St. John's International Airport (YYT) → Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve

St. John's Airport (YYT) to Cape St. Mary's

Drive time: 2h 47m
Distance: 176.5 km
Routes: 40 · 1 · 90 · 91 · 92 · 100

Conservative model estimate, St. John's International Airport (YYT) to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve — no stops, dry roads. Many of Newfoundland's provincial routes carry no speed limit in the open map data, so the router assumes a slow default: a driver who knows the road will beat this. Source: OSRM driving profile, St. John's International Airport (YYT) to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, checked 2026-09-05.

Drive it with your own nav:Organic Maps →OsmAnd →Apple →Google →Waze →The first two run on OpenStreetMap and don't track you — the same map this site is built from.

Or take the whole route with you: Download the GPX → — the measured drive plus every stop as a waypoint, for Organic Maps, OsmAnd or any Garmin, no account and no signal needed once it's on the device.

No one has sent a recording of this drive yet.Be the first — send the track →

The first stretch out of St. John’s airport is city driving before the Trans-Canada, and then the turn south onto the Salmonier Line — Route 90, which is what the road is called on the map — across the middle of the Avalon Peninsula. The two stops on this page sit a short way apart on it: the well where a 19th-century priest rested on his journeys to court in St. John’s, and the provincial wildlife park.

The last stretch runs out along the Cape Shore on Route 100, and the reserve’s own directions put the turnoff for its access road east of St. Bride’s. What waits at the end is a cliff-top viewing area reached on foot across the barrens, facing a sandstone sea stack where Northern gannets nest — close enough to watch from land, which is, in the reserve’s words, what makes the place exceptional.

Driving route from St. John's International Airport (YYT) to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve: 176.5 km, about 2h 47m, via Routes 40 · 1 · 90 · 91 · 92 · 100.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles by OpenFreeMap. Route line computed with OSRM.

Faded on the map: the other measured drives from St. John's International into this same region, each its own page — Placentia (1h 43m). Where a faded line leaves the solid one is where that drive forks from this one.

Worth stopping for

Father Duffy's Well
A named roadside stop on the Salmonier Line, and — in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography's words — the resting place of James W. Duffy on his many journeys between St. Mary's and St. John's. Duffy, an Irish priest brought to Newfoundland by Bishop Fleming, decided in the 1830s to build a new church at St. Mary's on ground the local merchant company's agent objected to, and built it. After a crowd dismantled and burned the fish flake blocking the way to it, Duffy and others were charged, and the case dragged through the courts at St. John's — journey after journey — until the crown abandoned the prosecution.
Stopping here adds about 1 min and 0.1 km to the drive.
navigate: Organic · OsmAnd · Apple · Google · Waze
Salmonier Nature Park
Run by the province's wildlife division, a little further along the Salmonier Line. It opened to the public in 1978 — established as an environmental education centre rather than a tourist destination, in its own account, and grown into one since. The animals live in large natural enclosures along a boardwalk trail, among them the Newfoundland marten, for which staff built a captive-breeding enclosure while it was designated endangered. The province's wildlife rehabilitation program is coordinated from here, and most of the animals on display arrived injured and unreleasable. Its visiting times are the park's to state, not this page's.
Stopping here adds about 1 min and 0.1 km to the drive.
navigate: Organic · OsmAnd · Apple · Google · Waze

What has been recorded near here

Species reported within 50 km of Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve and shared to GBIF, the international record of species occurrences. The useful column is when — the months the reports cluster in.

Northern gannetseabirdMorus bassanusReports cluster in July, June, August3,360 reports on record
Humpback whalewhaleMegaptera novaeangliaeReports cluster in July, June, August320 reports on record
Atlantic puffinseabirdFratercula arcticaReports cluster in June, July, August277 reports on record
Fin whalewhaleBalaenoptera physalusReports cluster in August, June, October11 reports on record
Minke whalewhaleBalaenoptera acutorostrataReports cluster in August, September8 reports on record

What this is not

Not how many there are. A report means somebody looked, saw and wrote it down. A busy harbour with tour boats reports more than an empty coast with the same animals in it.
Not a sighting you are promised. Nothing here says you will see one.
Not complete. Only species we ask GBIF about appear, and only where somebody reported them.

From GBIF, queried 2026-09-14 — their record, not a copy of it.

Doing it electric

Fast chargers on this drive: Paradise km 16, St. John’s km 17
Longest stretch without one: 159 km; St. John’s → Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, of 176 km driven
Nearest fast charger to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve: 111.9 km; 1h 45m by road, at Whitbourne

NL Hydro lists an ultra-fast site coming in 2026 at St. John’s (km 17) — not counted above until it opens.

Source: NL Hydro's published fast-charging network map, exported 2026-09-13 — sites within 3 km of this route's measured line, the km read along it, the drive to the nearest site priced by OSRM. NL Hydro lists these as 62.5 kW DC with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs on a ChargePoint account; whether one is free or working right now is the app's to say. Level 2 chargers in towns are not counted.

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

Paved or not, per the map

Mapped as unpaved: none
Mapped as paved: 82%; 133.9 km of 176.5 km driven
No surface tag on the map: 18%; 30.3 km the map does not describe either way

Why it matters: Hertz Canada’s published rental terms — the one set of Canadian rental terms we could read in full, quoted not recommended — list “use off paved roads or on roads which are not regularly maintained” as misconduct that voids the damage waiver. Read the agreement you sign before leaving the lot. The terms themselves. Source for these figures: OSRM driving profile, stored route query, with node annotations; OpenStreetMap surface tags via Overpass, checked 2026-09-13. A road with no tag is unknown, not paved; what any road is like today is on 511.

Eating on the way — measured, not recommended

114 places to eat that the open map data records within 2 km of this drive, in the order you would pass them. No stars, no prices, no opinions, and no opening hours — distance along the road is the one thing measured here that a directory cannot give you.

The longest stretch with nothing mapped on it is 158.7 km — after Costco Food Court, to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve. That is the figure worth planning around.

Starbuckscafékm 0.1 · 1631 m off the road
Wing'N Itrestaurantkm 0.1 · 1419 m off the road
Mr. Subfast foodkm 0.1 · 1607 m off the road
Corarestaurantkm 0.1 · 1486 m off the road
Pita Pitfast foodkm 0.1 · 1620 m off the road
Parkside Pizzafast foodkm 0.1 · 1506 m off the road
Jade Gardensrestaurantkm 0.1 · 1899 m off the road
Sun Sushirestaurantkm 0.1 · 1888 m off the road
YellowBelly Brewery and Public Housepubkm 0.1 · 202 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 0.1
Newfoundland Chocolate Companycafékm 0.1 · 173 m off the road
Booster Juicefast foodkm 0.1 · 165 m off the road
Freshiirestaurantkm 0.1
Quesadafast foodkm 0.1 · 1497 m off the road
McDonald'sfast foodkm 0.1 · 1835 m off the road
Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 0.1 · 1582 m off the road
Second Cupcafékm 0.1 · 1739 m off the road
Montana'srestaurantkm 0.1 · 1800 m off the road
Starbuckscafékm 0.1 · 1733 m off the road
Harvey'sfast foodkm 0.1 · 1599 m off the road
Milestonesrestaurantkm 0.1 · 1570 m off the road
KFCfast foodkm 0.1 · 1671 m off the road
A&Wfast foodkm 0.1 · 1882 m off the road
Subwayfast foodkm 0.8
Tim Hortonscafékm 0.8
The Rockrestaurantkm 0.8
Tim Hortonscafékm 2.6 · 1639 m off the road
Greco Pizzafast foodkm 2.6 · 1623 m off the road
Booster Juicefast foodkm 2.6 · 1644 m off the road
Rustler'srestaurantkm 2.6 · 1653 m off the road
Ches's Fish and Chipsrestaurantkm 2.6 · 1546 m off the road
Pizza Houserestaurantkm 2.6 · 1393 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 2.6 · 1524 m off the road
Mr. Subfast foodkm 2.9 · 1723 m off the road
Pizza Expertsfast foodkm 2.9 · 1716 m off the road
Wendy'sfast foodkm 2.9 · 1679 m off the road
Domino'sfast foodkm 2.9 · 1657 m off the road
Peter's Pizza Restaurant & Loungerestaurantkm 2.9 · 1712 m off the road
Mustang Sally'srestaurantkm 2.9 · 1662 m off the road
Sun Sushirestaurantkm 2.9 · 1715 m off the road
Old Town Pizzeriarestaurantkm 3 · 691 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 3 · 744 m off the road
Dairy Queenfast foodkm 3 · 775 m off the road
East Side Mario'srestaurantkm 3.1 · 1448 m off the road
Big Bite Pitafast foodkm 4.6 · 1842 m off the road
MajesTeacafékm 4.6 · 1829 m off the road
Donati'sfast foodkm 4.6 · 1949 m off the road
Bitterspubkm 4.7 · 1224 m off the road
Ziggy Peelgoodfast foodkm 4.7 · 1837 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 4.7 · 1936 m off the road
Pop's Dinerrestaurantkm 4.7 · 1935 m off the road
NJ's Kitchenrestaurantkm 4.7 · 1983 m off the road
Smitty'srestaurantkm 4.7 · 1935 m off the road
Noodle Namirestaurantkm 4.7 · 1948 m off the road
Subwayfast foodkm 4.7 · 1804 m off the road
Quintana'srestaurantkm 4.7 · 1806 m off the road
Big Ben's Pubpubkm 4.7 · 1818 m off the road
Breezewaypubkm 5 · 1246 m off the road
Jumping Beancafékm 5 · 1435 m off the road
Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 5 · 1275 m off the road
Booster Juicefast foodkm 5 · 1282 m off the road
Manchu Wokfast foodkm 5 · 1290 m off the road
Pizza Delightrestaurantkm 5 · 1304 m off the road
Just Friesfast foodkm 5 · 1309 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 5.1 · 1539 m off the road
The Pantry (Autism Society Foundation Room)restaurantkm 5.2 · 764 m off the road
McDonald'sfast foodkm 5.3 · 1855 m off the road
The Guv'nor Pubpubkm 5.3 · 1851 m off the road
Domino'sfast foodkm 5.4 · 1922 m off the road
The Bigs Ultimate Sports Grillrestaurantkm 5.5 · 1892 m off the road
Old Town Pizzafast foodkm 5.6 · 1911 m off the road
Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 5.6 · 1920 m off the road
Subwayfast foodkm 6.1 · 1819 m off the road
Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 6.1 · 1784 m off the road
A&Wfast foodkm 6.1 · 1803 m off the road
Dairy Queenfast foodkm 6.1 · 1831 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 6.1 · 1797 m off the road
Mr. Souvlakifast foodkm 6.1 · 1790 m off the road
Peters Pizzarestaurantkm 6.1 · 1740 m off the road
Burger Kingfast foodkm 6.1 · 1998 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 6.9 · 1231 m off the road
Red Pepper Restaurantrestaurantkm 6.9 · 1894 m off the road
Cora'srestaurantkm 6.9 · 1961 m off the road
Scamper's Snack Barrestaurantkm 6.9 · 1806 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 6.9 · 1236 m off the road
Montana'srestaurantkm 6.9 · 1975 m off the road
McDonald'sfast foodkm 8.2 · 1855 m off the road
Dairy Queenfast foodkm 14.7 · 254 m off the road
Kozy Kitchenrestaurantkm 14.7
Mary Brown'sfast foodkm 14.7 · 206 m off the road
Mr. G's Loungepubkm 14.7 · 338 m off the road
Ocean Sushirestaurantkm 14.7 · 331 m off the road
Peter's Pizzafast foodkm 14.7 · 345 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 14.7 · 285 m off the road
Tiny's Bar and Grillrestaurantkm 14.7 · 329 m off the road
McDonald'sfast foodkm 14.8 · 536 m off the road
Ye's Wokrestaurantkm 14.9 · 654 m off the road
A&Wfast foodkm 14.9 · 727 m off the road
Coffee Matters Paradisecafékm 15 · 726 m off the road
Domino'sfast foodkm 15.2 · 1097 m off the road
Subwayfast foodkm 15.2 · 1173 m off the road
Cojonesrestaurantkm 15.2 · 1069 m off the road
Pizza Housefast foodkm 15.3 · 1855 m off the road
Subwayfast foodkm 15.3 · 535 m off the road
Robin's Donutsfast foodkm 15.7 · 450 m off the road
Donovan's Irvingrestaurantkm 15.9 · 622 m off the road
A&Wfast foodkm 16.5 · 1700 m off the road
A&Wfast foodkm 16.5 · 1700 m off the road
Canteenrestaurantkm 16.9 · 1756 m off the road
Starbuckscafékm 17.1 · 1642 m off the road
Pizza Hutrestaurantkm 17.1 · 1773 m off the road
Tim Hortonscafékm 17.1 · 1941 m off the road
A&Wfast foodkm 17.1 · 1885 m off the road
Costco Food Courtfast foodkm 17.2 · 1456 m off the road

What this list is not

Not a recommendation. Nothing here is endorsed, reviewed or rated. It is in the order you drive past it.
Not complete. Somewhere unmapped does not appear. This is never "all of them".
Not open hours. We publish none, because the open data holds none. Never assume a kitchen is serving.
Not necessarily still trading. A place that closed stays in the data until somebody removes it.
Not for sale. No one can pay to appear here, to rank higher, or to have a rival removed.

Open map data is incomplete — somewhere unmapped does not appear here, and this is never "all of them" or "the good ones". A place that closed is also still on the map until somebody removes it, which is why no hours are shown and nothing here says a kitchen is open. From OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps (which includes data from Meta, Foursquare and AllThePlaces); swept 2026-09-12. Map the one that is missing → and every site built on the open map gains it, this one included.

Before you go

These change. We link the people who keep them current rather than copying numbers that go stale here.

MooseYear round, worst between dusk and dawn
The province states the likelihood of injury in a moose collision is about twice as high between dusk and dawn as in daytime. Most of this drive is rural two-lane highway — the Salmonier Line, then the road out along the Cape Shore — rather than lit streets, so build dusk and dawn into your plans if you can, especially coming back after an evening at the reserve.
Check it now →
Road conditionsYear round, matters most November–April
This one starts on ordinary St. John's streets and the Trans-Canada before the turn onto the Salmonier Line, so a good stretch of it is the main road. The exposed run out along the Cape Shore to the reserve is the part worth checking before you leave, especially outside summer.
Check it now →
The reserveTypically the warmer months — the dates are the reserve's
Cape St. Mary's is a provincial ecological reserve with a staffed interpretive centre, and the season it keeps is published on its own page, which is where to read it — this page prints no date that moves. That page is also where the reserve tells visitors to check current weather and trail conditions before setting out, which matters here: it describes the cape as often foggy, windy and wet.
Check it now →

Arriving without a car

Every distance and time on this page is a drive. If you are not renting, here is what St. John's International Airport Authority lists at this door — operators and numbers, not fares: a tariff is theirs to change, so it is linked and not copied.

Rideshare: it depends who you ask.

The Airport Authority's own ground-transportation pages name City Wide Taxi as “the exclusive provider of ground transportation services for the public” and do not mention rideshare anywhere. Uber publishes pickup instructions for YYT, and the Airport's own account welcomed Uber in 2024. Both things are true and this page will not pretend they resolve: the Authority's pages are what govern the kerb, so check them on the day.

Taxi
City Wide Taxi, which the Airport Authority names as the exclusive provider for the public. Cabs queue outside the Arrivals area and a dispatcher is there to help. The Authority publishes preset fares to named hotels and a meter-plus-surcharge rate everywhere else; what those are is theirs to publish and change.
(709) 722-7777
Public transit
Metrobus route 14 runs between the airport and the St. John's metro region, including Memorial University. There are two stops at the airport: one near the arrivals area, and one on World Parkway by the Holiday Inn Express. The Authority says Metrobus has committed to a wheelchair-accessible service on this route and can take large, non-folding mobility aids. Schedule and fares are Metrobus's.

St. John's International Airport Authority, read 2026-09-15 — the authority on what operates at this kerb, and the only place a current fare or timetable should come from.

Questions people actually ask

How far is Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve from St. John's airport?＋

About 176 km and 2 hours 47 minutes, airport door to the reserve. You take Route 40 out of the airport to the Trans-Canada (Route 1), then Routes 90, 91, 92 and 100 — the Salmonier Line across the Avalon, then the Cape Shore — to the reserve's access road.

Should I fly into St. John's, Gander or Deer Lake for Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve?＋

St. John's, by a wide margin. The drive from St. John's airport is about 2 hours 47 minutes. From Gander it is roughly 4 hours 52 minutes, and from Deer Lake about 8 hours 40 minutes — a cross-island drive before you have even started down the Cape Shore. Fly into St. John's for this one unless Cape St. Mary's is the last stop on a much longer west-to-east trip.

Is there anything worth stopping for on the way?＋

Two, both effectively on the line rather than off it — the measured detour is printed beside each one above. Father Duffy's Well is a historic roadside well on the Salmonier Line, tied by the Dictionary of Canadian Biography to a priest's repeated journeys to court in St. John's in the 1830s. A little further along, Salmonier Nature Park is the provincial wildlife park, with native animals in large natural enclosures along a boardwalk trail.

What is there to see at Cape St. Mary's itself?＋

In the province's own words, one of the most spectacular and easily viewed nesting seabird colonies in the world. A footpath crosses coastal barrens to a cliff-top viewing area facing Bird Rock — a sandstone sea stack separated from the mainland by a narrow chasm — where Northern gannets nest, and nesting, courtship and flying displays can all be watched from land, no boat involved. The reserve's page also lists whale watching among what the cape is for, and says whales are often seen offshore in summer.

When should I go, and is the drive different in winter?＋

The reserve publishes its own season and its own hours, and the seasons block above links that page — read the dates there rather than anywhere they have been copied. The drive itself is highway the whole way to the reserve's access road, with one exposed coastal stretch at the end; see the road-conditions link above before a winter trip, and the reserve's page for what the weather is doing at the cape.

Put this map on your site

If you run a place to stay, a tour, or a town page along this drive, this map answers the question your guests already email you: how far are you from the airport? Free, no account, and the measured figures stay current because they are ours to maintain.

<iframe src="https://fromtheairport.xyz/embed/yyt-cape-st-marys"
  width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
  title="Driving route: St. John's International Airport (YYT) to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve"></iframe>

Add ?lat=&lon=&label= to the URL to pin your own property on the map.

Every distance, drive time and coordinate on this page was checked against its source on September 5, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/279110348 — St. John's International Airport. Destination: OpenStreetMap way/125454481 — Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve.