Trail · from St. John's (YYT)

Motion Path

Open green barrens running down to water on both sides, with low wooded hills behind.Photo: Brett Hodnett · source · CC BY-SA 2.0

Length: 13.8 km one way; The association's length. Most walk it one way with a lift waiting; there and back is 27.6 km.; Our mapped line reads 10.5 km; a mapped line under-reads a winding path, so the figure above is the association's.
Climbing: 223 m; Every up added together; the highest point is 131 m.
To the trailhead: 23 km

Type of trail

Point to point

A trailhead at each end: walk it one way with a car or a lift waiting, or turn round and walk it back.

Source: East Coast Trail Association, “Petty Harbour to Shoal Bay Road (Goulds)”.

moderate to difficultThe East Coast Trail Association's rating, for the path walked one way: 13.8 km and about 223 m of climbing. How

Access: the rating measures effort only. The map records the surface as earth 10.5 km. Step-free access isn't recorded; ask the park before you go.

East Coast Trail, path 12 of 25. The association allows 5 to 8 hours and rates it moderate to difficult. It joins Cape Spear Path to the north and Spout Path to the south. Walking it one way, your lift waits where the next path starts: that end is 28 km by road from St. John's airport. The GPX marks it "Path end". Every path →

Drive: 22.5 km from the St. John's (YYT) terminal to the trailhead — not the town. OSRM driving profile, terminal door to the trailhead, checked 2026-10-06.

The trail itself: 10.5 km, 223 m of climb — the line is coloured by elevation, green at 0 m up to red at 131 m.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles by OpenFreeMap. Route line computed with OSRM.

The trail, measured

Motion Path: the mapped path is 10.5 km with 223 m of climbing, from 0 m up to 131 m.

to ~8% grade8–15%steeperheight exaggerated ~12×

Every cited segment →

OpenStreetMap way/625766058, members of relation/2199386 (East Coast Trail, operator The East Coast Trail Association); elevation from AWS Open Data Terrarium tiles (z14), sampled ~30 m, ascent over a 3 m noise threshold; measured 2026-10-06.

A line that ends at a different height from where it starts is a loop, not an out and back.

Check today's conditions before you go →

Open in Google Maps →

Use another map app

Apple Maps · Google Maps · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze

Take it on your phone or watch

Only useful with a hiking app or a GPS watch. Just heading to the start? Use the directions above.

Save the track for a hiking or watch app (GPX)

The file follows the mapped line, 10.5 km; the signed path is 13.8 km. Expect your watch to read about 3.3 km short at the finish.

Garmin: import it as a Course in Garmin Connect, then send it to your watch.
Apple Watch: open it in a route app that runs on the watch, such as WorkOutDoors or Footpath.
Suunto, COROS, Polar: import it as a route in the watch's app, then sync.
Phone, offline: open it in Organic Maps or OsmAnd and download the map area before you lose signal.

Just a file: no account, nothing tracked.

No recorded track yet.Walked it? Send yours →

Getting here

23 km from St. John's to the trailhead.

The measured drive is YYT → Cape Spear — 3 stops on it, with the road numbers, the surface and where to eat along it.

What has been recorded near here

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

Northern gannetseabirdMorus bassanusReports cluster in July, June, October2,413 reports on record
Atlantic puffinseabirdFratercula arcticaReports cluster in July, August, June884 reports on record
Humpback whalewhaleMegaptera novaeangliaeReports cluster in July, June, August166 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.

Eating, when you come off

Places to eat within 25 km by road of the trailhead, nearest first. 3 of 15 have a confirmed position.

Hook N LinePetty Harbour - South Side · (709) 690-52090.4 kmunconfirmed — go by the address
Chafe's Landing Restaurant11 Main Rd · (709) 747-08020.6 kmunconfirmed — go by the address
Tinkers Ice Cream Shop22-24 Main Rd · (709) 747-16290.7 kmunconfirmed — go by the address
Petty Harbour Public House30 Main Rd · (709) 368-04630.8 kmunconfirmed — go by the address
Jungle Jim's Eatery355 Main Rd · (709) 237-81796.2 kmunconfirmed — go by the address
Keith's Diner419 Main Rd · (709) 745-80056.2 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
Subway390 Main Rd · (709) 368-98996.3 kmDirections →
Other map apps
Apple · Google · Organic Maps · OsmAnd (both work offline, no tracking) · Waze
Greco Pizza430 Main Rd Unit 4 · (709) 747-30306.3 kmunconfirmed — go by the address

No opening hours: the map data for these places has none. Phone ahead. Built 2026-10-11.

No photo yet. Walked it? Send yours.

Getting to the trailhead — St. John's (YYT) to the start of the Motion Path: 23 km by road.Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tiles by OpenFreeMap. Route line computed with OSRM.

10.5 km of path, walked point to point, with 223 m of climb in total. The trailhead is 22 km by road from St. John’s airport. The numbers come from the map. If you walk it, tell us how the path was on the day: mud, washouts, a missing bridge.

The full drive from St. John's (YYT), with stops and moose notes →

Measured October 6, 2026. Trailhead: OpenStreetMap way/625766058 — the path's mapped start.

Hear when iceberg season looks worth the trip