With a KOA campground, you always know you are getting a safe, family-friendly environment. All KOA campgrounds offer level campsites suited to everything from tents to pull-through RVs, clean bathrooms with hot showers and laundry facilities, and an on-site store. Every KOA campground across North America has passed an annual 600-point inspection. As an added bonus, the KOA Value Card ($24 USD per year) gives an automatic 10% discount on daily camping registration fees, discounts with KOA partners, and you can also save up points toward camping rewards.
The KOA brand is not as established in Canada as it is in the United States. In Newfoundland, there is only one KOA campground, the Gros Morne/Norris Point KOA, which is located at Gros Morne National Park, considered a World Heritage Site. To reach it, follow Highway 430 (the Viking Trail) north 65.3 kilometres from Deer Lake until you arrive at Norris Point Access Road. Turn left (west, toward the Gulf of St. Lawrence). You will find the KOA 1.5 kilometres past the Gros Morne Information Centre.
The Gros Morne/Norris Point KOA is a winner of the KOA President’s Award (2007). It offers campsites suitable for everything up to a maximum of 60 foot pull-through, with 50 amp electrical hookup. You can also rent a one-room cabin or on-site RV. WiFi is available at no extra charge, as is a communal kitchen. (KOA ‘kabins’ and standard ‘kottages’, unlike KOA lodges and deluxe ‘kottages’, do not include a private kitchen.) Recreational facilities include a games room, playground, and pedal boats on a private lake, with additional swimming available at beaches or (5 minutes away) an indoor facility, including children’s pool and hot tub. The campground also offers local tours and fishing for a small additional charge.
The area teams with spectacularly scenic hiking trails at all levels of difficulty, or you may prefer to go kayaking in the secluded landlocked fjord of Western Brook Pond. Humpback whales are a common sight in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, just one of the many marine species highlighted at the Bonne Bay Marine Centre at Norris Point. On a more sedate note, Gros Morne National Park has an Artist in Residence program, a joint project of Parks Canada, the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Canada Council for the Arts. The Gros Morne Theatre Festival offers both dinner and warehouse theatre (May to September). Following the Viking Trail to its end, you will discover l’Anse aux Meadows, where you can explore the history of North America’s first settlers in a recreated Viking settlement.
The Gros Morne/Norris Point KOA is open May 15 to October 31. Reservations are recommended.
http://grosmorne.com/koa