Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HUMBER VALLEY RESORT
acquire a piece of the rock
HUMBER VALLEY, NEWFOUNDLAND
It's as if Alaska married Ireland and had a child.
—Brenda Walsh, Newfoundlander describing her home
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Name an outdoor activity. Bet you can't come up with even one that this mythic rocky is-
land on the easternmost edge of North America “discovered” by Vikings more than a thousand
years ago doesn't offer. Newfoundland has sea kayaking, hiking, biking, camping, fishing,
rafting, skiing, caving, rock climbing, whale-watching, and—well, just about everything. Fur-
thermore, the scenery amid which one partakes of these outdoor diversions is raw, unspoiled,
and dramatic. A full 94 percent of the island's billion-year-old mountains, fjords, and glacial
lakes is public land. There are very few traditional tourist attractions, thank goodness. Rather,
people come to be stunned by miles of white-sand beaches, fjords surrounded by dense ever-
green forests, and the sea that has sculpted a coastline of jagged volcanic cliffs.
A good headquarters for this remote outdoor trip is the Humber Valley Resort, an upscale
vacation community on the province's west coast. Nestled on the northern bank of the Humber
River and Deer Lake, the resort's 2,600 acres are within easy driving distance of Gros Morne,
a national park with significant geological features.
Although the Humber Valley Resort calls its accommodations “chalets,” just know that
they're being uncommonly modest. Some of their chalets have as many as six bedrooms and
even the three-bedroom variety has 2,000 square feet of floor space, vaulted ceilings, huge
stone fireplaces, decks, hot tubs, full modern kitchens, and luxurious furnishings. The resort
runs a full-time activity center, which can set up any number of the outdoor activities men-
tioned above. Some of the more exotic offerings are swimming with salmon, kite surfing, rap-
pelling, canyoning down waterfalls, and cat skiing. The resort also offers weekly activities for
guests such as kayak races, bonfires on the beach, guided nature walks, and “being screeched
in”—a formal ritual that involves Newfoundland's special brand of screech rum, kissing a cod-
fish, and becoming an honorary Newfoundlander.
