Deer Lake Regional Airport (YDF) → Pilley's Island ferry terminal
Deer Lake Airport (YDF) to Long Island
Icebergs: book late May and early June →
In season this is Good: Green Bay's water — the same documented some-summers ice as King's Point (source).
- Distance
- 171 km
- Drive time
- In your maps app ↗
Use another map app
Apple Maps · Google Maps · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeThen a ferry to Long Island
A short hop across the tickle. The province lists the vessel as carrying sixteen automobiles, so expect a queue at times. The schedule and vessel change with the season.
Operated by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Current schedule →Faded lines are other drives from Deer Lake Regional into this area: Triton (175 km), King's Point (133 km), La Scie (208 km). Each splits off where its line leaves this one.
Stop 1: Beaver Pond RV ParkDetour
An RV campground by its pond, just past the wharf: the campsite on this route, and proof the crossing carries campers. Nothing else on Long Island is mapped yet.
Stopping here adds 6.2 km to the drive.
Directions →Show on map: Beaver Pond RV Park ↑Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeStop 2: Indian River
A green space mapped on Route 380, essentially on the driven line. OpenStreetMap records it as a nature reserve but not who runs it, and it is not on ParksNL's list. Treat it as a place to pull over, not somewhere with facilities.
Stopping here adds 0.1 km to the drive.
Directions →Show on map: Indian River ↑Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
Scan with your phone to open this page there. Then tap Keep for offline before you lose signal.
Drive measured Aug 30, 2026, terminal to ferry terminal. Your maps app gives the time on the day. The ferry after it is not included. How we measure
Then the ferry to Long Island — sailings & schedule →
Add to a trip →Staying here? Days out ↓Keep for offline ↓Download GPX (offline, Garmin)Airport info: Deer Lake Regional Airport →
171 km. Deer Lake airport to the Pilley’s Island ferry: mostly the Trans-Canada, then Routes 380 and 382 north. The boat to Long Island crosses a kilometre of water in minutes.
Check the sailing first. Whether the one you want is running, and has room, decides the day: it is a sixteen-car boat, and it fills.
Places to eat on the way
4 places to eat within 2 km of this drive, in the order you pass them.
The longest stretch with nothing mapped on it is 126.6 km — after Tim Horton, until Eddies Restaurant.
Every one of them, in the order you pass them
- Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 2.5 · 1696 m off the road
- Big Stop Restaurantrestaurantkm 2.5 · 1465 m off the road
- Tim Hortonfast foodkm 2.5 · 1693 m off the road
- Eddies Restaurantrestaurantkm 129.1 · 691 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.
Short drives from Pilley's Island
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeOr any of these: nearest first, measured by road from Pilley's Island.
- Pilley's Island Lookout Trailtrail · 4.6 km out and back · easy9.3 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Triton Sperm Whale Pavilionstop15 km
Triton's museum, built around a sperm whale, and the reason many people drive Route 380.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Trail to Morry's Covetrail · 3.6 km walk · easy17 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Tritontown19 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
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 3, South Brook km 129
- Longest stretch without one
- 126 km
- Deer Lake → South Brook, of 171 km driven
- Nearest fast charger to Pilley's Island ferry terminal
- 42.2 km
- by road, at South Brook
Across the water: no fast charger on Long Island. The nearest is South Brook, 30 km from the island terminal in a straight line, on the mainland. Leave full: your charge has to cover the island, the ferry queue and the drive back.
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
Paved or not, per the map
- Mapped as unpaved
- none
- Mapped as paved
- 30%
- 51.3 km of 171 km driven
- No surface tag on the map
- 70%
- 118.5 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 2026-09-06. Today's road conditions: 511.
Before you go
These change, so we link to the people who keep them up to date.
Is the boat actually running today?Check on the day, every time
A schedule says when a sailing is meant to go, not whether it is going. Wind, ice and mechanical trouble cancel these runs. The province publishes live ferry status separately from the timetable; open this link the morning you travel.
Check it now →Ferry sailings and vesselChange through the year
The province publishes the schedule and states which vessel is running. Confirm your sailing before you drive 171 km to the wharf.
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. Routes 380 and 382 are long, unlit and quiet, and a missed sailing can mean driving them again in the dark.
Check it now →Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April
Check before you turn off the Trans-Canada.
Check it now →
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.
Taxi
Deer Lake Taxi, listed as operating around the clock across the province with no pre-booking required.
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.
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.
Source: Deer Lake Regional Airport,2026-09-15. Check there for fares and times.
The drive back
Measured the other way, Pilley's Island ferry terminal back to Deer Lake is the same distance: 171 km.
Plan back from your check-in time. Going home, the ferry comes first: confirm the sailing, then count back. 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 the Long Island ferry?＋
171 km: east on the Trans-Canada Highway, then north on Route 380 and Route 382 to the wharf at Pilley's Island. It does not include the crossing.
Should I fly into Deer Lake or Gander for this?＋
Deer Lake, though by less than most of this coast. It is 171 km from Deer Lake against 220 km from Gander, a 49 km difference. If you are pairing Long Island with something on the Gander side, Gander may suit better.
What is the ferry like?＋
Small, and short. The province lists the vessel as carrying sixteen automobiles and eighty passengers across a crossing of about a kilometre. A full boat means waiting for the next one, and there are fewer sailings than on the Fogo run. Confirm the sailing before you drive out.
How do I plan the day I fly home?＋
Work back from check-in. The drive to Deer Lake is the same 171 km, but first comes a crossing with a vehicle queue and no reserved boarding. A missed sailing can cost you a flight. Leave more slack than the distance suggests.
Do I need a rental car?＋
Yes, for the 171 km of highway; there is no real alternative. The ferry carries vehicles, and Long Island is spread out, so on foot you are limited to what is near the wharf.
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-long-island"
width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
title="Driving route: Deer Lake Regional Airport (YDF) to Pilley's Island ferry terminal"></iframe>?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 30, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/180061286 — passenger terminal. Destination: OpenStreetMap node/1524676985.