Parks and the outdoors in St. John's

13 parks, gardens, beaches and walks in and around St. John's.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

See
Bannerman Park
This urban park has large grassy areas and a few small flower beds. Near a small bandstand, there is a life-size statue of a girl sitting on a park bench tying her ice skates. A building shaped like a railway station has a BeaverTails stand and a WC.
See
Bowring Park
A beautiful 20-ha (50-acre) park with duck ponds, bridges, walking trails, tennis courts, playground equipment, an outdoor pool and many monuments.
Do
East Coast Trail
A cliff side trail along the coast north of Signal Hill. This trail system extends in segments to the north and south for dozens of kilometers.
See
Government House
Government House contains the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, and sits in a park with flower beds and blossoming trees. As well as visiting the gardens, the public may go within the main entrance of Government House to sign a guest book and pick up a free postcard. (The main entrance of the building is at the rear on its north side; bypass the side entrance on its west side.)
Free
See
Harbourside Park
The park hosts concerts, and features statues of a Newfoundland Dog and a Labrador Retriever.
See
Memorial University's Botanical Garden
Also a nature reserve, the botanical garden displays plants in many different environments; for example a greenhouse, and alpine house and a peat gardens. In additions to visitors, also wildlife such as hares, ducks and even moose have been spotted here, in addition to butterflies and songbirds.
Mon-Fri 9AM-4PM
Do
Middle Cove Beach
Torbay, Logy Bay and Middle Bay are about 13 km north of the city, past the airport. The closest beach to St. John's. Noted for annual caplin roll in late June.
See
Railway Coastal Museum
The museum has various exhibits about rail and coastal shipping located in the original 1903 Riverhead Railway Station. The museum contains dioramas of passenger car interiors built into the dismantled passenger car bodies. Outside, south across the street from the museum, a locomotive and two carriages are on display in a small park. Behind the museum at its NE corner, the shop building of the Newfoundland Railway still stands without any tracks; although closed to the public, the shop front can be viewed from a public area.
10AM-5PM, closed Mon & Tue from Oct to mid-June
Do
Salmonier Nature Park
A 3-km nature trail winds through a mixture of wood and wetlands. View animals in their (enclosed) natural habitats. The trail takes about an hour to walk. 65 km from St. John's.
Do
St. John's Haunted Hike
Tour historic St. John's while being regaled with stories of the spooky & strange.
Sun-Thu at 9:30PM in summer
See
Terry Fox Mile 0 Site
A small park containing a bronze sculpture of Terry Fox dipping his foot in the water at the site where in 1980 he began his Marathon of Hope to raise money and awareness for cancer research.
See
The Battery
Small village on the edge of the downtown where small houses are framed by the sheer cliffs. The village was once part of the British Defence for the St. John's Harbour. A trail leads from the end of the Battery around the cliffs and up to Signal Hill.
Drink
The Quidi Vidi Brewing Company
Tour the brewery and sample specialty beers. The 30-min hike along the shore from Signal Hill is gorgeous.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to St. John's (CC BY-SA 4.0).