Hello all., I have tried to read through pages and pages of stuff involving the east coast...So much to read, not alot of answers. Need some first hand advice here as i have never been. We are leaving from Regina in the middle of June on our month long honeymoon, I on my 2010 Versys and She on her 2012 F800GS. Pretty much blasting the Trans-Can though manitoba into Ontario. Stopping in Ottawa to visit family. Then go into Montreal and Quebec for a couple nights each. Basically go from Quebec into New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, then maybe hit up Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and back up into Canuckistan and back home. We dont really want any gravel or anything of that sort or camping, We do hotel or B&B's. Not to fond of major highways like number one but not sure where we have to take it and where we dont. We Do like slower pace, scenery and food! so i want your suggestions on roads, and if we need to cut out some things then to get home when we are supposed to then no biggie. June 15th ish to July 15th ish are the days. I dont want to rush like crazy to get home. HELP from Saskatchewan!!
Hey guys, I'm in Regina. Found this route in the Winnipeg thread- someone recommended this area East of Montreal. http://lecheminduroy.com/en/cartes.php May I suggest you post in each regional thread for local advice? I've had great luck in using the locals for the best info. And for heading back to town from the East I'd use the US side as opposed to the CDN side- way more secondary hwys. to travel on, and gas will be cheaper. A few more KM's but depending on time that's what I'd do.
Thanks for the reply. Im still chuggin along through threads trying to dig up some info, just sloooow paced.
Your trip and your adventure but i gotta ask....why would you come this far to explore but leave Newfoundland off the agenda? Scenery like no other province with a slower pace and some really friendly people. I am not meaning to be critical but i would not ride to Alberta from the East coast and not bother to see the Rockies or BC.
Nfld would need another trip, imo. Or gun it to the Rock, and spend 3 weeks there. my best advice, Once near the Atlantic stay on a coastal route as much as possible. Great scenery, nice pace.
For sure go around Lake Superior on Hw# 15 through Northern Ontario. Don't ride at night, lots of moose and deer. You could travel the North Shore from Quebec city and take a ferry across the river to Methane. The south shore is basically super slab but a little faster if your pressed for time. You could invest 2 days and go around Gaspe in Quebec, it is nice and worth it. If you wanted you could cut through the centre at a couple points and see the mountains. The Gaspe is basically all sea shore on one side rock on the other. Perce is the high point and you want to see that. There are some nice things to see in New Brunswick, some of the interior is cool, very remote some hills. There is the Rocks and the Fundy Park as well. Saint John River Valley is nice. I find PEI a tourist type place, kind of expensive. The Cabbot Trail of course in Cape Bretton and Fort Lunenberg is nice. On a nice sunny day you can't beat Halifax harbour. Hope you have a great time down east!
What a great idea! Think she'll let you keep up? I also live in Regina now, but moved here from PEI and I think you'll have way more to see than you'll have time. I agree with the previous poster, the trek to NL is no small add-on. I'd love to ride the rock, but that's a trip unto itself. I'd highly suggest following the Saint John River in New Brunswick as well as stopping over in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea. Plan your trip to PEI with a stop in Shediac on the way. In PEI, take the bridge onto the Island, and the ferry back. The ride from the Bridge to the ferry will give you a nice tour of the Island and take you right through Charlottetown. If you want a side trip, head to St. Peter's Bay or Murray Harbour (especially since you'll be there for lobster season!). A little asking around in a small harbour will get you cold lobster off the boat for lunch. DM me if you want more on PEI. As for NS, hard to argue with Cabot Trail...but be prepared for traffic. You could spend more time watching the cars dawdle in front of you than the scenery. It's breathtaking but busy. Watch out for the highway turn at Meat Cove :) Also worth a ride through the Annapolis Valley to Yarmouth, where you can take a ferry to Maine. Hope this helps, let me know if you want more!
You've only got a month so best to get to Ottawa ASAP then slow down and enjoy the scenery. No time for NL as you don't want to rush that. PEI is all touristy so unless you have a thing for Ann of Green something then a quick tour is all that needs. We did this tour last September in two weeks. Couldn't get the boat to NL cause blowhard " Sandy" was on our tail. Took the Ferry from Digby to St. John cause it was flooded behind us in NS. Gaspe tour, Perce Rock, Hopewell Rocks, Fundy Kayaking and the Cabot Trail. AWESOME!
Sounds like a excellent trip. I lived in NS for about 15 years, now I live in Ontario. I was back in NS this summer with my wife and I'd really suggest going through Advocate Harbour. Almost right after you cross the border from New Brunswick you get off the highway and there's about 45 - 60 min of great riding on some twisty beautiful back roads to get to this little gem of a town. Make reservations at the "Wild Caraway" restaurant, the food is superb, very well priced and fresh from the wharf about 50 meters away and they have a B&B. There are also some sea side cottages to rent as well, great places for honeymooning. Take some time to see some of the area there, like the Cape D'or Light house or Red Rocks (Cape Chignecto park). There are some fantastic views. I don't think to many tourists have found this area yet either. You can then head towards Spencer's Island (a very small town, but check out the beach) and ride some very incredible back roads (about 1.5-2 hours worth) until you connect to the Highway which will take you to Truro - Where you can head towards Halifax (East) or Cape Breton (North) or if you go the other way (South) you'll can head towards the "valley". http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Tourism-g499210-Advocate_Harbour_Nova_Scotia-Vacations.html http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Rev...n_Cape_d_Or-Advocate_Harbour_Nova_Scotia.html http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attractio...incial_Park-Advocate_Harbour_Nova_Scotia.html http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restauran...ild_Caraway-Advocate_Harbour_Nova_Scotia.html Have fun and good luck, there are lots fantastic places to see "out east"
The ferry to Maine has been out of business for a few years now to the best of my knowledge. The coastal roads in N.S. are secondary roads for the most part. You can get some great views but the roads are rough and narrow etc. Not like a highway at all. If your in no rush they can be a lot of fun and the views can be great. But you don't make good time on them. Also in southern N.S. is Peggy's Cove. It is a tourist trap, just a small fishing village but pretty.
I kind of liked the roads along the St John River in NB, and crossing the covered bridges back and forth, but they were also pretty bumpy when I was there.
Big +1 there! I knew we were in trouble when 6" of grass was growing out of the "highway". The road less travelled for sure. So bumpy the speed limit wasn't an option. Going around corners too fast bounced you to the outside real quick. When Zumo quit, a local stopped and said "best go back where you came from". Low on fuel, no backup maps, no gas stations nearby. Missed out on the potential scenery due to stress. That was the 316 hwy around Larry's River. Was trying to get to #7. Not sure I'd do that section again.
Peggys Cove AFTER Labour day 2012. Notice the Double tour busses and the blocked off parking. Lots of Elderly people with canes and walkers. We circled on our bikes trying to find a spot. We were there so..... Check out the Swissair 111 Memorial while you are there also.
Maybe it's a regional thing, but I search out these roads everywhere I go. Also one of the joys of an adventure bike, where all that suspension travel pays off. Wings and Harleys need not apply
More by circumstance really. We'd left Pleasant Bay on Cape Breton and followed the Cabot Trail counterclockwise (preferred way I'm told scenerywise) and were making our way to Peggy's Cove all in one day. Figured we'd follow the coast and if not for failing to fuel up and GPS failure it would have been fine. We were fully loaded, hungry and getting tired. Didn't think we'd be all alone while doing so. Had we been Local and could pack light for a day trip (like you)we'd be all over that as well. As it was, we arrived well into the night, foggy, with my low beam burnt out. Most hotels were booked so we were forced to carry on. Lessons to pass on: Fuel up when you can rather than when needed if you don't know the area. Pack food! Never rely solely on electronics, carry back up maps also. Extra bulbs. The GS's go thru'em at a stuid rate. Got that OP? Call ahead for accommodations or get the "Shat" to find you something. Our Roger's phones don't work in a lot of the Maritime areas. No signal. We've been doing longer and longer trips together and learning as we go. She's a city girl. Likes the comforts. Baby steps. At least she has her own bike.
Regarding the coastal roads I was just trying to advise the people what to expect. Mainly plan to take a lot longer and that the roads are not exactly highways. Some of them just dead end. Riding a motorcycle the roughness isn't that much of an issue but it was downright scary in my motor home, and I hated hitting tree branches on my windshield while still on the pavement. The negative camber in a turn in a motor home, followed up with a frost heave isn't confidence inspiring. Some of these roads would be better off graded up and left in gravel, the pavement is that bad.
That is a fair trek in a single day indeed. Not that this is what you did, but a common error is to calculate travel time by distance (say being able to cover 100 km in one hour)...it just doesn't work that way, at least in this part of the world . I was just laughing the other day with a colleague about the Northern Peninsula of NL. Back a few years ago I travelled there for work a fair amount. My head office was out of TO and I'd get these calls, "could you swing up to St Anthony and check out...." They'd be looking at a map and think it was just a couple of hours run to to St Anthony from say, Corner Brook. Anyone who has travelled it knows better, particularly in Dec
