Hike The Starlight Trail

One of my favourite hiking trails to do on the Southwest Coast of Newfoundland is the Starlight Trail (named after the former Starlight Motel). The trail gives great views of the Long Range Mountains and Codroy Valley without a lot of effort with the total distance being less than 5 km and maximum elevation is about 350 m. 

View of the Long Range Mountains and Codroy Valley from top of the Starlight Trail.

The trailhead to the Starlight Trail (aka Starlite Trail) is located about 25 minutes from Port-Aux-Basques and is the site of the former Starlight Motel. The first 5-10 minutes of hiking is mostly flat with some boardwalk and is somewhat marked. After that the trail becomes more rocky, the elevation starts to increase, and the trees become smaller and eventually disappear. The remainder of the trail is not marked, but the trail path is relatively easy to see. 

Starlight Trail trailhead.

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Gentle increase for the first 0.5 km or so.

The views will only get better.

TCH to the left, trail in the centre.

Once the steep part of the climb is over, a scenic lookout is present to the right of the main trail, and days of exploring the Long Range Mountains are to the left. Note that the IATNL has a 32 km section of trail called the Grand Codroy Way that goes from the Starlight Trail south along the Long Range Mountains. 

Beautiful scenic view looking South, long range mountains are to the left, Atlantic Ocean to the right.

The Newfoundland flag makes an appearance.

Venturing left at the trail intersection provides endless exploration along the Long Range Mountains. The hiking is of moderate difficulty, with grass as high as 4 ft long and occasional wet/boggy areas. â€‹During my last hike on the Starlight Trail I spent about 3-4 hrs exploring the mostly flat top part of the mountain, great views were found everywhere. 

This is about 2 hrs hiking away from the scenic lookout (hill on the right in the background). Campbell's Lake is in the center, note that their is a trail going to this also.

Selfie time!!

Life on top of the Long Range Mountains.

Moose on top of the Long Range Mountains.

How to get there: The trailhead is at the site of the former Starlight motel, which is about 25 km north of the town of Port-aux-basques along the TCH. 

​Trail Head Coordinates: 47°46'56.5"N 59°13'56.7"W

Track (kmz): Click here.

Elevation profile of the Starlight Trail. At the 2.5 km mark is the scenic lookout, the remainder is off the path exploring.

​Track Distance: Hike to the scenic lookout is 4.7 km; exploring the Long Range Mountains is about unlimited. 

Elevation: 350 m, ascent is about 330 m. Exploring the mountain areas can get up to ~600 m in elevation. 

Time to Complete: Hike to the scenic lookout is less than 4 hrs return.

Cellphone Coverage: Yes.

Helpful Tips:

• It can get extremely windy on top of the mountains. Be prepared for wind speeds above 100 km/h, remember that is is very close to the Wreckhouse area. 
• Along with wind, fog can appear fast. 
• Bring lots of water because there is very little on top of the mountain. 
• After the hike, check out Searston beach in the Codroy Valley. 

Searston beach with fog rolling over the Long Range mountains.