Freshwater Bay Nature Reserve

Hikers at Freshwater Bay, NL (Photo by NCC)

The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) 98-hectare (243-acre) Freshwater Bay Nature Reserve was donated for conservation and community use by the Crosbie Group Ltd. Once a fishing community, Freshwater Bay is now a popular destination for birders, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. 

A section of the East Coast Trail, called Deadman’s Bay Path, runs through the Freshwater Bay Nature Reserve and continues on to Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site. The trail is moderate to challenging, with steep hills and a rocky barachois crossing. The trail can be accessed from a small parking lot on Blackhead Road, approximately six kilometres from downtown St. John’s.

This coastal nature reserve is mainly forested, with older native species of black and white spruce and balsam fir. It provides an important land buffer for nearby seabird colonies of black-legged kittiwake, black guillemot, herring gull and great black-backed gull, which nest along the cliffs between Freshwater Bay and Sprigg’s Point.