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Exploring the Ro​ck By Foot

Hike The Starlight Trail

9/25/2016

8 Comments

 

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. 

Top of the Starlight Trail
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. 

PictureStarlight Trail trailhead.

Starlight Trail
Gentle increase for the first 0.5 km or so.
Picture
The views will only get better.
Picture
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. 

View of the Atlantic Ocean and Long Range Mountains from the Starlight Trail.
Beautiful scenic view looking South, long range mountains are to the left, Atlantic Ocean to the right.
Picture
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. 

Campbells Lake along the IATNL in Codroy Newfoundland.
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.
Sheldon Huelin
Selfie time!!
Picture
Life on top of the Long Range Mountains.
Moose on the Starlight Trail.
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.
Starlight Trail Elevation Profile
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.
Searston beach with fog rolling over the Long Range mountains.
8 Comments
Arthur Andrews
12/28/2020 06:42:34 pm

Hi Sheldon, I am from the UK and have come across a guy called Felix Scully Starlight, who purported to come from Newfoundland and in 1922 set off to walk around the world, supposedly covering 100,000 miles plus. He ended up in the UK in 1931 with a view to returning to St Johns in 1933 to write a book about his travels. At first I wondered if the Starlight Trail may have been named after him, rather than a motel. He had a publicity postcard that he sold to help finance his travels. He ends up in my home town in 1933 and has a newspaper article written about him, including a photograph. Felix was supposed to be half Native Indian and half Irish. (Similar to the wild life conservationist, Grey Owl, allegedly half Apache and half Scottish but really from Hastings in England!) It would be great if you could help or put me in touch with maybe a local historian. I have been to Newfoundland a couple of times enjoying going to Joe Batts Arm, Fogo Island, Seldom and Seldom Come By. Loved the musical Come From Away as well in London a couple of years ago. Best wishes for 2021 in these uncertain Covid times, Arthur

Reply
Sheldon
1/5/2021 11:27:24 am

Hi Arthur;
Wow, very interesting! I am going to forward your information on to the IATNL facebook page (as a private message), see if they have any information. Hopefully you will get a chance to visit Newfoundland and Labrador again;
Sheldon

Reply
Arthur Andrews
1/16/2021 08:11:50 am

Hi Sheldon, Thanks for your prompt reply. Hopefully, a reply will come from IATNL. Is there a local history group in St John's that I could make contact with? Best wishes, Arthur

Kathryn link
2/21/2021 08:26:15 am

Hi Sheldon,
My choir is singing a piece by Newfoundlander Kathleen Allan and I was wondering if I could use your beautiful photo of Searston Beach (title of her piece)? I would use it on the website just to show people where the place was the singers were singing about. Thank you in advance for considering granting me permission to use it for my choir. Best wishes with all your walks! Kathryn

Reply
Sheldon Huelin link
2/22/2021 03:13:07 pm

Hi Kathryn;
Yes, you can definitely use the photo, just link to my site or mention it, if you can, but not required. Which choir are you in? Searston Beach is one of my favourite locations in Newfoundland, if you haven’t been, you should definitely check it out sometime during a visit;
Sheldon

Reply
Kathryn link
3/2/2021 07:15:25 pm

Hi Sheldon, Thank you so much for your kind reply and for letting me use this great photo! I really appreciate it. I've never been to Newfoundland but have totally fallen in love with it as many people in my virtual choir live there and I'm really feeling the pull to visit now. The choir is Sing the North - https://singthenorth.ca
We have a great graphic designed, Warren at Thro' Creative, making an image for each of our choir projects that features our virtual tour bus in a location associated with a piece we are singing. I will be passing the image to Warren, who will see what he can do to place our bus somewhere in the scene.
Owing to the placement of the bus (it faces only one direction) I was wondering if you might have a photo of the beach from the opposite direction as well? If so, if you're willing to share, please email to me - thank you. We'll definitely credit your site and you as well. Thank you again very much!

D Brooking
1/22/2022 10:04:05 pm

Hi there, looking to probably hike this trail in July of this year. Would you know if it is overgrown now or the trail still visible to travel ?

Reply
Jennifer
6/24/2022 10:36:17 am

Hi, the trail is still visible. I complete this trail 2 weeks ago. Bring lots of water and enjoy the spectacular view.

Reply



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    Sheldon Huelin

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    Sheldon Huelin is a proud Newfoundlander and enjoys all things outside. 

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