A la carte ordering available Wednesday - Sunday

The perfect recipe for what will be one of your most treasured memories. Lighthouse Picnics based at Ferryland Lighthouse (built in 1870) offers unique picnic food using the freshest ingredients.

A picnic to be enjoyed while relaxing and enjoying amazing scenery – waves, whales, and seabirds are all part of the vista. But what we offer is so much more than food and it is hard to describe in words.  It is a feeling that best describes a Lighthouse Picnics experience. It is a moment to ‘be’…

  • …be in a magical place enjoying breathtaking scenery
  • …be in the company of your friends and family
  • …be quiet and still with the sound of the ocean and wind
  • …be the most relaxed you have been in years!

Part of your Lighthouse Picnic is the walk to the lighthouse. As you walk along a natural isthmus you are surrounded by the sea on both sides of the path. Smelling the sea, hearing the seabirds and enjoying the view that goes on forever just sets the scene for your day at the lighthouse.

After your visit you can also brag to have eaten at the most easterly restaurant in all of North America. 

All of our picnics must be pre-ordered as we prepare everything fresh daily, and there is a limit to the number of people we can serve each day.

Every lemon squeezed, every cake baked, and every loaf of bread kneaded is done by hand at our kitchen in Ferryland.

The Story of Ferryland Lighthouse

Our lighthouse has had three very diverse phases of life since opening in 1870.

Lightkeepers

Firstly the Lighthouse at Ferryland Head has stood as a beacon to passing ships. At times a stark warning of the dangerous jagged shores, at times a comforting reminder to sailors that they were not alone in the pitch-black night.

The lighthouse is still operational; however it has been automated since 1970. For the 100 years previous, the lighthouse was staffed by families who lived in the two-family dwelling.

The first lightkeeper was the famous Newfoundland ship builder Michael Kearney and the first assistant keeper was William Costello. Over the next 100 years the Costello family would be the primary keepers of the light at Ferryland Head right up until 1970, when Billy and Kathleen Costello were the last family of lighthouse keepers. My family connection to this special place is that my Grandmother Esther Costello (daughter of John Will Costello – Lighthouse keeper from 1905-1927) was born at the lighthouse. Many family stories have been shared about life at the lighthouse.

Artisans

With the light automated and no need for a lighthouse keeper, it was originally planned that the house would be taken down. Luckily an active Ferryland Historical Society lobbied to have the lighthouse turned over to their group. And as fortune would have it, a young artist and his family thought this would be a perfect home. The dwelling became the home of Newfoundland’s renowned artist Gerald Squires and his family  in the 1970s. In addition to their home, the lighthouse became a pottery & art studio for the Squires family. It is here that Gerald completed some of his finest work including ‘The Ferryland Downs’ series. Many of Newfoundland and Labrador’s greatest artists, musicians and writers would congregate on Ferryland Head throughout those years and many a tale is told of the fun, and artistic influence this place would have on their work.

Once Gerald and his family moved out the early 1980s, the lighthouse dwelling was abandoned for over 20 years and fell into major disrepair.

Picnics

Picnics was not the expected new lease on life for this building, but that is truly the third phase in the life of this lighthouse. Growing up in Ferryland, I could not believe that this building, in the most beautiful place in the world was left empty. After moving away from Newfoundland for several years, each trip home reaffirmed the beauty of this place compared to the many stunning places I visited around the world.

In 2003 armed with lots of ideas and enthusiasm, Lighthouse Picnics became a reality – albeit operating from a small stand outside the building. But with an outpouring of community support and more customers than we could prepare food for, we knew we needed to open the lighthouse again. Over the winter of 2003/2004 the restoration started and it was quite the feat to reopen the building.  With lots of hard work, enthusiasm, cups of tea, food and laughter we reopened the lighthouse in June 2004.