We made another great stop during our road trip to Newfoundland: L’Anse aux Meadows.
Where is L’Anse aux Meadows located?
You’ll find L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site at the end of the Viking Trail (Route 430), on the most northerly tip of the island of Newfoundland, 72 kilometers from St.Anthony aiport, 313 kilometers north of Gros Morne National Park and 435 kilometers from Route 1 Deer Lake.
History on the Edge
For thousands of years, different cultures traveled great distances to take advantage of the natural bounty of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland and Southern Labrador. Each brought with them skills and new technologies that helped them thrive. Ancient Indigenous peoples arrived first—Vikings voyages here from across the ocean a thousand years ago. Basque whalers came five centuries later to exploit the riches of the New World. Other Europeans settled on the land while Indigenous peoples maintained their presence. Shipwrecks, tall tales, mysterious stones, and sacred traditions; each culture left its mark on the landscape for us to discover.
An epic Viking adventure unearthed
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, L’Anse aux Meadows provides evidence of one of the significant steps in human migration and is the only authentic Viking site in North America. They are recalling epic voyages across raging oceans. L’Anse aux Meadows contains the remains of an 11th-century Viking basecamp and is the earliest known European presence on the American continent. As this Norse outpost on Newfoundland’s windswept northernmost tip, walk in the footsteps and experience life in the North Atlantic.
What are you going to see in L’Anse aux Meadows:
-Viking Encampment-Living History: Are you curious about how the Vikings lived and worked? Visit with the navigator-adventurer, the weaver, the blacksmith, or other crew members and hear tales of trades/ Norse society, how to turn bog iron into a nail and cloth into currency. Check out their weapons, tools, cooking utensils, and reproductions of many artifacts representing everyday living.
-Sagas and shadows: Gather around the fire and join the crew for an evening of heroic and tragic tales from the Viking Sagas.
-The Meeting of Two Worlds: Discover the archeological significance of L’Anse of Meadows and its powerful place in the history of human migrations.
We loved this place, and it was so interesting to see how Vikings lived there. We were lucky to meet people reproducing their way of life and learned a lot about it.
