Port au Choix protects the archaeological digs in Phillip’s Garden, which revealed how Newfoundland’s prehistoric cultures lived. Excavations in the 1960s turned up Dorset Paleo-Eskimo bone implements, tools and weapons dating back 1900 to 2,800 years. An older Maritime Archaic Indian burial ground, estimated at 3,300 to 4,400 years old, yielded bodies buried with their tools and weapons smeared with red ochre.

At the Visitor Reception Centre a short film and exhibits explain the prehistoric cultures uncovered in the area. The 4-mile round-trip Dorset Trail leaves form behind the visitor centre and leads past the archaeological sites in Phillip’s Garden. The more scenic 2.4-mile-long Phillip’s Garden Trail begins on the outskirts of the community of Port au Choix and follows the coastline to the Point Riche light-house. The digs are visible from this trail, too.