Happy Valley-Goose Bay (HVGB) is a town of 7,750 people in Labrador, Canada founded in 1941 as a military base and seaport. During World War II, Goose and Gander in Newfoundland were important airbases, later serving as refuelling stops for planes en route to Europe.
Goose Bay was established in 1941 to host a military base during the Second World War. It was served by coastal ferries, until it was connected to Labrador City by road in 1992 and to Forteau by road in 2009. Air traffic has diminished greatly in the post-Cold War era; a small contingent of 100 troops remains deployed to CFB Goose Bay.
The "Goose and Gander" air force bases are the last military presence in Newfoundland and Labrador, along with a small naval station near St. John's.
Goose Bay is an important seaport for supplies arriving by Trans-Labrador Highway to be sent out by ship to other, more remote Labrador communities. It also served as a base of operations for supplies for a large-scale hydroelectric construction project at Muskrat Falls; that $12-billion project is to feed power by undersea cable from Labrador across Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, from which it can be exported through New Brunswick to the US market.
Canadian airlines operating to Goose Bay:
There is one taxi operator, Cooneys Taxi (374 Hamilton River Rd, +1 709 896-3311).
Hotel North 1 and 2, 25 Loring Drive and 382 Hamilton River Road, +1 709 896-3398. A group of three hotels (two in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, one in St. Anthony) and one motel (in North West River). $150-260
Labrador Inn, 380 Hamilton River Road, +1 709 896-3351. Naskaupi Dining Room, lounge, meeting rooms, 74 rooms open year-round. $150 January 2017:
Royal Inn, 5 Royal Street, +1 709 896-2456.
Big Land Bed & Breakfast, 34 Palliser Crescent, +1 709 896-2082, info@biglandbedandbreakfast.com. Continental breakfast included $90+HST 2017-01-31
Bell is the only cellular provider in this town.
A tiny (population 490) town, founded in 1743 as a French fur trade post (and later a Hudson's Bay Company post), it is the oldest community in central Labrador. (Cartwright was settled in 1775; Goose Bay and Churchill Falls, founded as a wartime air base and a generating station, are relative newcomers.)
The International Grenfell Association operated a hospital and a boarding school in the community from 1915-1981. There's one local craft shop and a convenience store; local outfitters offer guided tours and scenic walking trails lead through forests, along the waterfront, and up to the top of "Sunday Hill" with a panoramic view of Lake Melville, the Mealy Mountains, Grand Lake and Little Lake.
North West River is approximately 40 km northeast of Goose Bay on Route 520 across the river from Innu native community Sheshatshiu. It's been the most north-eastern accessible point on North America's main road network since the river was bridged in 1980. Onward travel beyond North West River in winter is by snowmobile trails north to Mulligan and Postville; there's also a seasonal trail from Mulligan to Rigolet. These trails are groomed but include some dangerous ice crossings.
Goose Bay is a major transit point for traffic to more distant points in Labrador because of its good road, air and seaport facilities:
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