Bangor to Calais on Maine Route 9 ?

I've been driving Route 9, aka the Airline, for the past half dozen years. 3/4T Chevy pulling a 35' fifth wheel. Always an enjoyable drive. It keeps you away from the Bar Harbor/MDI congestion.

We just came back from a 30 day trip to Newfoundland. Route 9 in Maine was o.k. but the roads in New Brunswick North of Saint John and the roads in Nova Scotia were in pretty bad shape. Especially at the bridges. They had a rough winter.

As folks have stated, #9 is used by many large trucks hauling tree length logs, wood chips, and many commodities from Canada. It is about 100 miles of country roads and small towns. It is certainly drivable in a coach.

If time and a little more distance is not an issue, I would suggest driving I-95 to Houlton, Maine, crossing the border and picking up the Trans-Canada highway at Woodstock, New Brunswick. The drive along the St. John River is beautiful with the rolling hills and river views. The road is double lane and in excellent condition.

What has been mentioned about the Maine moose is very accurate. Drive in daylight hours for the least amount of problems.



If you do decide on the Trans-Canada route, about 45 minutes out of Woodstock you will come to “KINGS LANDING”. This is an active living community as you would have seen it back in the 1800s when the “Kings” men first came up the St. John river and made settlement.

LINK

Enjoy your adventure.

Lakeside

We drive that road every few years and it is much better than most of the roads in Nova Scotia.

Fish/Lobster trucks from N.S. go down through there 70 to 80 mile per hour.

A very easy drive....

loggenrock wrote:
At least when I lived in Orono, Rte 9 was in the US, not Canada (no offensive to the OP - but the post on the tragic deaths of the RCMP officers in Moncton, NB, gets moved from the "Canada" section and a post about a road in Maine remains there???). FWIW, Rte 9 is a bit boring, IMHO, but direct it is! Mostly rolling terrain. ST

There is nothing about rving in the Moncton story.

:C

At least when I lived in Orono, Rte 9 was in the US, not Canada (no offensive to the OP - but the post on the tragic deaths of the RCMP officers in Moncton, NB, gets moved from the "Canada" section and a post about a road in Maine remains there???). FWIW, Rte 9 is a bit boring, IMHO, but direct it is! Mostly rolling terrain. ST

If you take 395 from Bangor to holden, you will bypass in town traffic, and there is an Irving station/circle k on 1a in holden with very good access for large rigs. Continue east on 1a for a couple miles then turn left on 46, it is only 5 miles or so over to rt 9 and you will have bypassed almost all of the 35mph and 40 mph zones through brewer and Eddington. There is a Walmart in brewer not far from 395 if you need any supplies or overnite parking.

Moose can be a problem in Maine. During the day collisions are rare. They are the size of a draft horse and easy to spot. Seeing one is a bit of a thrill.

At night they are dangerous. They are black and head lights do not illuminate them. Drive during the day and you won't have a problem.

Don't forget to fuel up before entering Canada. Diesel in New Brunswick right now is $1.34 per liter or $5.02 per US gallon. Same fuel, same refinery, costs $3.95 per gallon in Bangor Maine.

In St. Andrews try "The Harbour Front" restaurant and ask to sit on the water front patio. Try Moosehead Beer (ask for a Moose Green) with the steamed lobster. A true Maritime meal!

The Algonquin Hotel has fantastic food as well, but no view.

Route 9 has some moose habitat (guess you could say that for most of Maine) and great views from some of the hills. Then in St Stephen (on the Canadian side of the boarder) if you go through down town, on the left hand side of the road is Roger's Chocolate Factory.

After you leave St Andrews, on Hwy 1 in Pennfield you will find McKay's Wild Blueberries. I had one of their Blueberry pies...will stop again when we pass through Pennfield.

Have never stopped to see the reversing falls at St John.

We take an energy break at Tim Hortons in Sussex..a little coffee and pastry gets the blood sugar levels back up there.

We stayed at Arm of Gold Campground near North Sydney, Cape Breton. Used it as a central location to visit Cabot trail (we missed the Glenora Distillery), the Fortress of Louisbourg, and Miners Museum in North Sydney.

Hope you have a great trip.

Wrong Lane:

Thanks for going the extra mile for me. I was trying to contact just such a driver for his / her input. That really helps. Thanks Much !