Travel Articles (Page 11/31)

Locals already know what a fabulous hike the North Head Trail is, one that’s likely been in use since the 1500’s. The trail takes you from the Battery neighbourhood within the city of St. John’s up to the Signal Hill National Historic Site, officially a distance of 1.7 kilometres one way.

If you’re staying downtown, you can hike to the trailhead. Otherwise, order an Uber and get dropped off in the colourful Narrows neighbourhood overlooking St. John’s Harbour. The trailhead is a short walk away.

In my opinion the North Head trail hike is one of the premiere things to do in St. John’s. Not only do you get the feeling that you’re far removed from a city, but you get some exercise with a beautiful backdrop. It’s a fantastic head-clearer and break should you be attending a conference like I was.

Some of you might fret over the “chains section” but it’s short and you’ll be through it in seconds. The rest of the hike is straightforward – though you may be huffing and puffing as you climb the final set of stairs to the top of Signal Hill.

Trust me, it’s all worthwhile, especially when there are icebergs – something I saw on a previous trip to St. John’s in June.

You can check out my Instagram reel of the North Head trail hike here.

This post includes some affiliate links. If you make a qualifying purchase through one of these links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. Thank you very much for your support.

You must walk through the Narrows neighbourhood to reach the official trailhead for the North Head Trail

North Head Trail in St. John’s hike summary

Distance: Variable depending on where you start walking from. It’s 3.4 km return as an out and back from the trailhead near the Narrows neighbourhood. We added an additional 3.4 km as an out and back from the Alt Hotel to the trailhead for a total of 6.8 km. An alternative is to walk 1.5 km down Signal Hill Road (not as interesting) to reach the Battery Cafe and from there return to your hotel or place of residence.

Elevation gain: Around 165 m (541 feet).

Time needed: 1 – 2.5 hours depending on where you start the hike. You can do it in as little as one hour as an up and down from the Narrows neighbourhood.

Level of difficulty: Easy in my books but moderate for anyone unused to elevation gain. Parks Canada rates it strenuous – challenging. The only challenging place for some with a fear of heights is the short chains section or the hundreds of stairs – but only if you’re NOT used to elevation gain.

Map: Look for a map at the intersection of Signal Hill Road and Battery Road. It shows the route to the start of the trail.

Trailheads: The parking lot on the summit of Signal Hill or somewhere near the Battery Cafe.

Options from the top: From the summit take the Ladies Lookout Trail to the Burma Road Trail to ultimately end in Quidi Vidi Village where you can enjoy a cold one at Quidi Vidi Brewery. From Quidi Vidi it is possible to hike the Sugarloaf Path all the way to Logy Bay.

Dress for the hike: St. John’s is known for its wind and fog, so dress appropriately. I’d recommend stuffing a raincoat and hat in your pack.

Don’t forget: Tell someone where you are going, practice the seven Leave No Trace principles and pack the 10 hiking essentials.

Some people might not like the short “chains section” on the North Head Trail

Finding the trailhead for the North Head Trail

Half the fun of the North Head trail hike is getting to the trailhead on foot.

To start, make your way to the Battery neighbourhood – filled with colourful homes that border St. John’s Harbour. From the Battery Cafe (a great place for breakfast, lunch, coffee, baked goods and rhubarb lemonade) near the foot of Signal Hill, hike 850 m along Battery and Upper Battery Roads to get to the trailhead.

Pass a series of black and white murals and the Battery Lookout with views across St. John’s Harbour.

Wind through the vibrant Narrows neighbourhood – looking for signage pointing you to the trailhead. At times it might feel like you’re walking into someone’s house. You are not. The locals are very friendly and will point you in the right direction if you need help.

Before you reach the North Head trailhead, be sure to look back at St. John’s Harbour. You can’t miss St. John’s Basilica with its prime position overlooking the colourful and historic downtown.

The Battery Cafe is a great place to refuel

Walking into the Narrows neighbourhood

One of the colourful houses you’ll pass on the way to the trailhead for the North Head trail

Lookout over St. John’s Harbour

Note the signage through the Narrows neighbourhood

I felt like I was intruding on the privacy of the locals on route to the trailhead

Looking back at the Battery neighbourhood

Description of the hike

I think the crux of the North Head Trail hike is finding the trailhead. Once you’re on the trail, the hiking is straightforward on a mix of rock and wooden steps.

One of the first sights on the hike is a deep cleft in the rocks. I looked into blackness and startled a couple of pigeons. Look out for seabirds too.

Continuing, make your way along the bottom of a rock-face looking out to The Narrows. Across the harbour, look for the Fort Amherst Lighthouse – something you’ll pass if you hike the Deadman’s Bay section of the East Coast Trail.

Keep moving, gradually climbing a rock-face. In season and with a bit of luck you might see whales and/or icebergs. It’s a great place to sit and just take in the view – providing of course there is one.

Take a breather when you get to a couple of red chairs with views over towards the Sugarloaf Path. Then there’s a minor bit of up and down before the final stretch – with a steep set of stairs up Signal Hill that will land you squarely on the top. Savour the view, before either retracing your steps or heading back down via Signal Hill Road.

Look over to the Cabot Tower and the North Head Trail from this photo taken on the Deadman’s Bay Path

North Head Trail photos

I think the following photos of the North Head trail will give you a very good idea of what to expect. Granted, I wasn’t hiking in rain or fog, so there was good visibility. Be extra vigilant about staying on the trail if thick fog rolls in.

Starting off on the North Head trail

You can’t miss this deep cleft in the rocks

Me on the chain section of the North Head trail

This section of the North Head trail offers views of The Narrows to the right

The stairs sure make the hiking a lot easier

A pretty section of the trails with some great views out to the Atlantic Ocean

Some people enjoying a Parks Canada red chair moment

From the bottom, the stairs look like they go on forever

You can walk up and down Signal Hill Road

Last Updated on June 18, 2024

Do you know how many countries you’ve been? Let me show you how to use Humbo to create your own countries visited map.

Ever since I ticked off my 100th country, I set a personal goal for myself: to travel to every country in the world. I’ve been slowly pursuing that goal over the past few years – things slowed down quite a bit after I moved to Mexico, as flights aren’t quite as affordable or direct here – but I’m not giving up and will keep chasing that dream, slowly but surely. 

When the folks at Humbo approached me to review their site, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to reflect, take stock and figure out how many countries I’ve already visited and how many I’m left to explore. In this article, I’m going to share how to use Humbo, with step-by-step guidelines and ideas on how to make the most of this new travel platform.

Humbo: A Multi-Functional Travel Tool

Humbo is a cool platform that allows users to visually capture and share the places they’ve been. It’s like a digital version of the scratch off world map. But instead of hanging on your wall, you can take it with you wherever you want and share it with whoever you want.

Besides allowing you to create a map of the countries you’ve visited, Humbo is also a great trip planning tool that provides ideas and inspiration for your next trip. For instance, if you search for Nepal, you’ll see all the top places worth visiting in Nepal, as recommended by other travelers. They are shown on a map, as well as in list form, so you can easily get an idea on where they are.

Creating a Countries Visited Map Step 1: Join Humbo

To use Humbo, start here: humbo.com/visited.

It’s ridiculously easy to join Humbo: all you need to do is enter your name and email address, no password needed! Honestly, I hate websites that make it such a pain for you to create an account, some of them requiring extra security steps. But Humbo makes it truly a breeze.

Once you’ve entered your name and password, you’ll be sent a code by email. It’s a 4-digit code that you just need to enter. And voila, you’re in! You’ll have a personal account and a url with your name.

Step 2: Rate the Places You’ve Been

Start building your map by rating places (towns/cities/national parks etc.) that you have visited. Countries are added automatically based on the places you rate. So if you rate Paris, then France will be added too.

Humbo gives you a few suggested places to start rating. You just need to give an overall rating for “How was the place?” by giving it 1-5 stars. Then you’ll be brought to the next step, where you can add ratings for five more questions:

• How were the people?
• How were the food and drinks?
• How were the public spaces?
• How was the value for money?
• How safe did it feel?

But you don’t have to rate this if you don’t want to; just click on the X button to close the rating pop-up and the place will still be rated. You also have the option to write an actual review, but I didn’t bother with that.

Step 3: Load Your Map

Once you’ve rated the first few places, your map will be automatically created! It already looks fantastic, with a rotating globe on the left and the list of places you’ve been on the right. 

Step 4: Add More Countries to Your Map

To continue populating your map, you can either click the “Add places” button at the right and search for places that you have been to, or click places on the map. 

I rated places that I had visited in Uzbekistan – Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand, Khiva etc. And just like that, Uzbekistan was added to my map. 

Step 5: Finish Your Map

It took me about 2 hours to rate the places I’ve been. I found out I’ve traveled to 149 countries and all 7 continents. It was so cool to walk down memory lane and reminisce on all the adventures I’ve had so far. 

Check out my map here: humbo.com/nellie-huang/map

Bonus: How to Create a Travel Bucket List

You can also use Humbo to create bucket lists and keep a record of places you want to visit. You search for a place (town/city/national park etc.) in the main search box at the top, go to the place page, and click “Save” to save the place in your bucket list. 

If you don’t know the exact place, but you know the country you want to visit, Humbo allows you to search for specific countries. On the country page you will find the country’s top destinations, and there you just click on the three dots in the top right corner of the place card, choose ‘Bucket List’ and voila!

I managed to add the remaining countries I’ve left to visit in my bucket list – such as Mali, Chad, Sierra Leone, Pakistan and Venezuela. So whenever I’m in trip planning mode, I can easily just go to my bucket list and get inspiration on where to go next!

My Thoughts on Humbo

After using Humbo to create my travel map, I found it to be such a simple, easy-to-use platform to keep a record of places I’ve been and find inspiration on where to go. Even if you’re not in pursuit to travel to every country, this can be such a practical trip-planning tool.

As Humbo is still a new platform, there is still a lot of room for improvement. For instance, I’d love to be able to embed the map in my website or connect with other travelers and see their maps. With more features, I can see how Humbo has the potential to be a powerful and incredibly popular tool. 

What I Like about Humbo:

• I like the interface – it’s simple, clean and easy to use.
• The country pages are great for learning about a country and discovering new places to explore.
• The list feature is another great tool to find travel destinations for future travels. Some lists like “The best foodie cities” are useful for people like me who like to eat!
• I was impressed that Humbo has even the most remote towns in its inventory. I could even find Ishkashim, a tiny town in Afghanistan with the Tajikistan border.

What I Didn’t Like about Humbo

• The platform still seems very new and unpopulated. It would be great if they could connect countries, perhaps add in nearby countries under each country page so you can easily hop from one country to another without searching for it.
• I would have loved to be able to see other people’s bucket lists and countries visited maps. It would be so cool if they can allow users to connect with Facebook friends and see each other’s countries visited map.
• I’d love to embed my map in my website; that’s not possible now but hopefully it can be a feature they’ll add in future.

Would You Use Humbo?

I personally think Humbo is a fun, interactive tool that allows people to track where they’ve been without creating an Excel sheet or buying a scratch map. Whether you’re an experienced traveler or a newbie who’s dreaming of traveling the world, Humbo will surely keep you wanderlust spirit burning. I know I’ll be continuing to scratch off my visited countries as I go along.

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Humbo, but as always, all opinions expressed are my own. I only recommend products that I find useful.