Trail Information
Saturday, September 11th, 2021. 9:30 am.
The hike will begin at the towers. We plan to drive people from the parking lot to the towers. Section 2 – A 2.2 km hike across the cape on a reasonably level old road. After 300 m the trail converges with a road coming from the right. We keep straight. After another 1.7 km we take a trail bearing off 60 degree to the left. Section 3 – The third leg is 1.7 km down an old very rutted, gravely, trail made narrow by alders. One gets views of Aspy Bay, White Point, and St. Paul Island. Elevation change: 328 m; Approximate time: 45 minutes (Allow at least an hour for the return up.) Section 4 – The fourth leg is 1.4 km hike (20 minutes) on a level trail along the top of a 25 m cliff dropping to the water. If one goes to the edge of the bank, one can perhaps find remnants of two shipwrecks. Several hundred meters along the trail one passes the square cellar hole of the original Cape North Light that was built in 1876 and burnt down about 1908. In 1908 a stone lighthouse was built 1 kilometer on the trail. This magnificent light served the area until 1981. In 1981 the lighthouse was disassembled stone-by-stone and reassembled as a museum in Ottawa where it remains today. A ‘cheap’ plywood lighthouse was erected in its place. On May 10, 2010 the Canadian Coast Guard started tearing down the wind damaged plywood lighthouse. It has been replace with a steal tower and solar panels. Hikers will return by hiking Section 4, then section 3 and to section 2 to the intersection.
Other notes – The accents and descents are on rocky, gravely surfaces. YOU NEED GOOD FOOTWEAR – hiking boots. Weather conditions may change quickly. BRING A WINDBREAKER. Recommended to have hiking poles for accents, descents and balance on difficult terrain. Total elevation change 630 m.
Time/Distance: 4-4.5 hrs / 14 km
Difficulty Rating: 5E
Trail head/Starting Point: Coming from the Cabot Trail turn right at the Bell Aliant building at the top of the mountain in Bay Road Valley before the road descends into St. Margaret’s Village and Bay St. Lawrence. [N 46 58.580′; W 60 27.464′] Drive 1.7 km (slowly) up the mountain. Go past the gravel pit to the registration area. [N 46 58.592; W 60 27.234′] (Caution: Occasionally the gravel pit is operational and you might share the road with gravel trucks.)