The East Coast Trail

Red Rocks, Mickeleens Path (credit Darlene Scott)

The 540 km East Coast Trail is located on the east coast of Canada along the scenic shores of the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Over 260 km of the Trail have been hardened to a world class hiking standard. With the latest expansions, this section of Trail now runs 40 km north of Quidi Vidi Village in historic St. John’s to Cape St. Francis and to the south, stretches 220 km from Fort Amherst, St. John’s, to Cappahayden on the beautiful southern shore. It is equipped with trail signage, maps and supporting trail information to enhance your hiking experience along our shores and through the wilderness. This section of Trail consists of a series of 21 paths each with a northern and a southern trailhead that is marked with distinctive signage. Each of these paths can be hiked as an individual experience. Some paths are easy strolls, and some are longer and more rugged. Use of ECTA maps is highly recommended for locating trailheads, learning about distances and understanding how we rate the individual paths.

280 km of Trail are under development and are not supported with trail maps and signage. This section of the Trail includes the northeastern tip of the Avalon, from Pouch Cove to Topsail Beach, as well as the southeastern tip of the Avalon, from Cappahayden to Trepassey. This section offers many hiking routes that have not been hardened or signed, presenting a greater number of hiking challenges. You should contact us directly, at information@eastcoasttrail.com, for specific information on trail conditions, description and access points.

Our goal is to have the 540 km fully constructed, signed, with map and route descriptions available by 2016. The following outline provides a brief overview of our trail development schedule. This schedule is subject to funding and change.

• 2006–2011, complete the 60 km from St. John’s north to Topsail Beach.
• 2008-2011, complete the 100 km from Cappahayden south to Trepassey.
• 2012-2015, complete the 120 km from Ferryland west to Placentia.