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DEER LAKE |
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DEER LAKE , 210km west of Grand Falls, lies at the start of Route
430, the only road up to L'Anse aux Meadows, and has the nearest airport
to Gros Morne National Park , so if you fly in and rent a car at the
airport you miss the long trek across the island. There are regular
reasonably priced flights in from St John's (from $290 return) and a
clutch of car-rental offices inside the terminal building: try Budget (tel
635-3211), Tilden (tel 635-3282) or Avis (tel 635-3252). DRL Coachlines'
service from St John's stops at the Irving petrol station in Deer Lake
daily at 5.12pm. From here you can take the only bus service up the
Northern Peninsula, operated by Viking Express (tel 634-4710 or
688-2112), running to Rocky Harbour (Mon-Fri 5.40pm; $13) and St Anthony
for L'Anse aux Meadows (Mon, Wed & Fri 5pm; $40). If you want more
information about Deer Lake and the surrounding area, stop in at the
tourist information booth on the Trans-Canada, just east of town (daily:
June-Aug 8.30am-9pm; Sept & Oct 10am-7pm; tel 635-2202). One of the more
popular attractions in Deer Lake is the Newfoundland Insectarium , a few
minutes north off the Trans-Canada on Hwy 430 (July to early Sept daily
9am-9pm; early Sept to June Tues-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-5pm; tel
635-4545, www.newfoundlandinsectarium.nf.net ; $6), which exhibits
insect specimens from Newfoundland and from around the world and
features a working beehive which visitors can view from behind glass.
If you get stuck in Deer Lake, there's fairly convenient accommodation
at the newly renovated Deer Lake Motel (tel 635-2108 or 1-800/563-2144,
www.deerlakemotel.com ; $60-80), just 2km from the airport;
alternatively, the Driftwood Inn (tel 635-5115 or 1-888/635-5115;
$60-80), on Nicholsville Road, is a ten-minute drive east of the airport.
Watkins House , at 17 Phillip Drive (tel 635-3723; $40-60) and the newly
opened Lucas House , on 22 Old Bonne Bay Rd (tel 635-3622, deandrews@nf.sympatico.ca
; $40-60) are the only bed and breakfasts in the area. There are no
decent restaurants in Deer Lake itself, so you'd best stick to the
dining rooms of the motels or grab a snack at the convenience places on
the Trans-Canada, which cuts through the town.
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