(click here to find Rose Blanche on the map)
You'll find Rose Blanche at the end of the road, literally. As you are coming out of the ferry terminal in Port aux Basques, the first exit to the right is Highway 470, Isle aux Morts. Follow that road for 42 km to the east and you'll be at Rose Blanche.
If you are coming towards Port aux Basques on the Trans Canada it will look like you are driving into the ferry terminal. You'll pass signs thanking you for visiting the province. Don't be fooled, just before you get to the terminal, there's a final exit for Highway 470.
The road along the south coast ends at Rose Blanche. Most communities east of here on the south coast are only accessible by a coastal ferry that does not take cars. The drive to Rose Blanche is one of the prettiest drives on the island. It's a very winding road that follows the coastline. It's difficult to drive more than 60 or 70 km/h for most of the route. Towards the end of the road, you'll start seeing signs for the granite lighthouse.
At the top of a hill just before you descend into the communities there is a small parking area with Welcome signs and a vista of the towns. If you get to the gas station you have gone 100 ft too far. In short order you will pass Diamond Cove, Harbour le Cou and finally enter Rose Blanche.
The Granite Lighthouse in Rose Blanche is worth the drive. It was built in 1871 from locally quarried granite. It was rebuilt in the late 90's. You can actually go into the lighthouse in the summer months (July & August). We visited in June, when a lot of tourist sites in Newfoundland are still closed. A well kept path takes you over or around the hill to get to the lighthouse. The views of Rose Blanche and the surrounding area is amazing.
There is a great trail called Harbour le Cou Old Road as you come into town. It is a very old trail, not very long but the views of the region are awesome. Before the road was put in this was how the people of Harbour le Cou and Rose Blanche would visit the other community.
A number of tourist attractions in Newfoundland are not open in June. They don't open until they can hire students for the summer. You can still hike over and see the lighthouse. The washrooms were locked up, so we stopped at the town hall in Rose Blanche and they were happy to have a chat, and let us use the washrooms.
If you are looking for a restaurant, you can stop in Isle aux Morts or Margaree on the way back to Port aux Basques.
For more information and history about the Rose Blanche Granite Lighthouse, click here.
We've written two blogs on topics that might interest Rose Blanche visitors. If you like to hike, there are some great trails near Rose Blanche. For lighthouse enthusiasts, we've written about the six that we've visited on the west coast.
(click photos to enlarge, click caption for mapped location)
Rose Blanche covers a fairly large area that includes the communities of Harbour Le Cou and Diamond Cove. We checked out a small peninsula and dock in Rose Blanche that ran off Main Street. Route 470 turns into Main Street. Take it all the way around until you reach School Road, turn left. Follow the signs for Rosesea B&B that takes you onto Tunnel Road, follow the road to the end. Here you will find a pretty harbour, that provides glimpses of the lighthouse in the distance.
(click photos to enlarge, click caption for mapped location)
While walking trails we often find ourselves wondering how the various interesting formations came about. Our understanding of geology is pretty limited. We purchased a great book titled 'Geology of Newfoundland' by Martha Hickman Hild.
The book has GPS co-ordinates, photos and descriptions of 48 sites across the island. The level of information will satisfy serious rock hounds. In our case, we are able to glean enough to satisfy our curiosity. We keep the book in the truck, it does not matter what part of the island you are visiting, there will be an interesting site nearby.
We bought a copy ahead of our September 2015 trip to scout out sites we wanted to explore. The book is available on Amazon and you can purchase it through this link.
Before you head to Newfoundland, you may want to consider one or more of the great field guides that are available. We have done short reviews of the following:
