by Keith and Heather Nicol
Last winter we had a chance to join Darren Park for a great trip to the North Arm Hills, which are located at along the North Shore of Bay of Islands near Corner Brook. These mountains are visible in the distance as you drive along the south shore of the Bay of Islands but are generally inaccessible for most people unless you take a snowmobile trip. Although we have lived in the Corner Brook area for over 30 years we had never been into this area before so when we heard that guide, Darren Park was doing snowmobile tours of this area we jumped at the chance to join him. We met Darren a couple of years ago through his dory fishing trips and we had such a good time that we decided to do his day long snowmobile tour "into the hills".
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| The trail winds past scenic Old Man's Pond |
We met in Cox's Cove on a sunny Saturday last March and after a quick introduction on how to drive a snowmobile we were off. Our route took us past scenic Old Man's Pond and by following a series of wood's roads we eventually got to the base of the North Arm Hills. We drove along the base of the Hills and then followed a broad valley into a protected spot for lunch where Darren lit a fire and produced all sorts of goodies to eat. From there we ascended on to a broad plateau which forms the upper surface of the North Arm Hills where we climbed some small hills and cruised over the wide open slopes. "Winter is the best time to get in here" Darren told us " since you can literally travel anywhere". Then all to soon it was time to retrace our steps back to Cox's Cove. Darren also offers a full day tour to the "Sinkhole" and a shorter 4 hour tour to a remote cabin where he has a boil up and snacks. You can bring your own sled or you can rent a snowmobile from Darren like we did. He can be reached at
709-688-2125 or crazyaboutguiding@gmail.com
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| Descending off of the North Arm Hills |
