Explore Fogo Island

If you're travelling across Newfoundland, make sure you spend at least a little bit of time off the Trans-Canada Highway with a detour to the coast. Many travellers will visit Twillingate as an off-the-beaten-track coastal destination—so if you're headed that way, take time to explore Fogo as well.

Fogo Island (along with the Change Islands) is accessible by ferry from Farewell Harbour, just northeast of Port Albert. I recommend checking the ferry schedule, and if you can, spend some time on Change Islands as well. After the short ferry to Fogo Island you'll arrive at the ferry terminal southwest of Stag Harbour.

What you see on Fogo is up to you, but it's useful to consider the island in three parts: Stag Harbour, Fogo, and Joe Batt's Arm. The southern part of the island features a couple of seasonally ice-filled inlets lined with the houses of fishers. In Seldom, you can watch fishermen stack lobster traps and children walk home from school. From there, the highway runs north towards Fogo. If you go northwest, you'll reach Fogo, a village characterized by rocky outcroppings, wooden fishing stages and the smell of the saltwater. On Brimstone Head, there are a couple of hikes that climb over the headland with great views over the Atlantic.

If you go northeast on the highway, you'll reach Joe Batt's Arm and Tilting. In Joe Batt's Arm, check out Etheridge's Point, Joe Batt's Point Trail and the famous Fogo Island Inn. If you make it out to Tilting, you'll be in one of the last Newfoundland outports where you can view the full range of buildings associated with the family-based inshore fishery.

While the communities on the coast of Fogo Island are a worthy destination, just the highway itself makes the trip worth it. From the wind on the ferry to the rugged inland hills, Fogo should be a destination for anyone with a day to spare off the Trans-Canada Highway in central Newfoundland. 

On the way, Dildo Run Provincial Park offers some good camping in the area, and the Beothuk Interpretation Centre at Boyd's Cove is a great place to learn about local history.