Impressive fall colours along the South Shore of the Bay of Islands

by Keith and Heather

On Sunday, October 20, 2013 we decided to head along the South Shore of the Bay of Islands to see the fall colours.  Previous posts have looked at places to see the autumn splendor in the Humber Valley, but the south shore also has lots of deciduous trees which seem to be at their prime right now. The weather forecast was not ideal but we decided that the clouds and showers weren’t likely to be bad enough to stop from checking out a few favourite stops along the way. We stopped at Frenchman’s Cove to take photos of the fishing boats and then decided to take the turn off to the Humber Arm South Day Park. We hadn’t been to this area in some time and it turned out to be an ideal place for photos of the Blow me down Mountains and Wood’s Island.  The day park has a lookout platform with telescope, children’s playground equipment and a couple of picnic tables. What a pleasant surprise to find this spot with its impressive views.

The Humber Arm South Day Park is a must see stop along the south shore

Blow me down Mountain had clouds swirling around the summit

 From there we headed to the well marked Coppermine Cape hiking trail parking lot which is a few kilometers further along the road toward York Harbour. The top of the mountains had clouds swirling along the ridge tops and the large stands of birch had turned the steep slopes a brilliant yellow. Our destination on this day was to hike to a scenic waterfall which is just 500 meters from the parking lot and is another hidden gem that in this area. The trail is mostly level and suited to all ages and abilities. This parking lot is also the staging grounds for one of the best hikes in the province in our opinion but the Copper Mine Cape trail would have to wait for another day when visibility was better on the mountain tops and we had more time. We also met a couple from St. John's who said they love travelling to this area in the fall since the autumn colours are so vibrant and the scenery is so captivating. We had to agree with them and counted ourselves lucky to have this on our doorstep just a 45 minute drive from Corner Brook. The fall colours seem to be lasting longer this October so be sure to head and enjoy them. 

The waterfall trail is suited to all ages and stages.