PARK ACTIVITIES

CAMPING

Surrounded by mystical bowl shaped mountains are 28 private campsites situated within two forested loops. In each loop there is a firewood lot, water pumps and toilets. The campsites are equipped with a picnic table, fireplace and space for your vehicle. A wheelchair accessible comfort station with laundry, shower facilities and dumping station is located near the first loop (1-18).The playground is located near the first camping loop.

DAY USE

The Park has a picnic area specially developed for day visitors. From there it is a short stroll to a lovely beach for walking, discovering and rock skipping. Take a look into the shallow water and see the home of starfish and sand dollars and crabs. From this southeast shore there is an unobstructed view of the Blow Me Down Mountain range, which rises abruptly from sea level to an elevation of 650 meters.

HIKING AND AREA HISTORY

There are several opportunities for hiking within the park. The trail to the look-out, a half kilometer distance, is suited to family walking. Much of the hike is boardwalk and steps. There are two trails to the observation tower so you may walk a circuit starting at the day use parking lot or the second camping loop. Wear comfortable shoes and appropriate clothing. Please stay on the trails and take all garbage out with you. Follow the signs and do not miss Governor's Staircase a unique stalk framed by rocks that were formed over 450 million years ago. These rocks are fragments of volcanic rock, composed of pieces varying in size and shape (geologists call this agglomerate), and are mixed With sections of quartz-like material. Look closely, some of the rock appears to be flowing like a small stream.

After a 1/2 hour walk you will be well rewarded by the view at the top of the tower. The names of each feature in view are written along the tower rail. Imagine standing there as Captain Cook surveyed the Bay of Islands and named both York and Lark harbours!

While on the tower take a moment ...imagine life before Highway 450 was built in the 1600's ... Look north to the fishing community of Lark Harbour and see the men rowing their dories in with a catch of herring lobster or cod. The cod will be laid out on the flakes to dry, the herring will be salted in barrels to he picked up by schooners from Halifax and the USA. Imagine the women folk tending their kitchen gardens of cabbage turnip and beets. See the children and other family members turning the codfish on the flakes and shooing the flies. Look beyond the wharfs, stores and stages, the neatly packed houses congregate on a natural terrace and above them rise the limestone cliffs of the 250 meter high Murray Mountain.

Look to the northeast out past Tortoise Mountain (240 m). Three main islands (Guernsey, Tweed and Pearl) crowd the entrance to the Bay of Islands. Once known as Baie de Trois Isles by the French. At least a dozen other islands are in the bay. Wood's Island, to the east, had a thriving fishing community. Governor's Island, to the southeast, was used by nearby communities for hay making and potato growing. Cranberries are still picked there. Look beyond the island and see the Blow Me Down Mountains. According to legend, Captain Messervey anchored his boat below this mountain range and said "I hope they don't blow-me-down"!

York Harbour is to the south. In the 1880's the Newfoundland government started a copper mine near York Harbour, in the shadow of the Blow Me Down Range. Mining and fishing employed the habitants until the mine was closed in 1912.

After your stop at the tower continue hiking to Tortoise Point, known locally as Lark Harbour Head. This 31/2 hour round trip trail is through the forest and along the flat top of the peninsula with viewpoints along the way. Hiking over Flapper, Minnie, and Molly hills offers inspiring scenes of the two harbours surrounding the narrow Blow Me Down peninsula, the Bay of Islands and even as far as Corner Brook.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS

Blow Me Down Park is in the Western Newfoundland Forest Eco region. An Eco region is a large area in which the animals and the environment in which they live is basically the same. In the Park, notice the balsam fir trees, an evergreen tree with cones. Their leaves are flattened and can be considered soft in comparison to pine needles. The spruce trees have a slightly longer and more spiny leaf than fir trees do. The tamarack (larch or juniper as it is known as in Newfoundland) is another cone bearing tree in the park. Its bluish green leaves are arranged in clusters and spirally grouped along each branch. Low plants which you see may be the common juniper shrub (once used medicinally), with blue-black berries or the trailing juniper, with bluish, berry-like cones.

Walk quietly and you may see a snowshoe hare or a red fox from the bush. Stop and listen to the songs of the woodland birds at your campsite and along the trails. Look above and you might see a bald eagle soar by. See the terns, with their black caps and "V" tails, as they swoop and dive along the coast. Watch for whales feeding on herring in the Bay of Islands.

PLACES TO SEE AND EXPLORE CLOSE BY

Use this Provincial Park as your home while you explore the surrounding area Drive west and visit Bottle Cove and Little Port, walk the beaches, the grassy trails to the point and view the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Outside of the park hike Blow Me Down Brook Trail. Ask the Park staff about the different routes to the top. Here you will be walking on rock which once formed part of the earth's mantle. Look at the many wild flowers along the way. There are opportunities to see caribou, moose and ptarmigan.

On your drive from Corner Brook visit the communities of Curling, Mount Moriah, Halfway Point, Benoit's Cove, John's Beach and Frenchman's Cove. Inquire locally and you will see each community has their own particular history and unique legends.

CELEBRATING OUR NATURAL HERITAGE

Provincial Parks and Wilderness and Ecological Reserves are special places held in trust for present and future generations.

Provincial Parks help people celebrate Newfoundland and Labrador' s rich natural heritage by providing province-wide opportunities for people to relax and recreate in a refreshing natural setting. Visit a park for a few hours or a few days and get closer to nature. Bring your family or friends, take a swim, hike, picnic, camp or just sit back and enjoy our evening campfire program. Through these activities Provincial Parks invites you to celebrate, discover, explore, understand and appreciate the Province's natural wonders.

Special natural areas such as Wilderness and Ecological Reserves are primarily set aside to protect large wilderness areas, representative samples of the natural regions of the Province, as well as the habitat of rare or threatened species and sites of special merit (e.g. fossil sites). Special reserves, such as Cape St. Mary's, provide people with the opportunity to experience the incredible diversity of animal life, plant communities, land forms and other natural features which occur here.

Visit one and experience apart of our unique natural heritage.