The Puffin Viewing area is in Sandy Cove, part way between Elliston and Maberly of Route 238 on the Bonavista Peninsula.
In other areas of the province, you need to take a boat tour to see Puffins. In the Elliston/Sandy Cove area you can see them from the coastline. When you arrive at the Puffin Viewing area, you park on the road and head for a little building that is manned for the summer. Puffins can be seen from mid-May until mid-September. We visited in September and were told that they could be leaving any day.
The puffins raise their young during the summer in Newfoundland on small offshore islands. The nests are boroughs in the ground. The islands look like a mine field. Lots of sea gulls are hanging around, hoping to raid the nests. In Sandy Cove, the puffin island is just off-shore, within easy view from the shore.
From the building, follow the trail out to the end. It’s a fairly easy trail to walk. You’ll have no trouble seeing the puffins. It’s better if you have binoculars. If you want to take pictures, you’ll need a good zoom on your camera.
We were told in the summer months the puffins will come over to the mainland as well. When we were there, they only left the island to fly out to sea for some fishing.
The trail also features some beautiful views up and down the coast. They also have a root cellar that you can go into and a traditional garden to check out, next to the trail.
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