The Old Trails were developed by the Eastport Peninsula Heritage Society with support from the Canada Youth Service Program. These paths and cart trails once linked
families in Salvage with those who settled in the early coastal communities of Newman Sound: Broomclose and Barrow Harbour. Today eight of these trails form a 12 kilometre hiking corridor
along the Eastport Peninsula from Sandy Cove to Salvage.
Over the centuries these paths and trails were carved by the men to reach their traditional hunting and trapping grounds and the wooded areas called drokes. Today The Old Trails are used by others to explore their natural wonders: marshes teeming with wild flowers, oceanic barrens, numerous streams and ponds, patches of boreal woods and the great vistas of Newman Sound and Bonavista Bay.
Juniper posts mark the name of each of the eight trails, and smaller posts and arrows indicate the direction. There are picnic tables, benches and board walks over wet spots and streams that are all made of untreated juniper (the local name for eastern larch). There are plenty of rock juniper as well, sprouting from the ridges along the trails.
The Sandy Cove Entrance to The Old Trails is located in Crooked Tree Park on the Ridge Trail that leads to a picnic site and volcanic dyke before it climbs up to the hills and ponds overlooking Newmand Sound.
The Salvage Entrance starts behind the Fisherman's Museum and is a demanding hike up to the Big Shute and along the Peninsula to Sandy Cove. An easier entrance is located by play ground in the main harbour, and winds its way up the Meshes to the Big Shute.
- The Eastport Peninsula Heritage Society/The Beaches Heritage Centre
Site design & development by AmandaMarks
