Bain There, Done That: Hiking Newfoundland’s World-Famous Skerwink Trail
By Jennifer Bain | Published June 29, 2026
Bain There, Done That is Jennifer Bain’s bi-weekly column about travelling Canada in search of quirk.
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The internationally recognized and well-maintained Skerwink Trail skirts the coast along the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland/Jennifer Bain
Sea stacks, I’ve seen a few, and they are a geological wonder not to be missed.
But my favourite sights on the Skerwink Trail are the outhouse and the stellar signage.
See, I’ve wandered my way around Newfoundland and Labrador and can’t count the number of times I’ve either had to duck behind rocks when nature calls or lost my way.
Modern conveniences are a rare and unusual find.
People enjoy a gorgeous June day along the Skerwink Trail/Jennifer Bain
The Skerwink Trail is 5.3 kilometres of wonderfulness in Trinity East/Port Rexton on the Bonavista Peninsula.
It still makes the most of being declared one of the top 35 walks in North America and Europe by Travel + Leisure.
So what if this accolade was in the magazine’s August 2003 “World’s Best Awards” issue. Once a winner, always a winner.
Port Rexton’s John Vivian is the founder of the Skerwink Trail/Photo Courtesy of John Vivian
You can thank a fellow named John Vivian for this world-famous trail.
He’s 70 now, semi-retired from running accommodations, and the sixth generation of his family to grow up in Port Rexton. But back in 1997 when he was hiking a lot, he was struck with the urge to scope out a forested coastal area near his home known as Skerwink Head.
“I basically went out and crawled through the bush and said `I’ve got to get a trail out here,’” Vivian tells me by phone after my hike. “When I saw what I have in my own backyard, I said this is better than what I’ve seen anywhere else in Newfoundland.”
A good map makes all the difference to hikers and this one created for the Skerwink Trail is top-notch/Jennifer Bain
By 1999, he’d drummed up help with labour from the local development association, roughed out a trail, spread the word and gotten his first hikers.
“We did a loop because that’s my choice of trails,” Vivian says.
Flash forward to pre-pandemic times and trail counters were logging upwards of 30,000 seasonal hikers between Victoria Day and Thanksgiving. (The Skerwink should be avoided when there’s ice and snow.)
The counters may be gone — they’re temperamental and too tempting to thieves — but the crowds keep growing. The Skerwink is now one of nine trails managed by the non-profit Hike Discovery, which is chaired by Vivian.
Two of the Skerwink Trail’s much photographed sea stacks — steep rock columns in the sea near a coast/Jennifer Bain
On the June day that I walked this bucket list trail — analyzing every step — I first got my fill of whales, puffins and icebergs with Sea of Whales Adventures out of Trinity. Then I had a feed of fish cakes and mustard pickles at the sweet as can be Brightside Bistro in Trinity East.
The main trailhead is just a minute’s drive away along Rocky Hill Road and there’s even free designated parking to keep visitors from annoying the neighbours.
“Part of the Hike Discovery network, this moderate to difficult coastal trail features sea stacks, whales, icebergs and eagles as well as views of the communities of Port Rexton and Trinity,” is how ALLTrails describes the Skerwink Trail. “It’s a spectacular trail with a huge variety of landscapes if you pay attention.”
Oh, I pay attention to the natural landscapes as well as the human-made additions.
You can’t miss the Skerwink Trail trailhead in Trinity East. This is what it looks like if you’re doing it clockwise/Jennifer Bain
Your first big decision whether to walk clockwise (like me and most people) or counterclockwise (like the folks who told me they lucked into a moose and calf).
You can’t have it all.
Take a picture of the big colour map at the trailhead. You won’t actually need it to find your way because there’s so much signage to come, but it’s nice to know the names of all the coves and see photos of what to expect and where the kilometre markers are.
That’s right. This memorable trail even boasts helpful kilometre markers.
This pretty Skerwink Trail outhouse has clapboard siding and is painted turquoise/Jennifer Bain
The rules are the obvious ones — stay on the trail to prevent erosion, be careful near cliffs, pack out what you pack in, leash dogs, supervise children, take nothing but photographs and don’t build fires.
“The path has many boardwalks and stairs, but may be slippery in wet weather,” the map warns. “Please walk with care.”
Strangely, it doesn’t note the turquoise outhouse with white trim just steps away, or that you should expect a goodly number of boardwalks, wooden steps and even benches.
Helpful kilometre markers can be found along the 5.3-kilometre Skerwink Trail/Jennifer Bain
I love an easy start so appreciate how the Skerwink’s first kilometre follows a flat stretch through the outskirts of the community and the boreal forest.
Just after the one-kilometre marker, you’ll get the chance to stick to the showstopping coastal route or take an inland detour if you’re scared of heights or it’s too foggy.
A word about the trail markers. When they say “T.E. Route 1km/P.R. Route 2km” they’re offering distances from the Trinity East trailhead and another newer one further away in Port Rexton.
Writer Jennifer Bain’s bloody lip after tripping on the Skerwink Trail/Photo courtesy of Jennifer Bain
Anyway, all the best sea views happen between kilometres one and three. I’ll let you discover them yourself, but this is where I spot an iceberg, whale and a Black guillemot but also trip and smash my face into the boardwalk.
Long story. Lesson is to never hike in a hurry.
A few other bits of advice. Take the lookout detour for views of Port Rexton and Trinity. Stop awhile when you spot the cobblestone beach.
The view from the lookout, a short and optional side path on the Skerwink Trail/Jennifer Bain
The second and final big decision you must make is how much to put in the donation box at the end/start of the trail as thanks for an hour or two of outdoor entertainment.
“If everybody could give us a dollar or two each, that would really put us over the hump,” says Vivian. “We get about $2,000 or $3,000 a year and it really helps with maintenance.”
I urge him to consider writing “Suggested donation $2” because “Please show your trail support” is polite but forces people to have to think about what’s too little or too much.
He urges me to come back soon so he can show me how to add another 2.5 kilometres to the original Skerwink Trail by setting out from Port Rexton along an old rail bed.
One of the fancier seaside paths on the Skerwink Trails near the first sea stacks/Jennifer Bain
Which brings us to the delightful word skerwink.
Oh what I’d give for a few well-placed interpretive signs explaining what a sea stack is, what flora and fauna to expect, and what skerwink means.
Skerwink is Newfoundland’s nickname for the Manx Shearwater, a seabird related to the more common Great Shearwaters (hagdowns) and Sooty Shearwaters (bawks). Because they used to frequent the area, locals used the name for the Skerwink Rocks, Skerwink Head and — as we know — the Skerwink Trail.
You should consider tossing a toonie into the donation box after enjoying the well-maintained Skerwink Trail/Jennifer Bain
Vivian has never seen a skerwink and neither have I, but Newfoundland’s top birder Jared Clarke has seen it and its two relatives.
“I have indeed seen skerwinks in Trinity Bay, though maybe not while hiking the trail myself,” says the Bird the Rock tour company owner. “My love for shearwaters (skerwinks, hagdowns and bawks) comes from their penchant to wander over the ocean and see the world — an envious life in some ways.”
Something to ponder while wandering the Skerwink Trail seeing Newfoundland.
Fill up on fish cakes from Brightside Bistro before or after the Skerwink Trail/Jennifer Bain