St. John's International Airport (YYT) → Signal Hill (Cabot Tower)
St. John's Airport (YYT) to Signal Hill
- Distance
- 9 km
- Drive time
- In your maps app ↗
- Roads
- 40
Use another map app
Apple Maps · Google Maps · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeFilmed here: Frontier. The Frontier drive · every spot from every airport
Faded lines are other drives from St. John's International into this area: Downtown St. John's (7.7 km), Cape Spear (24 km), Portugal Cove ferry terminal (11 km), Witless Bay (46 km), Brigus (75 km), Harbour Grace (108 km), Clarke's Beach (88 km). Each splits off where its line leaves this one.
Photograph: Mo Laidlaw · CC BY-SA 3.0 Stop 1: The Battery
On the harbour side of Signal Hill Road. Parks Canada puts one end of the North Head Trail at the end of Outer Battery Road. It rates the trail difficult, 1.7 km one way along the Narrows, with narrow sections beside steep drops.
Stopping here adds 1 km to the drive.
Directions →Show on map: The Battery ↑Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeStop 2: Quidi VidiDetour
A small village on its own harbour, north of Signal Hill. The Canadian Register of Historic Places lists Mallard Cottage here, a national historic site typical of the houses Irish immigrants built in the early 1800s, and the Quidi Vidi Battery, a provincial historic site rebuilt on the site of a British coastal battery.
Stopping here adds 2.7 km to the drive.
Directions →Show on map: Quidi Vidi ↑Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeStop 3: Signal Hill Visitor Centre
Halfway up Signal Hill Road, where Parks Canada says a visit begins. From here the Centre to Summit Trail climbs past the Queen's Battery and Barracks to the top, and the Burma Road Trail runs down to Cuckold's Cove.
Directions →Show on map: Signal Hill Visitor Centre ↑Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeStop 4: Cabot Tower
The end of the drive, on the summit. Parks Canada calls Signal Hill a site of military battles and technological triumphs, including where Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal. The North Head Trail starts from the summit car park.
Directions →Show on map: Cabot Tower ↑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 Oct 13, 2026, St. John's International Airport (YYT) to Signal Hill (Cabot Tower). Your maps app gives the time on the day. How we measure
Add to a trip →Staying here? Days out ↓Keep for offline ↓Airport info: St. John's International Airport →
9 km. From the terminal on Route 40 into St. John’s, across the east end, then up Signal Hill Road to Cabot Tower.
Read the safety page first. Parks Canada warns of high winds and irregular footing off the marked trails.
Why people come. The view over the city, the harbour and the Narrows, the trails along the cliffs, and Cabot Tower. Parks Canada tells the story of Marconi’s first transatlantic wireless signal here.
Arriving without a car? See St. John’s without a car. Every other drive from this airport is on the St. John’s page.
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 Signal Hill (Cabot Tower)
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · WazeOr any of these: nearest first, measured by road from Signal Hill (Cabot Tower).
- Colonial Buildingstop2.5 km
On Military Road as the drive comes down into town.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - St. John'stown2.7 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze A few hundred metres along Military Road: Parks Canada's register describes a massive stone cathedral built in the mid 19th century in the Lombard Romanesque Revival style, a national historic site since 1983.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze- Trans-Canada Highway Zero Kmstop3.2 km
OpenStreetMap records a highway milestone here reading distance zero, named for the Trans-Canada Highway.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Railway Coastal Museumstop4.2 km
The drive passes it at 495 Water Street: St. John's old railway station, now the Railway Coastal Museum, about the Newfoundland Railway and the coastal boats.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze On screen: the marine research lab where Calvin tries to sell the iceberg fragment he caught, in the first episode.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze- Father Troy's Pathtrail · 8.9 km point to point, one way · easy15 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze In Blackhead, on the road out to the cape, a small community museum by this name.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
More, up to 36 km (10)
- Deadmans Bay Pathtrail · 10.5 km point to point, one way · moderate to difficult15 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Motion Pathtrail · 13.8 km point to point, one way · moderate to difficult18 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Portugal Cove ferry terminaltown18 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Cape Speartown19 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Piccos Ridge Pathtrail · 14.5 km point to point, one way · strenuous19 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Stiles Cove Pathtrail · 15.1 km point to point, one way · moderate22 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - White Horse Pathtrail · 18.2 km point to point, one way · strenuous24 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Marine Parkstop26 km
On screen: the fish farm where a fisherman first sees something wrong in the water.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Manuel's River Interpretation Centerstop26 km
The interpretation centre stands beside the river valley in Conception Bay South.
Directions →Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze - Bay Bulls harbourstop36 km
On screen: where Wade and Jerry head out at night from the marine base to harvest an iceberg.
Directions →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
- none
- Longest stretch without one
- 9 km
- the YYT door → Signal Hill (Cabot Tower), of 9 km driven
- Nearest fast charger to Signal Hill (Cabot Tower)
- 17 km
- by road, at St. John’s
No fast charger at Signal Hill (Cabot Tower). From the YYT door it is 9 km there and the same back: plan on about 18 km on one charge, more in cold weather or with the heat on. Or charge at St. John’s, 17 km from Signal Hill (Cabot Tower) by road, off this drive's own road.
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
- 0.1 km
- Lake to Lookout Walk (0.07 km, 0 km from Signal Hill (Cabot Tower))
- Mapped as paved
- 72%
- 4.8 km of 9 km driven
- No surface tag on the map
- 27%
- 1.8 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 2026-10-14. Today's road conditions: 511.
Before you go
These change, so we link to the people who keep them up to date.
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 city street. Take care near dusk anyway.
Check it now →Road conditionsYear round, matters most November to April
A short city drive can still be slow in winter. Check the province's road conditions.
Check it now →Cliffs and wind on the hillWhenever you are on the hill
Parks Canada says high winds and irregular footing make a dangerous combination off the marked trails. Stay back from cliff edges and off the wall ledges.
Check it now →Visitor Centre and Cabot TowerA visitor season, set by Parks Canada
The grounds are open year-round. The Visitor Centre and Cabot Tower keep a season and hours that change each year. Check Parks Canada's hours and fees before you plan around them.
Check it now →
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 St. John's International Airport Authority lists at the door. Fares change, so we link to them instead.
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 are true. The Authority's pages 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.
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.
Source: St. John's International Airport Authority,2026-09-15. Check there for fares and times.
Questions people actually ask
How far is Signal Hill from St. John's Airport?＋
9 km by road, from the terminal door to Cabot Tower on the summit. Route 40 is the numbered part. The rest is city street and the climb up Signal Hill Road. That is the routing engine's time with no traffic, so allow more.
Can I get to Signal Hill without a car?＋
Parks Canada says you can reach the site by car or on foot, and its trails connect to the Grand Concourse walking network. [St. John's without a car](/no-car/st-johns) gives the walking time from downtown, measured on the map.
What is there to do at Signal Hill?＋
Parks Canada lists guided history tours, the noon day gun, hiking, bird and whale watching, a lookout, the museum and picnicking. It suggests allowing 1 to 3 hours.
Which trail should I walk?＋
Parks Canada rates the Burma Road Trail easiest and the North Head Trail the hardest, with narrow sections beside steep drops. [The North Head Trail page](/trails/north-head-trail) has the mapped length and climb. Distances and times for the others are on [Parks Canada's hiking page](https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/signalhill/activ/ran-hik).
Is Cabot Tower open when I get there?＋
It depends on the day. The grounds are open year-round, but the tower and the Visitor Centre keep a season. Check Parks Canada's hours page, linked in the notes above.
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/yyt-signal-hill"
width="100%" height="420" style="border:0" loading="lazy"
title="Driving route: St. John's International Airport (YYT) to Signal Hill (Cabot Tower)"></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 October 13, 2026. Origin: OpenStreetMap way/279110348 — St. John's International Airport. Destination: OpenStreetMap relation/7531386 — Cabot Tower.