On the south end of Route 100 on the Avalon Peninsula, 46 km south of Placentia, is St Bride’s.
At the end of a road west of Branch is Point Lance, which has a fine beach. Back on Route 100, drive to the junction of the road leading to the Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve. It’s marked by a sign. The 12.6 km road leads to a view immortalized in the Newfoundland folk song “Let Me Fish off Cape St. Mary’s.”
The vantage point, a 15-30 minute walk from the interpretation centre, overlooks Bird Rock, the third largest nesting site for gannets (with their two metre wing span in North America, and offers a spectacular opportunity to photograph birds. The high cliffs make the area a good one for spotting whales cavorting in the waters below.
St Bride’s Attractions
St Mary’s Ecological Reserve
Cape St. Mary’s, Route 100
33 Reid’s Lane
Deer Lake, NL, A8A 2A3
709-277-1666 Fax 1-709-635-4541
The most accessible seabird colony in North America. The vantage point overlooks a magnificent sea stack and offers an opportunity to photograph the seabirds, including the second largest nesting colony of gannets in Newfoundland, and the third largest in North America. Interpretation Centre, guided & interpretive hikes.
The sanctuary at Cape St. Mary’s may be visited year-round and no permit is necessary. In the summer, the Interpretation Centre is open and there are guides to answer your questions and to show you around. You can see Bird Rock through a huge window or through telescopes, and there are displays on the ecology and wildlife of “the Cape.”
May 03 – Oct 13