Highways · Newfoundland · Ferryland
Written by Dan
The Ferryland Head Lighthouse on its hill, with the snow coming down.
Heather and I took a short excursion from St. John's and drove south along the coastline to Ferryland, famous for its huge icebergs. After a few nice days, the weather turned gloomy again, and the snow began to fall, typical for May and springtime.
Ferryland is about 51 miles (82 kilometers) from the Pippy Park Campground by road, on the Southern Shore of the Avalon Peninsula along Route 10. The drive south follows the coastline.
We checked the weather before heading out and knew snow was coming. It was mostly snow showers with breaks in between, and some of the squalls were heavier at times. The roads were fine, and any snow that did accumulate stayed mostly on the grassy areas and melted again after a short time.
Heather and me at the Welcome to Ferryland sign, with the snow coming down. The town was founded in 1621.
The town is quaint and has a charm to it that I can't quite explain. About 370 people live in Ferryland, according to the 2021 census, and the sign at the edge of town says it was founded in 1621.
That date goes back to the Colony of Avalon, which turned up on the way back from the lighthouse. There's more on it below.
Ferryland's harbor and the islands off the coast, seen from the headland.
We stumbled onto the Colony of Avalon by accident as we were leaving the lighthouse and making our way back to town on The Downs Road. I noticed a small group of buildings and decided to stop and take a few pictures.
There was nobody there, so we had the place all to ourselves, and there was no admission fee when we were there. Various signs explained what was there, which gave us more information about the location's historical significance.
The site goes with the town's 1621 date. Sir George Calvert, who was later Lord Baltimore, acquired this stretch of coast in 1620, and settlers under Captain Edward Wynne arrived in 1621. Calvert visited in 1627, came back in 1628 with his family and about 40 settlers, and lived through the hard winter of 1628 to 1629 before looking for a warmer place farther south.
The Colony of Avalon is a National Historic Site of Canada, designated in 1953, and archaeologists have been digging it up since 1991. They have found part of Calvert's mansion, a bakery and brewhouse, a cobblestone street, a warehouse, a forge, a well and a sea wall, along with more than two million artifacts. Only just over a third of the original four-acre site has been excavated. It sits at the base of The Downs, beside a sheltered harbor called The Pool, which is where Ferryland's first official settlement was founded in 1621.
Ferryland is famous for its icebergs, so here's the short version of how they end up at the town's front door.
Most of the icebergs you see off Newfoundland, about 90 percent of them, start out as pieces of glaciers on the west coast of Greenland. They break off into the water, drift north and around Baffin Bay with the Baffin Island Current, and then turn south in the Labrador Current. The trip is roughly 1,800 nautical miles and takes an average of two to three years.
That cold current runs right along the coast of Newfoundland, which is why this stretch of water is called Iceberg Alley. Most of the bergs pass in May and June, and the season usually runs from April through July.
How many show up in a year is a roll of the dice. The International Ice Patrol counts the icebergs that drift south of 48 degrees north, and the number has swung from none in a couple of years to a record 2,202 in 1984.
Ferryland has had its share of big ones. In April 2017, over Easter weekend, a large iceberg grounded just offshore and sat there in front of town, about a half mile from a bed and breakfast. It was somewhere between 150 and 246 feet above the water, and the owner called it certainly the highest iceberg they had ever seen.
When we were there in mid-May, we saw a few small ones, but not the monster-sized icebergs we wanted to see. Those come later in the season. The ones we did see were pretty insignificant. They were a long way out in the ocean and much smaller than what we had seen in Twillingate and Bonavista, so I didn't take any photos of them.
There was a lighthouse there that I wanted to see, the Ferryland Head Lighthouse, so we drove as close to it as we could. That meant following a road called The Downs, but the road was closed at Sandy Cove. There's a small dirt parking lot there, and that's where we parked the truck and hiked the rest of the way, about three-quarters of a mile each way.
We took our time on the hike to enjoy the experience of the place. The rest of The Downs Road was steep uphill in a few places, and it was mostly dirt. Then the road changed to loose gravel that led through a forested area and eventually up to the lighthouse, and once we were on the gravel the hike was easier. It was cold and windy, and the falling snow created a surreal scene. We explored the area for a bit before heading back to the car.
Along the way there were some old fence posts that I thought were cool, so I took a picture of them. I could only imagine how the wind and weather have worn them down over the years.
The wind was a big part of the walk in. Heather and I took our time, with the snow coming down and the wind moving through the spruce, and now and then the lighthouse would show itself through a gap in the trees. It was cold, but I really enjoyed being out there together, taking in the scenery and listening to the wind in the branches.
The road is named for the land it crosses. The Downs is a mostly treeless peninsula that rises out of the North Atlantic on three sides and joins the mainland by a narrow neck of land, with Ferryland Head at its eastern end. Its meadows have been used for small-scale farming for centuries.
Where you start changes the length of the walk. From the small lot at Sandy Cove it's about three-quarters of a mile each way. One hiker who parked near the Colony of Avalon and walked the whole road measured about 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) in total with roughly 97 meters of climbing, and Lighthouse Friends gives the path from the parking lot at the end of the road as about one kilometer, or roughly 20 minutes.
The keeper's dwelling went up in 1870 and 1871, built by contractor William Campbell and mason Thomas Burridge of St. John's, and the light was first displayed on October 1, 1871. The round tower is stone and brick, and when the brickwork started failing it was wrapped in iron plates in 1892. It still has its iron coat today.
A third-order Fresnel lens was the original light. A fire in 1919 damaged it, a kerosene vapour light replaced it in 1921, and the station was electrified in 1931. The Costello family kept the light from 1882 until 1970, when lightkeeping ended with the retirement of William Costello. The tower is a federal heritage building, and the keeper's dwelling is a municipal heritage site. For the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador, see Cape Spear, outside St. John's.
A few more things in and around Ferryland, from the sources used for this page.
How far is Ferryland from St. John's?
Ferryland is about 51 miles (82 kilometers) by road from the Pippy Park Campground in St. John's, on the Southern Shore of the Avalon Peninsula along Route 10. Plan on roughly an hour and a half each way.
Can you see icebergs from Ferryland?
Often in spring. Most icebergs pass Newfoundland from April into June or July, with May and June the most consistent months, and Ferryland sits on the Southern Shore stretch of Iceberg Alley. How many come close to land changes every year. In April 2017 a very large iceberg grounded just offshore. On May 13, 2025, a few small ones showed up a long way out in the ocean, much smaller than the ones at Twillingate and Bonavista, and not the monster-sized icebergs we wanted to see.
Where do you park for the Ferryland Head Lighthouse hike?
There's a small dirt parking lot at Sandy Cove, where The Downs road was closed to vehicles. From there it's about three-quarters of a mile each way on foot to the lighthouse.
How far is the hike to the Ferryland Head Lighthouse?
From where The Downs road was closed at Sandy Cove it was about three-quarters of a mile each way for us, through a wooded area and up the headland. Lighthouse Friends gives the path from the parking lot as about one kilometer, roughly 20 minutes.
What is The Downs in Ferryland, Newfoundland?
The Downs is a mostly treeless peninsula that rises out of the North Atlantic on three sides and joins the mainland by a narrow neck of land. Ferryland Head, with the lighthouse, is its eastern end, and the road that runs along it is called The Downs. The Town of Ferryland has designated it a municipal heritage district. The road was closed to vehicles at Sandy Cove, so the rest of the way to the lighthouse is on foot.
Can you take an RV to the Ferryland lighthouse?
I wouldn't recommend it. The Airstream stayed at Pippy Park in St. John's for this day trip. The Downs road is rough and narrow, and at times it comes in close proximity to steep hills and cliffs. It was closed at Sandy Cove, and one hiker reports signs on the climb saying no RVs or buses beyond a point.
When was Ferryland founded?
The town's welcome sign says 1621. That year settlers under Captain Edward Wynne arrived at the Colony of Avalon, on land Sir George Calvert, later Lord Baltimore, had acquired in 1620.
When was the Ferryland Head Lighthouse built?
The keeper's dwelling was built in 1870 and 1871, and the light was first displayed on October 1, 1871. The round stone-and-brick tower was wrapped in iron plates in 1892, and lightkeeping ended in 1970.
What is the Colony of Avalon?
The Colony of Avalon is the archaeological site of the English colony Sir George Calvert founded at Ferryland in 1621. It is a National Historic Site of Canada, and excavations have found part of his mansion, a cobblestone street, a forge and more than two million artifacts. It turned up by accident on the way back from the lighthouse.
Is the Colony of Avalon free to visit?
There was no admission fee when we stopped there on May 13, 2025, and nobody else was around. Signs around the site explained what was there. Hours and any fees can change, so check colonyofavalon.ca before you go.
Can you get a picnic at the Ferryland lighthouse?
Lighthouse Picnics serves picnic baskets from the keeper's dwelling, listed as running late May through September and closed Mondays, with reservations recommended. It wasn't operating on May 13, most likely because it was early in the season, though there were several picnic tables on the sloped grass around the lighthouse.
Does it snow in Newfoundland in May?
It can. It snowed on our day trip to Ferryland on May 13, 2025, after a few nice days. It was mostly snow showers with breaks in between and some heavier squalls, and it was cold and windy on the headland. The roads were fine, and the snow that accumulated stayed mostly on the grass and melted again after a short time.
Lighthouse history from Lighthouse Friends and Heritage NL. Town and colony history from Wikipedia, the Colony of Avalon and the National Trust for Canada. Calvert's years there from Wikipedia's article on George Calvert. The Downs from Heritage NL's listing for The Downs Historic Conservation Area. Iceberg facts from Environment and Climate Change Canada and the International Ice Patrol, and the 2017 iceberg from NPR. The drive distance is by road from the campground, from OpenStreetMap routing, and the parking lot's location is from OpenStreetMap.
Ferryland was a day trip, so from here it's back to St. John's and then across the island. The next numbered stop on the Newfoundland map is Terra Nova National Park, and its page is still to come.
