Elliston Root Cellars and Puffin Viewing

A Village That Calls Itself The Root Cellar Capital Of The World, With Well Over A Hundred Stone And Sod Root Cellars Used To Store Vegetables Through Winter, Some More Than Two Centuries Old. A Nearby Viewing Point Looks Across To A Sea Stack With Atlantic Puffins That Nest There In Summer. The Bonavista And Trinity Rows Are Separate. · Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador

Elliston is a small fishing village near the tip of the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland, about 230 km north-west of St. John's, or roughly three and a half hours by road. It calls itself the Root Cellar Capital of the World, with well over a hundred stone-and-sod cellars dug into hillsides beside the road, used for generations to keep vegetables through winter. Some are more than two centuries old. A short walk from the village brings you to a viewing point facing a sea stack where Atlantic puffins nest in summer, usually from about late May to August. The stack sits across a gap, so the birds are distant and binoculars matter. This suits bird lovers, photographers with long lenses and anyone driving the peninsula. It is small, windy and often foggy, with few services of its own, so bring food and warm layers. Allow one to two hours. The cellars can be seen from the road for free, and the Bonavista and Trinity rows are separate. Honest expectation: the puffins are a pleasant bonus rather than a close wildlife show, and the cellars are the more reliable reason to stop.

Fishing village at the tip of the Bonavista Peninsula, about 230 km north-west of St. John's, with about 135 root cellars dug into hillsides beside the road and a sea-stack puffin viewing point, Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

The root cellars stand beside the road and the village, so you can look at them at any hour and in any season; there is no gate and no ticket. The puffin viewing area is outdoors and follows the birds, not a timetable, with puffins present roughly from late May to August and gone for the rest of the year. Any visitor facilities, washrooms or seasonal staff are likely to run only in summer, and times change from year to year, so confirm locally before you drive far. Evening light is often good for the birds, but fog can hide the stack for hours. In winter the cliff paths can be icy and the area quiet, and the village is mainly a drive-through for the cellars.

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