Red Bay: Basque Whaling History and Hiking Trails

Red Bay lies on the north shore of the Strait of Belle Isle and is a stop along the Labrador Coastal Drive. The town combines a compelling history of Basque whaling with archaeological sites and hiking trails. If you’re choosing between culture and time outdoors on your trip, Red Bay offers both as different ways to experience the area.

Traces of Basque whaling

In the mid-16th century, Basque whalers from Spain and France established an important whaling harbour in Red Bay. Archaeological research along the shores of Red Bay Harbour uncovered the remains of about 20 whaling stations over more than 15 years. Saddle Island is also home to the remains of buildings where Basque people worked and lived 400 years ago. So in Red Bay, you’ll encounter not just individual artefacts, but traces of a historic harbour and of life and work on the island.

The Red Bay Basque Whaling Station was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site by the World Heritage Committee on June 22, 2013. The site extends from the reddish cliffs around the harbour to its islands and coastline. This wide extent also gives the story a landscape: the harbour, cliffs and islands are all part of the World Heritage site as described.

Island visit and exhibition

The archaeological sites on Saddle Island can be visited on a short ferry ride and with a Parks Canada guide. There, you can explore the island and the remains of buildings where Basque people lived and worked 400 years ago. The visit combines a look at archaeological traces with the place where these remains are found.

At the Visitor Orientation Centre in Red Bay, visitors can see an exhibition featuring a reconstructed whaling boat. This offers a different way to explore the history than the sites on Saddle Island: here, the boat is the focus of the exhibition; there, the archaeological remains are set within the island landscape. If you’re especially interested in historic whaling, you can take both perspectives into account when planning your trip.

Hiking trails with different destinations

The Tracey Hill Walking Trail is an approximately three-kilometre loop of moderate difficulty. The trail includes a well-maintained boardwalk with 689 steps; the number may vary slightly. From the summit of the hill the trail is named after, you can look out over the town of Red Bay and Iceberg Alley. The length, moderate difficulty and steps are useful details to consider when planning this hike into your day.

By contrast, the Boney Shore Walking Trail leads to a beach. Whitish-grey whale bones lie there and are believed to be the remains of a fishery dating back more than 300 years. The destinations described for the two trails are therefore different: the Tracey Hill Walking Trail includes a loop, boardwalk and views, while the beach with its whale bones is the destination of the Boney Shore Walking Trail.

If you mainly want to explore the history, the harbour, island sites and exhibition are the main attractions. If you’d rather explore on foot, you can choose between the loop over Tracey Hill and the trail to the beach. This makes it possible to assess Red Bay as a destination based on the experiences you want to shape your trip.

You can also find more destinations in St. John's, Corner Brook.

For the main travel overview: Newfoundland and Labrador.