Newfoundland and Labrador is a destination that feels entirely different from anywhere else in North America, offering a rugged, wild, and deeply welcoming environment for families. From wandering the colorful, steep streets of Jellybean Row in the capital to standing on coastal cliffs watching icebergs drift by and puffins dive into the Atlantic, the easternmost edge of the continent is pure magic. When planning your trip, figuring out the best things to do in st. john's & newfoundland with kids requires balancing breathtaking outdoor adventures with practical logistics. The weather is famously unpredictable, the distances between major sights can be vast, and the ocean commands deep respect. However, with the right itinerary, this province offers unparalleled opportunities for your family to connect with nature and history.
For a complete overview of the region, be sure to bookmark our comprehensive City Guide: /city/st-johns-newfoundland. Whether you are looking for iceberg spotting, whale watching, or interactive historical sites, this guide will walk you through exactly how to plan a trip your family will cherish for a lifetime.
Top Things to Do in St. John's & Newfoundland with Kids: Wildlife & Ocean Adventures
Newfoundland is globally recognized for its spectacular marine wildlife. Seeing these animals in their natural habitat is a cornerstone of any family visit to the province, but choosing the right way to view them is key to keeping kids comfortable and engaged.
Witless Bay and Intimate Boat Tours
Just a short drive south of St. John's lies the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve (boat tours). This protected area is a world-class wildlife spectacle where millions of puffins, murres, and kittiwakes swarm rocky islands. For families, getting out on the water is a must. We highly recommend booking an outing with Molly Bawn Whale Watching. Unlike the massive tour ships that can feel crowded, Molly Bawn offers an intimate, ecologically-minded boat tour. Getting up close to breaching humpback whales and watching puffins awkwardly skip across the water's surface is thrilling for all ages.
Practical details: Tours generally run from late May through August. Expect to pay around $75-$90 CAD ($55-$65 USD) for adults, with discounted rates for children. Always dress your family in windproof layers, winter hats, and mittens, even in July. The temperature drops significantly once you leave the harbor.
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Land-Based Puffin Viewing
If your kids are prone to seasickness, or you are traveling with very young toddlers, land-based viewing is a fantastic alternative. The Elliston Puffin Viewing Site, located on the Bonavista Peninsula, is the closest land-based puffin viewing spot in North America. Families can sit on the grassy cliffs and watch hundreds of puffins socializing just a few meters away. It is incredibly accessible, requiring only a short, relatively flat walk from the parking area.
Practical details: The site is free to visit, though donations are deeply appreciated by the local community. Visit early in the morning or late evening when the birds are most active.
Further south on the Avalon Peninsula, the Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve offers another world-class nature spectacle. Here, you can stand just meters away from tens of thousands of nesting Northern Gannets. The sight and sound (and smell!) of this massive seabird colony perched on a towering sea stack is unforgettable. The walking path to the viewing area is about 1 kilometer long and relatively easy for school-aged kids, though you should keep a firm grip on toddlers due to steep cliff edges.
The Majestic Western Brook Pond
Over on the west coast of the island in Gros Morne National Park, the Western Brook Pond Boat Tour is an absolute bucket-list journey. This tour takes you through a billion-year-old glacier-carved fjord featuring 2,000-foot cliffs and cascading waterfalls.
Practical details: It is crucial to know that reaching the boat dock requires a 3-kilometer (1.8 miles) walk from the parking lot. The trail is flat, well-maintained, and stroller-friendly, but you must factor this 45-minute walk into your timing so you don't miss your boat departure. Tickets run about $70 CAD ($50 USD) for adults and $35 CAD ($25 USD) for kids.
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Epic Hikes and Outdoor Things to Do in St. John's & Newfoundland with Kids
The provincial landscape is laced with incredible trails, but hiking with kids requires selecting paths that offer high rewards without dangerous terrain.
Skerwink Trail and Ferryland Picnics
On the Bonavista Peninsula, the Skerwink Trail is widely considered one of the best coastal hikes in the world. It is a 5.3-kilometer loop that offers jaw-dropping views of sea stacks, passing icebergs (in early summer), and whales. While it involves some climbing and stairs, active school-aged kids and teens handle it beautifully. Plan for about two hours to complete the loop, and bring plenty of water.
For a gentler coastal experience, book a spot at Ferryland Lighthouse Picnics. This is a quintessential Newfoundland experience where families hike a highly scenic, rolling coastal trail (about 25 minutes each way) to a historic lighthouse. Upon arrival, you are handed a beautifully packed picnic blanket and a basket filled with gourmet sandwiches, freshly squeezed lemonade, and desserts.
Practical details: You must book this months in advance as it sells out completely for the summer. It costs roughly $35 CAD ($25 USD) per person, with specialized kid-friendly sandwich options available.
The East Coast Trail
The East Coast Trail spans hundreds of kilometers, but sections vary wildly in difficulty. For families with older kids and teens seeking rugged, spectacular coastal views, the East Coast Trail - Sugarloaf Path rewards hikers with dramatic cliffside vistas and crashing waves. For highly adventurous, physically fit teens, the East Coast Trail - Spout Path features a natural freshwater geyser that blasts into the air, driven by wave action. Please note: The Spout Path is an all-day, grueling hike and should only be attempted by experienced teenage hikers with proper gear.
Adrenaline and Parks
If you are visiting the west coast near Corner Brook and your teens need a break from hiking, head to Marble Zip Tours – Steady Brook. This adrenaline-pumping aerial adventure features nine ziplines that soar directly over a massive gorge and waterfall.
For a more relaxed afternoon in the same area, Margaret Bowater Park is the crown jewel of Corner Brook. It features a unique, supervised swimming area right in the Corner Brook stream, complete with a splash pad and playground, making it a perfect, low-cost afternoon for younger children.
Historic Highlights & Cultural Adventures
Newfoundland's history is incredibly rich, spanning Indigenous heritage, Viking explorers, and early European settlers.
L'Anse aux Meadows
Located at the very northern tip of the island, L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the only authenticated Viking settlement in North America. This site brings history to life for kids perfectly. Costumed interpreters sit inside reconstructed sod and timber buildings, telling stories by the fire, demonstrating blacksmithing, and showing kids how the Norse lived over a thousand years ago.
Practical details: Driving here from Gros Morne takes about four hours. The site is highly accessible, and admission is around $13 CAD ($10 USD) for adults, while youth under 17 enter for free. Plan to spend at least two to three hours here.
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The Matthew Legacy
In Bonavista, families should stop by The Matthew Legacy. Housed in a large boathouse, this is a full-scale, touchable replica of John Cabot’s 1497 ship. Kids can climb aboard, explore the incredibly cramped sleeping quarters, and get a tangible sense of how terrifying and uncomfortable early ocean exploration really was. The guides are fantastic at engaging children with nautical history.
Food, Farms, and Local Markets for Families
Dining out with kids in Newfoundland is generally a very relaxed, welcoming experience, but mixing in local markets and farms provides great variety.
The St. John's Farmers' Market is a vibrant community hub operating on Saturdays. It is highly stroller-accessible, featuring wide aisles and a fantastic array of global street food, local baked goods, and crafts. It is the perfect place to grab an eclectic lunch where every family member can pick exactly what they want to eat.
For a true hands-on agricultural experience right in the city, visit Lester's Farm Market. This quintessential family farm experience offers everything from strawberry picking in the summer to an impressive petting zoo where toddlers can interact with goats, bunnies, and alpacas. They also have a fantastic on-site food truck serving up fresh meals using farm ingredients.
Age-By-Age Guide to Newfoundland Family Travel
Because the terrain and travel times in this province can be demanding, tailoring your itinerary to your children's developmental stages is critical.
Toddlers (Ages 2-3)
Keep drives short and focus on sensory experiences. Lester's Farm Market is a guaranteed win for this age group. When it comes to wildlife, prioritize land-based viewing like the Elliston Puffin Viewing Site over long boat tours. Toddlers struggle with being confined on a rolling boat for two hours, but they will happily toddle around grassy fields watching birds.
Preschoolers (Ages 4-5)
This is a great age for Margaret Bowater Park's splash pad and shallow swimming areas. Preschoolers will also love the interactive nature of The Matthew Legacy, where they can touch the ship's rigging and explore below deck. Be cautious with coastal trails; always hold hands near cliff edges, and bring a sturdy carrier for hikes longer than a kilometer.
School-Age Kids (Ages 6-10)
This age group thrives in Newfoundland. The Western Brook Pond Boat Tour is highly recommended, as they can easily handle the 3-kilometer flat walk to the dock. Ferryland Lighthouse Picnics are also a massive hit, combining a fun hike with the novelty of eating outdoors on a cliff. You can also look for family-friendly boat tours that offer a G-rated "Screech-in" ceremony, where kids get to participate in local tradition by "kissing a cod" without the alcohol.
Tweens and Teens (Ages 11-14)
Older kids need engagement and adrenaline to keep complaints at bay. Marble Zip Tours in Steady Brook will give them the thrill they are looking for. Teens are also highly capable of tackling the stunning Skerwink Trail. Give them the camera or smartphone and let them be the official iceberg and whale photographers for the family.
What to Skip: Overhyped or Impractical Spots for Families
Not every highly-rated tourist attraction translates into a good family day out. Save your time and money by skipping these logistical headaches.
- DRL Coachlines: Attempting to cross the province using the cross-island bus is a grueling 14-hour endurance test. Between the lack of entertainment, rigid schedules, and cramped seating, it is a nightmare for kids. Rent a car or fly between St. John's and Deer Lake instead.
- Deadman's Bay Path (East Coast Trail): While the East Coast Trail is famous, this specific section is notoriously rugged, featuring steep, ankle-twisting rocky terrain that is completely unsuitable and unsafe for young children.
- St. John's Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour: The infrequent schedule and long wait times between stops make this a logistical headache for families. You are much better off driving to Signal Hill and Cape Spear at your own pace.
- Newfoundland Insectarium (Reidville): It is a wonderful facility, but it is located a 7-hour drive from St. John's. Many tourists see it in guidebooks and don't realize the massive scale of the island. It is an impossible day trip from the capital.
- Chinched Bistro & The Lantern – St. John's: Both of these are fantastic dining establishments, but they cater heavily to an adult palate. Chinched focuses on adventurous nose-to-tail dining (like pig's ears), and The Lantern prioritizes a quiet, highly formal atmosphere.
- Northern Horizons Adventures (ATV tours): These tours are physically demanding, loud, and often have strict age or height requirements that will exclude younger members of your family.
- Spirit of Newfoundland Productions: Dinner theater is fun, but these productions run very late into the evening and feature long-form entertainment that will easily exhaust school-aged children and toddlers.
Pro Tips from Parents for Visiting Newfoundland
- Book Your Rental Car Immediately: Newfoundland experiences a notorious rental car shortage during the summer "Iceberg Season." If you do not secure a vehicle at least six months in advance, you may find yourself entirely stranded, as public transit between major natural sites is essentially non-existent.
- Prepare for Rapid Weather Changes: St. John's is the foggiest city in Canada. When the wind shifts and the "sou'wester" blows in, temperatures can drop 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) in a matter of minutes. Always carry a backpack with warm layers, windbreakers, and hats for the kids, even if the morning starts out bright and sunny.
- Beware of Sleeper Waves: At stunning rocky beaches like Middle Cove, the North Atlantic can produce sudden, massive "sleeper" waves. These waves wash much further up the beach than normal waves and can easily pull a child into the freezing water. Never turn your back on the ocean, and keep young kids well above the high-tide line.
- Stock Up on Local Snacks: Make a trip to a local grocery store early in your visit to buy Jam Jams (soft molasses cookies with jam), Cream Crackers, and Peppermint Knobs. These iconic Newfoundland treats are perfect, inexpensive fuel for hiking and long car rides.
- Seek Out a G-Rated Screech-In: The traditional Newfoundland "Screech-in" ceremony (where visitors become honorary Newfoundlanders) usually happens in bars on George Street and involves a shot of rum. However, many family-oriented boat tours and community events offer a kid-friendly version. Kids get a certificate, learn a local phrase, and get to kiss a codfish. (Also, skip George Street at night entirely—it is the densest concentration of bars in Canada and becomes a heavy adult party zone).
Traveling to the edge of the continent requires a bit more planning, but the payoff is immense. Watching your kids lock eyes with a puffin, taste wild berries on a coastal trail, or stand inside a Viking replica dwelling makes every mile traveled worth it. By packing smart, respecting the ocean, and choosing experiences that match your family's pace, discovering the best things to do in st. john's & newfoundland with kids will easily become one of your most treasured travel memories.