Ancient, amazing, and utterly mesmerizing to behold, icebergs are a perfect match for Newfoundland’s ruggedly beautiful shore. Because icebergs come to us from the North, the right time to see them varies along the coast: the further north you go, the longer the season is.
Iceberg sightings
During the active iceberg season, Newfoundland & Labrador’s IcebergFinder is the established place to find out about recent iceberg sightings. Another fine place for recent sightings is the Newfoundland Iceberg Reports group on Facebook, I recommend you check them both out.
In the comment section below, I’ll add my own observations and keep a record of recent sightings as well, and you are welcome to share your sightings there too:
Iceberg seasons through the years
So when exactly is the iceberg season?
Every year is a little different, so it’s a good idea to keep your eye on the official Canadian Ice Service charts. By checking these charts early every year, you’ll soon see the potential of the upcoming season. This page keeps track of the annual iceberg seasons in 3 key areas:
- the Great Northern Peninsula (St. Anthony, L’Anse aux Meadows)
- the Kittiwake Coast (Twillingate, Fogo Island, Lumsden)
- the Avalon Peninsula (St. John’s, East Coast Trail)
To see what iceberg activity was like in previous years, just scroll back through the years in the window below:
| 2017: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: mid-February – (ongoing) ▤ sea ice: mid-January – mid-June |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: late March – (ongoing) ▤ sea ice: late February – late June |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ icebergs: early April – (ongoing) ▤ sea ice: late March – late April |
| Comments: | a good iceberg season right from the start / March and April polar bear sightings near St. Anthony, Twillingate, Newman’s Cove, Melrose, Catalina, Brookside, Wesleyville and St. Brendan’s |
| 2016: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: early May – late July ▤ sea ice: early January – early April |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: mid-May – early July ▤ sea ice: mid-February – early April |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ icebergs: late May – late June ▤ no significant amounts of sea ice |
| Comments: | April and May polar bear sightings in Goose Cove and on Fogo Island |
| 2015: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: late March – late July ▤ sea ice: early January – mid-May |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: late April – mid-July ▤ sea ice: early February – mid-April |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ icebergs: early May – late July ▤ no significant amounts of sea ice |
| Comments: | April and May polar bear sightings in La Scie, on Fogo Island, and near St. Anthony |
| 2014: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: late March – early August ▤ sea ice: late December ’13 – early June |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: late April – early August ▤ sea ice: late January – mid-May |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ icebergs: late April – early July ▤ sea ice: early March – mid-March |
| Comments: | a good iceberg season on the Kittiwake Coast and the Avalon Peninsula / March and April polar bear sightings in St. Anthony |
| 2013: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: late February – early August ▤ sea ice: late January – mid-April |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: early March – early July ▤ sea ice: mid-February – mid-April |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ no significant amounts of icebergs ▤ no significant amounts of sea ice |
| Comments: | March polar bear sighting near St. Anthony |
| 2012: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: mid-March – late July ▤ sea ice: mid-January – late April |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: mid-March – late June ▤ sea ice: late February – mid-April |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ icebergs: mid-March – mid-June ▤ sea ice: late March – early April |
| Comments: | March, April and May polar bear sightings near St. Anthony (2), Newtown/Greenspond and La Scie |
| 2011: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: late March – mid-September ▤ sea ice: late February – late April |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: late May & early September – early December ▤ sea ice: early April – mid-April |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ no icebergs ▤ no sea ice |
| Comments: | April polar bear sighting in St. Anthony |
| 2010: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: mid-April – late July ▤ sea ice: early February – early April |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ no significant amounts of icebergs ▤ no significant amounts of sea ice |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ no icebergs ▤ no sea ice |
| 2009: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: early March – mid-August ▤ sea ice: mid-January – mid-May |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: mid-March – late July ▤ sea ice: early February – early May |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ icebergs: late March – early June ▤ sea ice: late March – early April |
| Comments: | April polar bear sighting in St. Anthony |
| 2008: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: mid-February – late July ▤ sea ice: late December ’07 – mid-May |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: early April – mid-June ▤ sea ice: late January – late April |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ icebergs: late April – late June ▤ sea ice: mid-March – late March |
| Comments: | March polar bear sighting on Fogo Island and St. Anthony |
| 2007: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: early April – early August ▤ sea ice: mid-January – early June |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: early March – late July ▤ sea ice: mid-February – early June |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ icebergs: early April – early June ▤ no significant amounts of sea ice |
| Comments: | July polar bear sighting in Raleigh |
| 2006: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: early March – mid-July ▤ sea ice: late January – early April |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: early May – mid-May ▤ sea ice: late February – late March |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ no icebergs ▤ no sea ice |
| 2005: | |
| Great Northern Peninsula: | △ icebergs: late March – early May ▤ sea ice: early January – early May |
| Kittiwake Coast: | △ icebergs: early May – mid-May ▤ sea ice: late January – late April |
| Avalon Peninsula: | △ no icebergs ▤ sea ice: late March |
About these dates
The dates listed above are based on personal observations, information shared on social media, and on the official charts published by the Canadian Ice Service. A threshold of 5 icebergs was used as the minimum required amount for the observed ‘start’ and ‘end’ of an iceberg season in any of the three key areas.
Wildlife
While icebergs are the undeniable stars of any good iceberg season, they’re often accompanied by more infamous visitors too: polar bears hunting seals are known to drift in with the spring sea ice, giving coastal communities a good reason to be extra vigilant.
East Coast Trail Guide
With Newfoundland’s #1 hiking guide in your pocket, you’ll have no trouble finding your way to any of the icebergs that arrive on the East Coast Trail this year.
Welcome to Icebergs in Newfoundland, a brand new page on my blog that aims to gather and share news about the iceberg and sea ice season in Newfoundland.
The 2017 season is now well underway, with sea ice close to shore all along the northern shore of the island, and icebergs arriving everywhere.
A big berg just off Ferryland has been getting a lot of attention recently, but there are many smaller bergs all along the coast too, near Middle Cove, Cape Spear, Witless Bay, and other parts of the East Coast Trail.
Soon enough the tour boats will be going out to sea again, and we can all expect to see some great closeup shots of these icebergs 🙂
Check out this ‘cool pool iceberg’ in Outer Cove. Many tabular icebergs look flat from the side, and it’s only when you look on top that you discover the surprising secrets they hold.
This ‘dirty’ iceberg in Petty Harbour shows a lot of texture, quite unusual for Newfoundland icebergs, which are usually bright white, sometimes with clear blue streaks.
The infamous iceberg in Ferryland has now been there for a week, still drawing crowds every day. Photos are here, here and here, and stories are everywhere. This berg has caught the attention of the world, making headlines in places that likely don’t even know where Newfoundland is, let alone Ferryland. Pretty amazing!
This big berg is now on the move, steadily drifting south along the East Coast Trail, soon to travel the open water south of Newfoundland.
Today we’re past the 3 weeks mark for sea ice presence around St. John’s, which is an exceptionally long period for this area.
While people elsewhere look for shapes in the clouds, in Newfoundland we like to find shapes in our icebergs. Every season people see fanciful shapes in the bergs that drift by – this week an iceberg was spotted that seemed to carry a polar bear on top, something that can and does actually happen, but this time it was an ice sculpture, shaped by nature itself…
Today’s iceberg chart shows 9 icebergs off Gros Morne National Park. They’re not all within sight of shore but some are, a rare occurrence!
Icebergs and sea ice in Flatrock and Torbay today, a good time to hike Father Troy’s Trail if you dress warmly.
Small icebergs on the Pouch Cove side of Stiles Cove Path today, and a medium berg off South Head on Mickeleens Path in Bay Bulls.
Beautiful pinnacle iceberg off Bonavista today.
Sea ice is still packed-in tight from St. Anthony down to Bonavista.
Along the East Coast Trail the ice is spreading itself very thin however, not unexpected, as it’s held on much longer than usual as it is.
If you still want to hike among the unique scenery that comes with sea ice along the coast, check out Black Head North on Stiles Cove Path, Torbay Point on Cobbler Path, either side of Blackhead Path, Cape Spear, or the north and east side of Cape Broyle Head Path.
Thanks to the fantastic weather today, NASA’s Worldview satellites were able to take a beautiful photo of Newfoundland’s sea ice situation.
Lots of icebergs along the East Coast Trail right now. Icebergs also reported near several larger towns west of the Avalon Peninsula (Bonavista, Twillingate, La Scie, St. Anthony), most are still stuck in the sea ice which makes them harder to get to, but that much more scenic.
Icebergs still present along beautiful Father Troy’s Trail today.
A small iceberg is visible on St. John’s HarbourCam right now. I captured it here.
This week, some tour boat operators on the Avalon Peninsula and the Kittiwake Coast have started their seasons, showing visitors from all over the world the beauty of icebergs.
Trinity Eco-Tours shared a beauty of an iceberg today, it has two arches, or two eyes as they put it 🙂
There are still significant amounts of sea ice along the Great Northern Peninsula and the Kittiwake Coast, but on a day to day basis some gaps do open up along shore, giving icebergs a chance to break free and move closer to the spectators. As a result, more and more sightings from those areas are pouring in on the Newfoundland Iceberg Reports group on Facebook, joining the daily posts about bergs along the East Coast Trail.
Remember that small iceberg that drifted past the Narrows recently? It’s been attracting a lot of photographers this week, take a look at this great sunrise shot by Chelsey Lawrence.
A new app called Iceberg Alley sends out iceberg and whale notifications based on your location, you may want to check it out 🙂
Good numbers of icebergs in all three areas and in between, the season is coming along nicely!
Icebergs reported from the Avalon Peninsula to the Bonavista Peninsula to the Kittiwake Coast and even off Gros Morne on the west coast of the island!
CIS’s ice chart still show significant amounts of sea ice along the Great Northern Peninsula and the Kittiwake Coast, while the Newfoundland Iceberg Reports group on Facebook is filled with iceberg sightings in all three areas and between.
There’s a good looking pinnacle iceberg off Cappahayden today, that’s on the southern end of the East Coast Trail, on the Avalon Peninsula.
Lots of iceberg sightings along the East Coast Trail, but also a great number of bergs near Bonavista and along the Kittiwake Coast. A good time to be in Newfoundland for sure!
The pinnacle iceberg with a hole in it is still present off the southern East Coast Trail. It’s a real beauty!
The pinnacle iceberg near Cappahayden is still there, still looking good, you can see lots of pictures of it posted on the Newfoundland Icebergs Report group on Facebook.
I was supposed to be in LaScie right now to see the icebergs there, but a snowstorm on the west coast got in the way of those plans. Tomorrow I will drive to the St. Anthony area to see if any icebergs are present there. I’ll keep you posted.
Today I saw patchy sea ice along the Viking Trail from Arches Provincial Park all the way to to St. Anthony. We also saw several small icebergs, 1 near Flowers Cove, 3 in Green Island Brook, and several bigger bergs in the distance towards Labrador.
In our first full day on the Great Northern Peninsula we saw about a dozen small icebergs and a couple of good looking larger ones: in Goose Cove East we walked the Pumley Cove Trail and saw two nice bergs in Hare Bay. The other nice bergs were seen from the Flat Point Lookout in Great Brehat. Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow!
Today we explored several new viewpoints west of Pistolet Bay, and also revisited a few viewpoints that were fogged out yesterday. From Cape Onion, we counted 27 icebergs, all distant, in varied shapes and sizes. In Great Brehat we were thrilled to see one of the bigger icebergs had moved in to shore. At Cape Norman we counted about a dozen begs but they were all stuck in the sea ice. At L’Anse aux Meadows, a nice size berg sparkled in the setting sun. All in all it was a very good day to go iceberg hunting!
With the sun out, it’s easy to spot icebergs from nearly every viewpoint around the Great Northern Peninsula. This morning I counted about 2 dozen icebergs from the Flagstaff trail in Ship Cove, after that we drove to Englee and counted nearly 3 dozen bergs from the Barr’d Island Trail. Of course, all these bergs are quite distant, so bring your binoculars.
The only iceberg we saw near land today was in Grandois, just outside the harbour, surrounded by sea ice in a very scenic location. 🙂
My trip around Newfoundland is now in the rearview mirror, and I’m happy to say I can look back on a very successful iceberg hunt! Tour boats were not going out yet because of the sea ice, but we saw plenty of icebergs from the viewpoints and walking trails.
Right now the best place to find out about new iceberg sightings is IcebergFinder and the Newfoundland Iceberg Reports on Facebook.
The East Coast Trail is still one of the best places to see icebergs this month, so if you’re anywhere near St. John’s go outside and hit the trails to get closer to these glacial giants!
Icebergs are still being reported daily along Iceberg Alley, and mid-June is a great time to go see them. In Catalina (near Bonavista) there’s currently a beautiful iceberg with an archway in it, if you’re anywhere near you should definitely check it out!
Terrific iceberg photos coming in on the Newfoundland Iceberg Reports group this week. Twillingate, Change Islands and Fogo Island are absolutely swarmed by bergs right now!
Still lots of icebergs present, ridiculous amounts on the Kittiwake Coast even, but less and less on the Avalon now that summer is here.
A good size iceberg is present along Cobbler Path, reported by Lana on the Whales in Newfoundland page.
A story about this year’s iceberg season on CBC news.
smallish iceberg near blackhead.
Thanks Lana, one of the few bergs left along the East Coast Trail I imagine.
The iceberg season is still going strong, especially on the Kittiwake Coast and the Great Northern Peninsula. For recent sightings, check the Newfoundland Iceberg Reports group on Facebook.