Happy Valley-Goose Bay (HVGB) is a town of 7750 people in Labrador in Canada, founded in 1941 as a military base and seaport. During World War Two, Goose and Gander in Newfoundland were important airbases, later serving as refuelling stops for planes en route to Europe.

Understand

Austere Operations Training Complex

Dakota Range, CFB Goose Bay

Goose Bay was established in 1941 to host a military base during the second World War. Originally served by coastal ferries, 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 is also a base of operations for supplies arriving for a large-scale hydroelectric construction project currently underway at Muskrat Falls; that 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.

Get in

• Trans-Labrador Highway: (Route 500) runs west to Labrador City; (Route 510) runs south to Forteau.
• A coastal ferry calls at Lewisporte and Cartwright (Labrador), en route to points further north which are not accessible by road
• Access to Goose Bay (YYR  ^IATA) is primarily by air. For the town's size, its airport is huge - its 11000-foot runway is large enough for a NASA Space Shuttle.
  • Air Labrador, ☏ +1 709 896-6730, toll-free: +1-800-563-3042, fax: +1 709 896-8510. Small regional airline based in Goose Bay, with regular scheduled flights connecting Labrador's north and south coasts and the Quebec North Shore. Its seven planes operate from Goose Bay and Blanc Sablon to two dozen points in-region. 
  • Innu Mikun Airlines (Provincial Airlines), Hangar 17, Goose Bay Airport, ☏ +1 709 896-3553. Native airline with scheduled air service between Goose Bay, Makkovik, Natuashish, Nain, Postville, Rigolet, and Hopedale from Sunday to Friday; small aircraft transport people and cargo to remote points otherwise difficult to access except by sea. (updated Apr 2015)

Get around

There is one taxi operator, Cooneys Taxi (374 Hamilton River Rd, +1 709 896-3311).

See

• Aurora Borealis. The beautiful northern lights are visible here from late November through to late March.

Do

• Wolverine Bay. Swim in the warm fresh water bay.
• Hike. Walk some of the trails that are all over Goose bay.
• Berry-picking. Pick wild blueberries, or try some local redberry pie!

Events

• Labrador Winter Games. Held in-region once every three years; teams of all ages from across Labrador meet for a week-long celebration of sport and culture. (updated Apr 2015)
• Labrador Canoe Regatta, annual.
• PRIDE in the Park, c/o The Safe Alliance. late July. A small-town LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) PRIDE celebration with a march down Hamilton River Road to Kinsman Park. (updated Apr 2015)

Buy

• Canex, 381 Vanshee Blvd, CFB Goose Bay, ☏ +1 709 896-8243. Retail supermarket and barber shop on the base. (updated Apr 2015)

Eat

• Bentley's, 97 C Hamilton River Rd, ☏ +1 709 896-3565. Bentley's Beer Market (restaurant, 11AM-9:30PM Mon-Sat) and Maxwell's (nightclub, 11:30AM-3AM Thu-Sat). (updated Apr 2015)
• Midway Garden Restaurant, 342 Hamilton River Road., ☏ +1 709 896-5317. 11am-11pm daily, Sun 4pm-11pm.. One of two locations (the other is in Churchill Falls Town Centre). Pizza, burgers, fish and chips, Chester Fried Chicken, salads and soups. (updated Apr 2015)

Drink

• Trapper's Cabin Bar & Grill, 1 Aspen Road, ☏ +1 709 896-9522. (updated Apr 2015)

Sleep

• Hotel North 1 and 2, 25 Loring Drive and 382 Hamilton River Road, ☏ +1 709 896-3398, toll-free: +1-888-892-5505. 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, toll-free: +1-800-563-2763, fax: +1 709 896-3927. Naskaupi Dining Room, lounge, meeting rooms, 74 rooms open year-round. :

• Royal Inn, 5 Royal Street, ☏ +1 709 896-2456, fax: +1 709 896-5501. 

Cope

• Labrador Health Centre, ☏ +1 709 897-2000. Teaching hospital with 25 beds, a 24-hour emergency department and outpatient clinic, operating rooms, visiting specialists on a regular basis. 

Nearby

North West River

A tiny (population 490) town, founded 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 in the community from 1915-1981, as well as a boarding school. 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 40km northeast of Goose Bay on Route 520, where it has represented 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.

• Labrador Heritage Museum, North West River (on main road, just across the bridge), ☏ +1 709 497-8858. 9AM-5PM daily, June-Sept. Restored 1923 Hudson's Bay trading post with various artefacts relating to the fur trade, exploration, the Grenfell Mission and local Labrador history. Labrador Heritage Craft Shop (+1 709 497-8282) and tea room. $2/person. 

• Labrador Interpretation Centre, 2 Portage Rd, North West River, ☏ +1 709 497-8566. May 1-early Oct, 9AM-4:30PM daily, noon-4:30PM Sunday. A comprehensive view into the history and culture of Labrador. Aboriginal history; discover the founding peoples of Labrador – Innu, Inuit, Metis and settlers. Art gallery, temporary exhibit space and a small theatre. Permanent exhibition "The Past is Where We Come From" presents works of art and artefacts from each culture in Inuktitut, Innu-aimun and English. (free). 

• North West River Beach Festival, North West River waterfront. two days, last weekend in July. Labrador's biggest summer music festival. Local performers playing traditional Labrador music, crafts, food and games. 

Go next

• Cartwright (Labrador) is 90km off the Trans-Labrador Highway "beaten path" (there are no services or fuel at Cartwright Junction) and about 400km from Goose Bay. Whether one stays on the highway to Port Hope Simpson or turns to Cartwright village, the next fuel station (southbound) is 410km away.
• Ferries and aircraft from Goose Bay feed various points northward (as far as Nain) which have no road at all.
• To the west, there are hydroelectric developments at Muskrat Falls and Churchill Falls.

Routes through Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Labrador City ← Churchill Falls ←	W   E	→ END
END ←	N   S	→ Port Hope Simpson → Forteau
North West River ←	N   S	→ END