(click here to find Eastern Point Trail on the map)
To reach Trout River you will take Route 431, also called Bonne Bay Road, which meets the Viking Trail (Route 430) at Wiltondale. You will be travelling in a westerly direction. This is a very pretty drive, lots of hills and sharp turns, and if it is a clear day you can see the Tablelands off in the distance. As you approach Glenburnie the road will begin to follow the south arm of Bonne Bay. Just past Shoal Brook you will turn left to continue on Route 431 to Trout River. This will also take you by the Gros Morne Park Interpretation Centre at the top of a steep hill.
The drive now takes you through the Tablelands. No one should miss seeing this area. This part of the drive takes about 30 minutes. The tall markers at the side of the road are for the snowplows in the winter so that they can find the road. Warning lights tell a traveller whether or not they can even use the road certain days during the winter.
As you get to Trout River you can follow 431 down and around the village reaching the road that runs along the shore. You would continue along that road to the end where there is a sign for the trail. The other option to reach the trail is to take Mountain Drive at the beginning of town, down into the village, staying right until you get to the bottom. Turn right and continue to the end of the road. You start the trail by crossing the bridge and walking between 2 houses. The trail begins with a set of stairs.
(click photos to enlarge, click caption for mapped location)
The trail takes you along the top ridge that over looks the town from the north side. It is very easy to follow. After a rain parts of the trail will be sloppy. As with any trail do not get too close to the edge because many of these cliffs are undercut. The trail goes through different vegetation zones, old pasture, scrub and brush, small forest, and craggy moore. In some areas the climb is a little challenging with narrow paths and loose gravel underfoot. From the first part of the trail you can look back onto the town of Trout River and see how it has in 2 levels. The lower level runs along the water in a large arc. The upper level has the houses perched on a ridge above.
(click photos to enlarge, click caption for mapped location)
Hikes of Western Newfoundland by Katie Broadhurst and Alexandra Fortin is an excellent guide if you like to do trails. The book covers Western and Central Newfoundland as far east as Twillingate. They don't cover every trail, that's almost impossible. You'll find information on a good range of trails that you should consider.
You start with the area map where they show the trails that are covered by the book. The pages about each trail include GPS co-ordinates of the trailhead and a good map of the trail. They also tell you the level of difficulty and distances.
We bought a copy ahead of our June 2015 trip to scout out the trails we wanted to do ahead of time. The book is available on Amazon and you can purchase it through this link.