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Port aux Basques ferry terminal → Rocky Harbour

Port aux Basques ferry terminal to Rocky Harbour (Gros Morne)

Distance
336.7 km
Drive time
In your maps app ↗
Roads
1430
Open in Google Maps →
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Stops and map ↓Where to eat near Rocky Harbour ↓

The rim of Western Brook Pond gorge in Gros Morne National Park — sheer rock walls dropping to dark water far below, the fjord running inland between the plateaus.
The rim of Western Brook Pond gorge in Gros Morne National Park — sheer rock walls dropping to dark water far below, the fjord running inland between the plateaus.Photo: FreeDoum · source · CC BY-SA 4.0

You arrive by ferry — North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques

Port aux Basques is the island's year-round sea door, and everyone who comes through it has their own car already ashore.

Operated by Marine Atlantic. The drive below starts where the boat lands.

Crossings & current schedule →
Driving route from Port aux Basques ferry terminal to Rocky Harbour: 336.7 km by road, via Routes 1 · 430.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles by OpenFreeMap. Route line computed with OSRM.

  1. Stop 1: J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park

    A ParksNL campground close to the ferry terminal: sand beach, dune boardwalk, and the first sheltered pitch off the boat. Piping plovers nest here, so parts of the beach close; the park's postings say where. Check ParksNL for season and sites.

    Stopping here adds 4.4 km to the drive.

    Directions →
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    Show on map: J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park ↑

  2. Stop 2: Cape Ray LighthouseDetour

    The light on the island's southwest corner, where the Cabot Strait begins. It is mapped at the end of Cape Ray Road with a Maritime Link information board alongside, and J.T. Cheeseman's beach between it and town. The Table Mountains stand behind; the ferry you came on passes in front.

    Stopping here adds 9.1 km to the drive.

    Directions →
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    Show on map: Cape Ray Lighthouse ↑

  3. Stop 3: Wreckhouse

    The most famous stretch of wind in Newfoundland. The Long Range funnels southeasterlies here so hard that a man was once employed to decide whether trains could pass: Lauchie MacDougall, the human wind gauge. The Trans-Canada runs straight through, and high-sided vehicles still get held when it blows. Check the forecast before you go.

    Stopping here adds 0.2 km to the drive.

    Directions →
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    Show on map: Wreckhouse ↑

  4. Stop 4: Codroy Valley Provincial ParkDetour

    The mapped reserve on the Grand Codroy estuary, the sheltered river mouth that makes this valley the west coast's great bird water. Waterfowl gather in the wetlands with the Long Range mountains behind. ParksNL publishes what operates and when.

    Stopping here adds 17.2 km to the drive.

    Directions →
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    Show on map: Codroy Valley Provincial Park ↑

  5. Stop 5: Barachois Pond Provincial ParkDetour

    The ParksNL camping park on this road: the province's 2026 camping list carries it, open May 15 to September 14 that year, dates subject to the weather.

    Stopping here adds 3.6 km to the drive.

    Directions →
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    Show on map: Barachois Pond Provincial Park ↑

  6. Stop 6: Gros Morne Visitor Information Centre

    Parks Canada's visitor centre, on Route 430 a few kilometres before Rocky Harbour. Sort out park entry here and ask what is open and passable.

    Stopping here adds 0.8 km to the drive.

    Directions →
    Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
    Show on map: Gros Morne Visitor Information Centre ↑
⛽ Fuel and gravel, road by road ▾

Route 1 · Route 430

Campground 7.4 km from the end →

Drive measured Oct 8, 2026, Port aux Basques ferry terminal to Rocky Harbour. Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure

Add to a trip →Staying here? Days out ↓Download GPX (offline, Garmin)Ferry info: Marine Atlantic →

From the ferry ramp to Bonne Bay: the whole west coast in one drive, Wreckhouse, the Codroy Valley under the Long Range, the Bay St. George lowlands, then the Humber Valley to Deer Lake and north on Route 430 into the park.

Port aux Basques to Corner Brook is the shorter day for anyone stopping in the city.

When you get to Rocky Harbour

New place to eat, or one that's missing? This list comes from OpenStreetMap, so nobody can pay to be on it. Add it to the map yourself (about twenty minutes on a phone), or email us the details and we'll put it on the map.

Short drives from Rocky Harbour

An easy day out from Rocky HarbourWestern Brook Pond (boat tour trail) 27 km awayThe walk to the boat, by Parks Canada: 3 km each way, 6 km there and back; the mapped path measures 2.7 km each wayDirections from where your phone is now:
Directions →
Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze

Or any of these: nearest first, measured by road from Rocky Harbour.

More, up to 69 km (10)

Distances by road, measured on OpenStreetMap October 16, 2026, from where this route ends. Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure

Doing it electric

Fast chargers on this drive
Port aux Basques km 3, Robinsons km 107, Corner Brook km 216, Deer Lake km 267, Rocky Harbour km 335
Longest stretch without one
109 km
Robinsons → Corner Brook, of 336 km driven
Nearest fast charger to Rocky Harbour
at Rocky Harbour

Coming in 2026 (NL Hydro, 2026-10-10): Deer Lake (km 268). Not counted until it opens.

NL Hydro fast chargers within 3 km of the drive. Check the app for one that's working. Exported 2026-10-10. How we measure

Every route compared →NL Hydro: plan your road trip →

Paved or not, per the map

Mapped as unpaved
none
Mapped as paved
42%
122.9 km of 336.7 km driven
No surface tag on the map
58%
169.5 km: surface not recorded

Why it matters: Hertz Canada’s terms say “use off paved roads or on roads which are not regularly maintained” voids the damage waiver. Check your own agreement. The terms themselves. Source for these figures: OSRM driving profile, stored route query, with node annotations; OpenStreetMap surface tags via Overpass, checked 2026-10-08. Today's road conditions: 511.

Before you go

These change, so we link to the people who keep them up to date.

  • Wreckhouse winds and road conditionsYear round, and wind matters here in any season

    The drive crosses Wreckhouse early on, and the province holds high-sided vehicles there when it blows. The terminal page carries the forecast and the conditions service; check them before you leave the dock.

    Check it now →

  • Park entry and what's openChanges through the year

    Gros Morne is a national park. Parks Canada sets entry, fees and which sites and trails are open, and all change with the season.

    Check it now →

  • MooseYear round, worst between dusk and dawn

    The province states the likelihood of injury in a moose collision is twice as high between dusk and dawn as in daytime. Dock in the evening and you finish this drive in the dark; Route 430 is unlit.

    Check it now →

Onward from Rocky Harbour

The drives that continue from here, measured the same way you arrived.

Questions people actually ask

How far is the drive from the Port aux Basques ferry to Gros Morne?＋

To Rocky Harbour, about 337 km, on the Trans-Canada to Deer Lake and then north on Route 430. That assumes no stops or traffic, so treat it as a minimum.

Can I do it the evening I land?＋

You can, but read the moose note above first. Barachois Pond on the Trans-Canada and J.T. Cheeseman beside the terminal are ParksNL camping parks; their detours are in the stops above.

Is Corner Brook on the way?＋

Its turn-off is. Port aux Basques to Corner Brook has its own page.

No recorded track yet.Drove it? Send yours →

Put this map on your site

Run a place to stay, a tour or a town page on this drive? Add this map to your site. It answers how far from the airport? Free, no account, and we keep the figures current.

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  width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
  title="Driving route: Port aux Basques ferry terminal to Rocky Harbour"></iframe>
Add ?lat=&lon=&label= to the URL to pin your own property on the map.

Every distance and coordinate on this page was checked against its source on October 8, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/215300568 — Port aux Basques Ferry Terminal. Destination: OpenStreetMap node/1551157400 — Rocky Harbour.

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