Hiking the Bordeaux Trail in Arnold's Cove

We've arrived at Arnold's Cove, on the isthmus between the main landmass of Newfoundland, to the west, and the Avalon Peninsula to the east.  Guidebooks and references recommended hiking the Bordeaux Trail, which stretches from the western edge of town in Arnold's Cove, running west to Bordeaux Cove, along Bordeaux Pond, and on out to Cow Head and the historic location of the tiny Bordeaux community.

Several sources gave us directions to the trailhead, which was listed (and is shown on Google Maps) as being at the end of Monkstown Road, on the western end of the town beach of Arnold's Cove.  However, when we arrived there, while there was a parking area, the trailhead was marked with a sign that informed that it had been moved to Harbour View Avenue (GPS coordinates 47.763044, -53.996913).  

We were trying to decide whether to drive over to the new trailhead or see where the old trail might lead us when a local walker happened by off the (old) trail and, after a friendly conversation, informed us that we certainly could reach the trail proper by this old route.  Although it passed behind a number of neighborhood homes, along the cliffs of Arnold's Cove, it was still an acceptable route to take.  We took the old section of trail and thoroughly enjoyed it, including the backyard views.  We were glad we did, though, because it includes one viewpoint that would be missed by taking the trail from the new trailhead.  If you're interested in trying the trail from the old trailhead, it starts from a parking area located at GPS coordinates 47.763860, -53.990120.

Here is a photo of Dave looking out from the viewpoint on the old section of the trail:

We connected with the new access trail and continued along the historic Bordeaux Trail, noting the large number of open beaches comprised of small cobble and gravel.  We made note to detour down to them on our return, in order to hunt for sea glass.

Not more than a mile into our hike, we found two blue Muskoka Chairs, which we happily sat in to enjoy the view out into Placentia Bay, and its many islands, from Arnold's Cove:

The forest here is primarily birch and spruce, which is no surprise to anyone used to hiking in Newfoundland.  However, this forest is almost a rain forest -- damp enough that it is home to extensive swaths of ferns, blueberries, bakeapples, raspberries, and some very unique fungi:

There are some short up-and down-hill stretches. One is graced with a stair (what Newfoundland trail is complete without stairs?) next to a sign noting that it was, "Made by the kids of Summer Program 2015."  We paused and gave our thanks to those kids:

The trail proceeds from cove to cove (and, hence, also from point to point), with beaches even more numerous than we expected.  Here is a view of Labour's Cove:

Another beach stretched for quite some way next to a field of just-ripening blueberries.  We marked the blueberries for harvesting on our return, but stopped to enjoy the views looking west --

-- and east:

Kathy spotted, just below us, a group of plovers, who were considerate enough to remain still long enough for a quick portrait:

In places, the forest gave way to wetlands harboring some of the prettiest, most dramatic fields of grass that we have seen:

A hiker encounters several ponds along the way.  One pretty, long barachois boasts a new boardwalk and bridge permitting one to cross the outflow from the pond to the beach.  The structure is newly constructed, apparently because the old structure was swept across the pond to the far side and could not be retrieved.  The old structure still sits in the water across the pond with no trail to connect it to anyone:

What looks like a marine marker has been erected on one of the points:

Hikers documenting the trail occasionally remark on the debris littering some of the beaches.  Apparently, currents bring much flotsam and jetsam onto these beaches.  Kindly caretakers have posted bins along the trail for people to deposit debris that they retrieve from the beaches.  However, some of the debris has redeeming value and has been hung along the trail as decorations-cum-trail-markers, such as this large bumper, which Dave inspects here:

Eventually, the trail reaches Bordeaux Pond, where it divides into a loop trail.  Hikers can take either route around Bordeaux Pond to Cow Head and then return to this point.  At the far end of Bordeaux Pond, a hiker may again choose to cross directly from one side of the pond to the other, or to take the "High Head Loop" out to the head, which gives wide, open, dramatic views of Placentia Bay.  At the point of the trail junction and a sign, a large number of spruce stood with moss hanging on their dead branches.  The photo below is in color, but it appears black-and-white due to the dead trees, lichen and moss:

We stopped for lunch at Cow Head and enjoyed the view, as well as an unexpected dessert of blueberries:

Several of the points along the trail have eroded to sea stacks, which are dramatic and -- in some cases -- very colorful with orange lichen:

On the strip of land forming the boundary of the south shore of Bordeaux Pond and the bay sits a derelict boat -- the Sea Fox -- which has been on the beach so long that it can be seen on Google Maps Satellite View, and it looks as if it is rising out of a gravelly sea:

Wildflowers were abundant, and we thought this one was particularly pretty:

On our return, we turned aside to various beaches to hunt sea glass, and, while it is not plentiful along these beaches (locals say that the beach in Arnold's Cove proper is much better), we found a few prize pieces.

We also found a pretty yellow float, which Dave picked up and hung on a tree limb to add to the crowd-sourced decorations along the trail:

Toward the end of our return, at one of the last points we passed, we were treated to a beautiful view of the town of Arnold's Cove.  The late sunlight, filtered by the clouds, lit the buildings perfectly:

This was easily one of the prettiest and most interesting hikes we have taken in Newfoundland.  It is noted as 10km return, but, with exploration and detours to beaches, we logged over 11.5km.  Those beach detours also added significantly to our time, so if you like exploring beaches, be sure to leave plenty of extra time for this hike.