From Signal Hill National Historic Site we drive about half hour to Cape Spear Lighthouse NHS which is the second historic site near Saint John’s. This one is protecting an old lighthouse, old World War 2 fortifications and also the most easterly point in Canada and probably in the continental North America if you exclude the gimmick that a small part of Alaska is on the other side of the dateline. Parking here is actually quite full, unexpectedly compared to Signal Hill but we find a spot, eat some snacks and then it is time to explore, for free again as long as we don’t enter any museum buildings.
We start with the World War 2 fortifications, it is a short hike to an entrance to the underground tunnels which luckily are open to visit.
And down we go to escape the fog and to explore the tunnels, a favorite pasttime of ours. It is a relatively small underground area with the only highlight being a large munitions depot.
As we exit from the underground fortifications we see the coastline that was protected from these fortifications, it was quite barren and desolate but in fact what was protected were the convoys from America to the UK against Nazis attacks, not as much the coastline proper. And also here is the marker for the most easterly point of Canada and Continental North America. We take a few photos and then it is time to move on as other groups are coming to take photos at this very popular point.
And then it is back to the underground fortifications, there is another section starting right next to the marker so in we go again.
This stretch is actually longer but has fewer attractions along the way and soon we are exiting on the other side finding one of the huge cannons protecting the convoys from U-Boats and other dangers. It was quite well protected from attack from the sea and they are still in surprisingly good shape and interesting to see.
The fog is really heavy at this point and you cannot see at a distance, not even the light of the lighthouse. In this case the backup starts, a very loud siren, that is repeating itself every minute or so. And of course we are passing right next to it so our ears are shot by the time we pass the new lighthouse and reach the old one where the sound if much more muffled, or our ears are gone of course.
We then enter the cafeteria, the food is reasonable but we decide to eat in town if possible, and pass the for-fee museum while taking a look at the lost in the fog old lighthouse. Yes, the light is really not visible but still, our poor ears.
From here we decide on a loop using established trails to “see” a bit more of the seashore and area. It is a nice hike actually and we enjoy the more quiet area as few tourists are making it this far.
The vegetation itself is quite interesting, a bit tundra like with lots of Purple Pitcher Plants that we really like to see and point out along the trail.
The trail then reaches a separate road and seems to end leaving us stranded with the parking lot tantalizingly close but with no way to cross the boggy area. But then we notice that it actually continues on top of a stone ridge and following that trail we arrive safely at the parking lot. Now it is time to return back to town and see if we can visit anything else in town, mostly provincial historic sites related to the history of Newfoundland.
