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Deer Lake Regional Airport (YDF) → Rocky Harbour

Deer Lake Airport (YDF) to Rocky Harbour and Gros Morne

Distance
72 km
Drive time
In your maps app ↗
Roads
1430
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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
Driving route from Deer Lake Regional Airport (YDF) to Rocky Harbour: 72 km by road, via Routes 1 · 430.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles by OpenFreeMap. Route line computed with OSRM.

Faded lines are other drives from Deer Lake Regional into this area: Woody Point (67 km), Cow Head (119 km). Each splits off where its line leaves this one.

  1. Stop 1: Newfoundland Insectarium

    A museum just down the road from the airport, at the start of the drive. It opens seasonally; check hours with the museum.

    Stopping here adds 0.2 km to the drive.

    Directions →
    Other map appsApple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
    Show on map: Newfoundland Insectarium ↑

  2. Stop 2: 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

Drive measured Aug 28, 2026, terminal to town centre. Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure

Add to a trip →Staying here? Days out ↓Download GPX (offline, Garmin)Airport info: Deer Lake Regional Airport →

72 km. Deer Lake airport to Rocky Harbour: the Trans-Canada, then Route 430. Rocky Harbour is where most visitors stay.

Pick your side at Wiltondale. Route 430 runs north to Rocky Harbour and Western Brook Pond, which is this page. Route 431 runs south to the Tablelands, Woody Point and Trout River, 67 km from the airport.

Why people come. Western Brook Pond is a fjord sealed off from the sea, with a seasonal boat tour past what the province calls “some of the highest waterfalls in eastern North America.” The Tablelands are ancient sea floor you can walk on in an afternoon, “where the theory of plate tectonics was confirmed.”

When you get to Rocky Harbour

Places to eat on the way

17 places to eat within 2 km of this drive, in the order you pass them.

The longest stretch with nothing mapped on it is 60 km — after Funland Resort, until Buoy & Arrow.

Every one of them, in the order you pass them
  • Tim Hortonscafékm 4.1 · 1623 m off the road
  • Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 4.1 · 508 m off the road
  • Pizza Delightrestaurantkm 4.1 · 1584 m off the road
  • Big Stop Restaurantrestaurantkm 4.1 · 349 m off the road
  • Subwayfast foodkm 4.1 · 1839 m off the road
  • A&Wfast foodkm 4.1 · 1744 m off the road
  • Tim Hortonfast foodkm 4.1 · 393 m off the road
  • Wingn' itrestaurantkm 4.2 · 1148 m off the road
  • Funland Resortrestaurantkm 11.1 · 948 m off the road
  • Buoy & Arrowrestaurantkm 71.1
  • Fisherman's Landingrestaurantkm 71.4
  • Oceansrestaurantkm 71.4
  • Treasure Box Crafts & Cafecafékm 71.4 · 218 m off the road
  • SunSet Cafécafékm 71.5
  • Anchor Pubpubkm 71.5
  • Earle‘srestaurantkm 71.7 · 1124 m off the road
  • Jackie‘sfast foodkm 71.7 · 833 m off the road

Not ranked or complete, and nobody pays to be here. No opening hours: phone ahead. Open map data, swept 2026-09-12. How we measure · Add a missing place

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.

Using a wheelchair, or need step-free? Parks Canada describes easier access at Western Brook Pond trail, Gros Morne Visitor Information Centre and Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse. Easier access in Gros Morne →

Here in winter? November to April ▾

Gros Morne National Park, in Parks Canada's words:

Winter in Gros Morne (Parks Canada) → Snow months and daylight →

Quoted from Parks Canada's pages, read October 8, 2026.

What has been recorded near here

Wildlife people have reported within 10 km of Rocky Harbour, and the months they saw it. Tap a name for everywhere else on our drives it turns up.

  • Northern gannetseabirdMorus bassanusReports cluster in July, August, June190 reports on record

Reports, not counts: busy harbours report more. No sighting is promised, and the list covers only the species we look up. Source: GBIF, the international record of wildlife sightings, checked 2026-10-07.

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 73 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
Deer Lake km 4, Rocky Harbour km 71
Longest stretch without one
67 km
Deer Lake → Rocky Harbour, of 72 km driven
Nearest fast charger to Rocky Harbour
at Rocky Harbour

Coming in 2026 (NL Hydro, 2026-10-10): Deer Lake (km 0). 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
84%
57.4 km of 72 km driven
No surface tag on the map
16%
11.1 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 2026-09-06. Today's road conditions: 511.

Before you go

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

  • 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 these change with the season. Check before you drive.

    Check it now →

  • Crossing Bonne Bay on footSeasonal, roughly midsummer into the autumn

    The park's two arms are separated by the fjord, and by road Woody Point is about as far from Rocky Harbour as it is from the airport. A seasonal passenger shuttle, the only such link, crosses Bonne Bay between Norris Point and Woody Point. It carries people, not cars. The operator publishes the season, times and fare.

    Check it now →

  • MooseYear round, worst between dusk and dawn

    The province states that the likelihood of injury in a moose collision is twice as high between dusk and dawn as in daytime. Route 430 is unlit highway at speed. If your flight lands late, plan the drive around this.

    Check it now →

  • Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April

    Check conditions before leaving Deer Lake.

    Check it now →

Onward from Rocky Harbour

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

The trails

Renting a car? Book the car when you book the flight.

Summer rentals sell out, says NL Tourism, and in June 2026 CTV reported St. John's airport agencies booked for nearly all of summer.

Both read 2026-10-07.

Arriving without a car

Not renting? Here's who Deer Lake Regional Airport lists at the door. Fares change, so we link to them instead.

No rideshare here.

The airport's ground-transportation page lists no rideshare service, only three taxi firms, a shuttle and seven charter operators (checked 2026-09-15).

  • Taxi

    Star Taxi, which the airport calls its primary ground transportation provider, serving the whole region with wheelchair-accessible vans and accommodating service dogs. The airport advises contacting them 24 to 48 hours before you arrive.

    (709) 634-4343

  • Taxi

    Deer Lake Taxi, listed as operating around the clock across the province with no pre-booking required.

    (709) 635-0000

  • Shuttle

    Star Taxi runs a shuttle between Corner Brook and the airport, serving named hotels, with a private-car option. It must be booked ahead. The airport publishes the fares.

    (709) 634-4343

  • Coach

    DRL Coachlines' once-a-day coach each way between St. John's and Port aux Basques stops in Deer Lake town (the Circle K), not at the airport terminal. It reaches no island and no national park. Tickets are bought on the bus, cash only. Times and fares are DRL's: drl-lr.com.

    (888) 263-1852

Source: Deer Lake Regional Airport,2026-09-15. Check there for fares and times.

The drive back

Measured the other way, Rocky Harbour back to Deer Lake is the same distance: 73 km.

Plan back from your check-in time. Give the planner your flight time and it tells you when to set off.

How early to arrive depends on the carrier and the season: check Deer Lake Regional Airport →

Return measured 2026-09-29, the same way as the drive out. How we measure

Questions people actually ask

How far is the drive from Deer Lake Regional Airport to Rocky Harbour?＋

72 km from the airport terminal to Rocky Harbour. In summer an afternoon arrival still reaches the coast in daylight. From late autumn it does not, and the moose note below matters more than the distance.

What route do I take from YDF to Gros Morne?＋

Out of the airport onto the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 1) for a short stretch, then north on Route 430, the Viking Trail, the rest of the way to Rocky Harbour and on up the coast.

Should I fly into Deer Lake or Gander for Gros Morne?＋

Deer Lake, by a long way. Rocky Harbour is 72 km from Deer Lake Regional Airport. From Gander it is 375 km, most of the width of the island.

Do I need a rental car?＋

Plan on one. This is 72 km of highway to a small coastal community, and the park itself spreads along tens of kilometres of Route 430.

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.

<iframe src="https://fromtheairport.xyz/embed/ydf-gros-morne"
  width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
  title="Driving route: Deer Lake Regional Airport (YDF) 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 August 28, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/180061286 — passenger terminal. Destination: OpenStreetMap node/1551157400.

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One or two emails a year: where icebergs are showing up, and which drive gets you there.

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