The oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland stands at Cape Spear, about 20 kilometres south of St. John's. Built in 1836 and restored to its 1839 appearance, it gives a vivid picture of how a lightkeeper and his family lived through the long Newfoundland winters. The adjacent Visitor Centre covers the history of lightkeeping on this coast.
The headland itself is spectacular — rocky cliffs, open ocean, and in season: humpback and minke whales feeding close inshore, seabirds nesting in the cliff faces, and icebergs drifting south from Greenland between April and June. Bring a warm layer even in summer.