against dockside fishing shacks. South of Piper’s Hole River Provincial Park, The Barrens are reminiscent of English moors with bogs, ponds and strange rocky outcroppings. The peninsula’s main business center is Marystown, but the community of Burin is far more scenic, with picture-perfect coves on both sides of the main road. Its sheltered harbor was haven to 16th-century Portuguese, Spanish and French fishermen, and an ideal base for pirates. The museum at Burin Heritage ...

On Newfoundland’s boot-shaped Burin Peninsula, most fishing villages feature brightly colored frame houses crowding around small harbors, where lobster pots are piled up against dockside fishing shacks. South of Piper’s Hole River Provincial Park, The Barrens are reminiscent of English moors with bogs, ponds and strange rocky outcroppings. The peninsula’s main business center is Marystown, but the community of Burin is far more scenic, with picture-perfect coves on both sides of the main road. Its sheltered harbor was haven to 16th-century Portuguese, Spanish and French fishermen, and an ideal base for pirates. The museum at Burin Heritage House captures the early settlers’ lives, and hiking along the various trails offers some truly gorgeous views. Grand Bank presides over some of the world’s richest fishing grounds, an appropriate locale for the Provincial Seamen’s Museum. A heritage walk in town takes in the stately Queen Anne-style houses. Nearby, Fortune is the hopping-off point for the two-hour ferry ride to the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon.

About the Expert

Joanna Ebbutt is the author or editor of three Insight Guides to Toronto and Canada, and coauthor of Off the Beaten Track: Western Canada. She has been writing about travel for three decades, including chasing the aurora borealis in Northern Ontario.