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Bonavista and Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: Where Puffins, Lighthouses and Root Cellars Tell One Story

A Coastal Newfoundland Adventure Where Wildlife, History and Geology Come Together

Hike the Atlantic coast, stand beneath the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, watch puffins soar above the cliffs, and discover a landscape shaped by both the ocean and generations of Newfoundlanders.

Bonavista and Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: Where Puffins, Lighthouses and Root Cellars Tell One Story captures what makes this corner of Newfoundland so memorable—a place where wildlife, maritime history, geology and local traditions come together along the Atlantic coast. It is the kind of east coast experience that rewards you for slowing down and looking beyond the obvious sights. Over a day or two, the Bonavista Peninsula reveals a remarkable mix of rugged coastline, wildlife, maritime history and Newfoundland heritage.

What makes this corner of Newfoundland so memorable? Some destinations are built around one big attraction. You drive there, see it, take a few photos and move on. Bonavista and Elliston are something different. Here, the experiences are connected by the landscape itself. A coastal hike leads to a historic lighthouse overlooking an Atlantic puffin colony. A collapsed sea cave known as the Dungeon reveals the power of the ocean. And tiny root-cellar doors tucked into the hillsides tell the story of how generations of Newfoundlanders adapted to this rugged place.

When we arrived, we expected to explore a few attractions on the Bonavista Peninsula. Instead, we discovered a compact Newfoundland adventure where every stop seemed to tell another part of the same story.

A travel selfie from our Newfoundland adventure, exploring Bonavista and Elliston, Newfoundland, Canada: Where Puffins, Lighthouses and Root Cellars Tell One Story, along the rugged Atlantic coast.

Starting our Bonavista adventure where Newfoundland’s coast, history and wildlife meet.

Planning a Bonavista and Elliston Adventure

Location: Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
From St. John's: Approximately 300 kilometres, or about 3½ hours by car
Time needed: One very full day is possible; two days allows for a more relaxed experience
Best time for puffins: Late spring through summer
What to experience: Coastal hiking, lighthouse history, puffins, whales, geology, root cellars and Newfoundland heritage
Getting around: Having a vehicle makes exploring the peninsula easier, although other transportation options are possible with advance planning
What to bring: Good walking shoes, layers and rain gear. Newfoundland weather can change quickly, particularly along the coast.

Bonavista’s central boardwalk along Old Days Pond offers a peaceful glimpse of town life on Newfoundland’s Bonavista Peninsula, surrounded by colourful buildings, local history and the community’s coastal atmosphere.

The peaceful boardwalk along Old Days Pond reveals another side of historic Bonavista.

Getting to Bonavista: The Adventure Starts on the Road

Bonavista sits roughly 300 kilometres from St. John's, with the drive normally taking about three and a half hours. From the capital, the route follows the Trans-Canada Highway toward Clarenville before turning north onto Route 230, the Discovery Trail, and continuing onto the Bonavista Peninsula.

For us, getting to Bonavista without renting a car required a little advance planning. We travelled from St. John's with Marsh's Taxi, using their shared passenger-and-courier service rather than hiring a private taxi. The van picked up passengers and parcels along the way, so the journey took longer than it would have in a rental car, but it was considerably less expensive than arranging private transportation.

There was also an unexpected bonus: we got to meet several extremely friendly local passengers along the way, who were happy to share stories, local knowledge and a few Newfoundland tall tales. What could have been simply a way of getting from St. John's to Bonavista became part of the travel experience itself.

Once we arrived, we relied on local transportation and advance arrangements to explore beyond Bonavista. For our visit to Elliston, we arranged a taxi from Bonavista and agreed on a return time with our driver. If you're travelling without a vehicle, this kind of planning is important, particularly if you want to combine Bonavista and Elliston in the same day.

Having a car would certainly make exploring the peninsula more flexible, but our experience showed that independent travellers without a vehicle can still explore this part of Newfoundland with some planning.

By the time we reached Bonavista, driving rain and high winds had given way to mist. Colourful buildings lined the streets. The harbour opened toward the Atlantic, while the coastline disappeared into the fog. We walked through town in our rain gear before finding a warm pub with live Celtic music. Eventually, when the rain eased, we wandered back to our B&B. It was an atmospheric introduction to a community whose history has always been connected to the sea.

Marsh’s Taxi provided our shared transportation from St. John’s to Bonavista, Newfoundland, offering an affordable alternative to renting a car while connecting us with friendly local travellers.

Our Marsh’s Taxi ride made getting to Bonavista easy, affordable and memorable.

Bonavista and Elliston: Where the Atlantic Shapes the Adventure

Bonavista's history is impossible to separate from the fishery. Long before roads connected the peninsula, the sea was a highway, workplace, food source and connection to the wider world. Today, visitors can explore that history at Ryan Premises National Historic Site, where historic buildings overlooking Bonavista Harbour tell the story of more than 500 years of the east coast fishery. The premises were associated with James Ryan and his family, whose mercantile operation became part of the commercial cod fishery that shaped Newfoundland communities.

Bonavista also offers other glimpses into its maritime past, including Mockbeggar Plantation Provincial Historic Site and the story of the Matthew, the vessel associated with Giovanni Caboto, better known as John Cabot, and his 1497 voyage across the North Atlantic.

Bonavista has traditionally been associated with Cabot's 1497 landfall, although the precise location where his expedition reached North America remains uncertain. Even the commemorative plaque at Cape Bonavista acknowledges that the historical sources do not allow the landing place to be identified with certainty. The tradition, however, has become part of the cultural landscape of the cape, and a statue of Cabot stands along the route toward the lighthouse.

The best way to begin connecting these stories, however, is to leave the road behind. We set out along the Cape Shore Trail toward Cape Bonavista Lighthouse.

The John Cabot monument at the Matthew Legacy commemorates Giovanni Caboto’s 1497 voyage and Bonavista’s enduring connection to Newfoundland’s maritime history, exploration and European discovery traditions.

John Cabot’s legacy remains part of Bonavista’s enduring maritime history and identity.

A John Cabot monument along the trail toward Cape Bonavista Lighthouse reflects the community’s longstanding connection to Cabot’s 1497 voyage and the peninsula’s dramatic Atlantic coastline.

John Cabot overlooks the coastline where Bonavista’s exploration story continues today.

Hiking the Cape Shore Trail to Cape Bonavista Lighthouse

The Cape Shore Trail follows the coastline toward one of Newfoundland's most recognizable landmarks – the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse. The 3.5 kilometre route is manageable for most visitors and gives you time to appreciate the windswept landscape before reaching the lighthouse.

Along the way, we passed a reconstructed fish flake, one of the raised wooden platforms traditionally used to dry cod. The structure was a simple reminder that the landscape around us was once a working fishing environment. As we walked the Cape Shore Trail, gulls still circled overhead, and waves crashed against the cliffs beside us, bringing the landscape to life, both past and present.

The storm from the previous night had passed. As a result, we were treated to sunshine, powerful surf and enormous Atlantic waves. The lack of trees made the landscape feel completely exposed. Wind moved freely across the headlands, while low vegetation clung to the rocky terrain. Meanwhile, Cape Bonavista Lighthouse gradually appeared ahead of us.

The Cape Shore Trail traces Bonavista’s rugged Atlantic coastline, with a rocky shoreline, windswept landscape and expansive ocean views creating a memorable Newfoundland hiking experience near Cape Bonavista.

The Cape Shore Trail follows Newfoundland’s rugged coastline beside the Atlantic Ocean.

The Cape Shore Trail leads toward Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, with the historic landmark visible in the distance beyond Newfoundland’s rocky coastline, Atlantic waters and windswept coastal landscape.

The Cape Bonavista Lighthouse comes into view along the windswept coastal trail.

Exploring the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse

Completed in 1843, Cape Bonavista Lighthouse is among Newfoundland's oldest surviving lighthouses and one of its most recognizable. It was constructed between 1841 and 1843 to help mariners navigate the entrances to Bonavista and Trinity bays and the waters north of the peninsula. Unlike Newfoundland's famous Cape Spear Lighthouse, its unusual design consists of a two-storey wooden building constructed around a central masonry tower. The tower rises through the roof and supports the lantern.

That unusual design becomes much easier to understand once you step inside. We toured the keeper's rooms and climbed upward through the centre of the building toward the light. The restored rooms interpret the life of a 19th-century lighthouse keeper, whose responsibilities extended far beyond simply lighting a lamp. Glass needed to be cleaned, fuel replenished, machinery maintained, weather observed and the light kept operating night after night. What surprised us most was how substantial and comparatively comfortable some of the keeper's living quarters seemed, particularly given the exposed location outside.

The lighting apparatus is itself one of the site's most fascinating pieces of engineering history. The original 1843 system incorporated lamps and reflectors brought from Scotland's famous Bell Rock Lighthouse on the advice of lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenson. A later 19th-century catoptric apparatus, originally used at the Isle of May in Scotland, was subsequently installed at Cape Bonavista and is preserved at the site today. Visitors can still climb the stone tower and see the historic seal-oil-fuelled apparatus associated with 19th-century lighthouse operation.

Yet for us, the machinery and maritime history were only part of the attraction. Just offshore was another reason we had walked all this way.

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse stands prominently above Newfoundland’s Atlantic coastline, its distinctive red and white exterior marking one of the peninsula’s most recognizable historic maritime landmarks and attractions.

The iconic red and white Cape Bonavista Lighthouse overlooks the Atlantic coast.

Puffins, Whales and the North Atlantic

Just offshore from Cape Bonavista Lighthouse is a small island supporting an Atlantic Puffin colony. Fortunately, we arrived during a time when the birds were actively nesting, and we were treated to a close-up view of the endearing birds.

Puffins disappeared into grassy burrows, gathered around the rocks and launched themselves across the water. Their compact bodies and rapidly beating wings made them almost comical in flight. Moreover, watching them move between the ocean and their nesting colony gave us a much better understanding of these remarkable seabirds than any photograph could. Although this colony was much smaller than the one at Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, the close proximity of the birds made it a truly exceptional experience.

The wildlife experience did not stop with the puffins. As we sat near the lighthouse, a Humpback Whale surfaced just offshore. Suddenly, the scene seemed to bring the entire Bonavista experience together: a historic lighthouse behind us, Atlantic Puffins nesting nearby and whales surfacing in the North Atlantic. That combination is part of what makes this corner of Newfoundland so memorable - the attractions don't feel like separate stops. They become chapters in the same coastal adventure.

An Atlantic Puffin near Cape Bonavista Lighthouse showcases Newfoundland’s remarkable coastal wildlife, where visitors can observe colourful seabirds nesting close to shore against the dramatic North Atlantic landscape.

An Atlantic Puffin pauses near its nest near the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse.

A humpback whale surfaces offshore near Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, creating an unforgettable wildlife encounter alongside Atlantic Puffins, rugged coastal scenery and the powerful waters of the North Atlantic.

A humpback whale surfaces offshore, adding an unforgettable wildlife moment to our adventure.

The Dungeon: A Coastline Still Being Made

From Cape Bonavista, we continued toward Dungeon Provincial Park. At first, the name made us imagine a sea cave hidden somewhere below the cliffs. Instead, we found an open field and a tour bus seemingly parked in the middle of nowhere. Then we walked closer and the landscape suddenly fell away. Below us lay the Dungeon.

What we were seeing was once a sea cave. Over thousands of years, waves exploited weaknesses in the sedimentary rock and gradually enlarged a cavern with two openings to the ocean. Eventually, the roof collapsed, leaving the dramatic rocky enclosure and natural arches visible today. Geologists describe this type of collapsed sea cave as a gloup.

Even now, the process continues. Waves, storms, wind and tides are still reshaping the coastline. The natural arches will eventually collapse, and the landscape may one day become an isolated sea stack. Consequently, standing above the Dungeon feels less like looking at a finished attraction and more like watching one moment in a much longer geological story.

The Bonavista Peninsula forms part of the Discovery UNESCO Global Geopark. Here, geology and human history are closely connected. The same forces that created cliffs, caves and offshore islands also influenced the land where people lived and the materials they used to build their homes and preserve their food. That connection becomes particularly clear when you continue to Elliston.

The Dungeon Provincial Park sign marks an extraordinary Newfoundland destination where coastal geology, dramatic rock formations, natural sea caves and centuries of Atlantic erosion come together.

Entering Dungeon Provincial Park, where Newfoundland’s coastline reveals its dramatic geological history.

The Dungeon’s dramatic sea caves and natural arches formed through relentless Atlantic erosion, creating a collapsed coastal cavern that showcases the Bonavista Peninsula’s remarkable geological history.

The Dungeon’s collapsed sea caves reveal the Atlantic’s ongoing power over Newfoundland’s coastline.

Elliston's Root Cellars Tell Another Newfoundland Story

Elliston is close enough to Bonavista to make the two communities a natural combination for a day trip or longer Newfoundland itinerary.

For us, travelling without a vehicle required some planning, so we arranged a taxi from Bonavista and agreed on a return time with our driver.
We were initially heading to Elliston for another opportunity to see puffins. Instead, the first thing that caught our attention was something entirely different. Small wooden doors seemed to emerge directly from grassy banks throughout the community. They were root cellars.

Elliston calls itself the Root Cellar Capital of the World, and once you start looking for them, it is easy to understand why. More than 130 root cellars have been documented in Elliston and the surrounding area, with many still standing today. At first glance, they appear simple: chambers dug into hillsides, reinforced with stone and covered with earth. Their small wooden doors almost disappeared into the landscape.
Yet these structures represent something much more significant than a collection of quaint Newfoundland curiosities.

Before modern refrigeration, families needed reliable ways to store potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage and other vegetables through the winter. Root cellars took advantage of relatively stable underground temperatures. As a result, they helped keep food cool during summer while protecting it from freezing during winter. Suddenly, the little wooden doors in the hills made perfect sense. They were not decorations, but rather working infrastructure that represented generations of knowledge about soil, weather, rock, food and survival.

An interpretive sign in Elliston explains the history of traditional Newfoundland root cellars, highlighting how local families preserved vegetables through winter using ingenious underground food-storage methods.

Elliston’s root cellars preserve generations of Newfoundland ingenuity, tradition and food-storage knowledge.

A traditional root cellar in Elliston sits beneath a grassy hillside, demonstrating how Newfoundland families used earth, stone, stable temperatures and natural humidity to preserve vegetables.

A traditional Elliston root cellar blends naturally into the grassy Newfoundland landscape.

Elliston's Puffin Viewing Site

From the community, a short walking trail leads toward Elliston's Puffin Viewing Site. Offshore, Bird Island provides nesting habitat for thousands of seabirds, including Atlantic Puffins. Because the island is separated from the mainland, it offers protection from many land-based predators while remaining remarkably close to shore. The viewing experience is extraordinary and should be considered one of the Top Birding Places in Newfoundland.

Puffins flew across the narrow channel, landed among the grass and disappeared into their burrows. Meanwhile, other seabirds filled the air and the surrounding cliffs, reminding us that this was not a wildlife exhibit. It was a living coastal ecosystem.

We visited in the evening and stayed for more than two hours. Puffins flew overhead, shuffled through the grass and carried pieces of vegetation toward their nesting areas. Occasionally, one would stand almost perfectly still, bright bill pointed toward the sea.

The birds can come remarkably close, but they remain wild animals. Visitors should give them space, stay safely back from cliff edges and never touch or pursue them.

For us, the evening viewing was the perfect final experience. We had started the adventure with Newfoundland's fishing history. We had walked beside the Atlantic, climbed a lighthouse, watched whales, studied a geological wonder and explored traditional root cellars. Finally, we were sitting quietly beside the ocean watching puffins return to their nesting grounds.

Elliston’s Puffin Viewing Site offers an unforgettable close-up look at Atlantic seabirds.

A colourful Atlantic Puffin stands proudly on the rocks overlooking Elliston’s coastline.

An Atlantic Puffin returns to its nest carrying grass for nesting materials.

Five Atlantic Puffins walk together across the rocks beside their nesting grounds.

Why Bonavista and Elliston Deserve More Than a Day

When we first planned this adventure, we thought one full day might be enough. It wasn't. We managed to walk the Cape Shore Trail, visit Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, watch puffins and a whale, explore the Dungeon, return through Bonavista and then travel to Elliston for the root cellars and evening puffin viewing. It was a memorable day, but it was also a busy one.

Bonavista itself deserves time. So does the lighthouse. The Dungeon becomes more interesting when you understand the geology behind it. Elliston's root cellars are more meaningful when you see them as evidence of adaptation rather than curiosities. And, of course, watching puffins is one of those experiences where another thirty minutes rarely feels like too much. Most of all, it is the little things - the welcoming B&Bs, fresh seafood, conversations with local people, Newfoundland music and the simple pleasure of finding a warm pub after several hours beside the North Atlantic. These are the memories that last a lifetime.

Lobster traps rest against a weathered wooden fence on Bonavista’s beach, capturing Newfoundland’s enduring fishing traditions and the coastal character that makes this community worth exploring slowly.

Lobster traps beside the beach reflect Bonavista’s enduring connection to the Atlantic fishery.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bonavista and Elliston

How far is Bonavista from St. John's?
Bonavista is approximately 300 kilometres from St. John's. The drive normally takes around three and a half hours, depending on road and weather conditions. The route travels through Clarenville before continuing north along Route 230 onto the Bonavista Peninsula.

How much time do you need in Bonavista and Elliston?
You can experience many of the highlights in one very full day, but two days would make the trip considerably more relaxed. Extra time allows you to explore Bonavista's historic sites, spend longer on the coast, visit the Dungeon and enjoy Elliston without rushing between experiences.

Where can you see puffins near Bonavista?
Atlantic Puffins can be seen around Cape Bonavista and at Elliston's Puffin Viewing Site. Viewing conditions vary with the season and wildlife activity. Puffins are wild birds, so visitors should observe them from a respectful distance and follow local guidance around nesting areas and cliff edges.

What is the Dungeon in Bonavista?
The Dungeon is a collapsed sea cave at Dungeon Provincial Park on the Bonavista Peninsula. Waves gradually enlarged a sea cave in the coastal rock until its roof collapsed, leaving a large rocky enclosure and natural arches. The site is part of the geological landscape of the Discovery UNESCO Global Geopark.

What are Elliston's root cellars used for?
Traditional root cellars were used to store vegetables such as potatoes and carrots before modern refrigeration. Built into hillsides and covered with earth, they provided relatively stable temperatures and natural humidity. Elliston is known for its unusually large collection of historic root cellars.

Are Bonavista and Elliston a good day trip?
Yes, especially for travellers who want to combine several different Newfoundland experiences in a relatively small area. A day can include coastal hiking, a historic lighthouse, wildlife viewing, the Dungeon and Elliston's root cellars and puffin colony. However, spending two days allows you to enjoy the region without rushing.

Seabirds gather across rocky cliffs along Newfoundland’s Bonavista Peninsula, highlighting the region’s rich coastal ecosystems and the remarkable birdlife visitors can encounter beside the North Atlantic.

Seabirds crowd Bonavista’s rocky cliffs, bringing the dramatic Atlantic coastline to life.

A Newfoundland Mini-Adventure That Connects It All

Bonavista and Elliston aren't simply places to check off a Newfoundland travel list. Instead, they offer a compact coastal adventure where wildlife, maritime history, geology and local culture are woven together by the Atlantic Ocean. Give the region more than a single hurried day, and you may discover that the best attraction isn't any single lighthouse, puffin colony or geological wonder. It is the story they tell together.