Gros Morne is a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the reason is under your wheels as much as in front of you. Here, on the west coast of Newfoundland, ancient ocean floor and a slice of the Earth's mantle were pushed up onto the continent when old continents collided. The result is the Tablelands, an orange-brown plateau of peridotite that looks like a piece of Mars dropped between green hills and a cold sea. Few plants tolerate the mineral chemistry, so the ground stays eerily bare.
The mountain that gives the park its name is a rounded 806-metre dome, and the rest of the scenery is on a grand scale too: Bonne Bay, a deep fjord-like inlet, cuts into the land, and inland lies Western Brook Pond, a freshwater fjord whose cliffs rise straight from the water. The villages around Bonne Bay, such as Rocky Harbour and Norris Point, are working fishing communities, and they are where you will find coffee, a bed, and most likely fuel; ask before you count on it late in the evening.
For a rider, the Viking Trail through here is relaxed and scenic more than technical. The bends are easy and the road follows the coast with the Gulf of St. Lawrence on one side and the Long Range Mountains on the other, so views turn up in long, generous sweeps. Wind can be serious on the exposed sections, and on cold days the sea fog drifts across the road and changes the ride completely. Moose are the main hazard, especially at dawn, dusk and in drizzle, so keep your speed honest and your eyes on the verges.
The people who settled this coast fished cod for centuries, and traces of that life show in the wooden stages, the stacked traps and the small churches. Before them, Indigenous peoples and Norse sailors passed through. Plan for the weather to be the dominant character: you may get one blue day, one grey day and one wet day, and the sensible response is to ride whatever you are given and stop at a bakery when the rain really sets in.