South Jersey Shore to Nova Scotia 9/2014

[cyn61]

Newer Class C owners planning our first long road trip. Would like to see Nova Scotia and Acadia National Park and anything else we can squeeze into a 2 week period. Would love to hear of your experiences and route suggestions! We will not be towing a vehicle, but will have bikes (considering purchasing electric powered bikes but not sure if it is really necessary). And thank you for your input!!!

[BillMFl]

cyn61 wrote:
Thank you' all for your suggestions! Just learned of the Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton at the beginning of October. Looks like a ton of fun! Anyone done this trip in the beginning of October? Any suggestions on campgrounds in and around Cape Breton? (Sorry about the double post!)

It gets cold early up there. Most NE RV parks start closing by mid Oct. Expect sub freezing temps at night. Dry sunny but cool days unless a front comes thru. Many RV parks close at end of Sept. Google the places you hope to stay at. They show their closing dates on their website. We ran out of time on our trip up there and didn't get beyond NB. We spent a lot of time visiting all the little towns along the coast of NB and also the NE corner of Maine. We will go straight thru to NS next time. We also used our van instead of our class A so that we could use small camp spots with no facilities.

[CloudDriver]

No idea about October, but when were were on Cape Breton in early June it seemed that we had arrived before the start of the tourist season.

Campgrounds we stayed at:
MacLeods Beach Campsite
Bras d'Or Lakes Campground and Baddeck Cabot Trail Campground, both near Baddeck
Louisbourg RV Park
Hideaway Campground & Oyster Market
These happened to fit our travels around the Island. We did not research and reserve ahead and there are plenty of others to choose from. Check closing dates as October might be after the tourist season up there.

We attended a Ceilidh at the Celtic Music Interpretive Center. Just amazing! You should really enjoy the Celtic Colors Festival.

Highly recommend a visit to Fortress Louisbourg.

[cyn61]

Thank you' all for your suggestions! Just learned of the Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton at the beginning of October. Looks like a ton of fun! Anyone done this trip in the beginning of October? Any suggestions on campgrounds in and around Cape Breton? (Sorry about the double post!)

[cyn61]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[alid]

Hi fellow South Jersey RV'r
we did the trip to Nova Scotia/PEI last year. it's a fantastic trip.

I would avoid the GW bridge and the Tappen zee I have done both in the past and hate the traffic / construction.

We ended taking the NY thruway up to 84 and going across the Newburgh bridge. It was worth the extra miles in my mind. (there is a KOA near Newburg also)

We took the ferry from Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby, NS. it was expensive but we really liked it. You will need reservations in advance.

We split our time in NS to 2 campgrounds one in the South(Highbury Gardens Tent And Trailer Park Kentville, NS), one in the North (Whidden Park Campground & Cottages Antigonish, NS).

Our best time on NS was exploring Cape Breton Highlands National Park on NS. We have a Jeep Liberty toad and did a lot of offroading on dirt and gravel roads to get to overlooks. We did it in one day (if I had to do it over.. I would have taken more time there).

Our lay over campground going up and back was Freeport Village Campground 11 Dotens Lane Freeport, ME We have stayed there before it is easy on and off of 295 and is a good excuse to go into Freeport and LL Bean!

Also if you want to go to PEI.. if you take the ferry one way from Caribou, Nova Scotia to Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island it is FREE!!!! first come fist board. Then you take the Federation bridge off of PEI it is lower in cost.

Fuel in Canada last September was about 5.20 per gallon. Make sure to purchase your fuel in the USA before going over the border.
PM me if you want. Have fun

[dcason]

Two weeks...I would see nova scotia and if there is time at the end...add in Acadia (at least that is closer and maybe it is another trip). It takes time to get up there.

Hopewell Rocks x2

If it were me, I would leave after work on Friday night and drive as far as I could, hopefully well up into Maine. Yeah, you'll be a little tired, miss the worst of traffic, etc. I would glide back home the day before I had to go back to work...get some sleep and put the mess away over the next few days:B

We went through NS on our way to Newfoundland this past spring...will see more of it on our next trip.

[BillMFl]

CloudDriver wrote:
We drove our Class C up to Nova Scotia back in June 2008. We had 22 days and wished we had more, but had to get back for a wedding. We had been to Acadia back in 2004, so didn't stop there in 2008.

The route we took was Garden State Parkway to Tappan Zee Bridge to I684 to I84 to I90 to I290 to I495 to I95 then I295 at Portland to route 1 up the coast. We crossed the border at Calis/St. Stephen and took route 1 to the Trans Canada Highway (route 2 in NB and Route 104 in NS).

Our main destination was Cape Breton Island in NS, so we didn't spend much time elsewhere in that Province. I think we had a week for Cape Breton and had a great time.

We did spend 4-5 days in NB as we wanted to experience the Bay of Fundy tides. IMO the best place for that is Hopewell Rocks. Fundy National park was also good.

I agree with happynow that you should plan on 3 or more days for Acadia. IMO 2 weeks isn't enough time to get as far as Nova Scotia and enjoy it.

I have used this very same route and agree with everything said. We summer in Maine and you can do the whole trip in two weeks but US1 is slow driving and so are the roads in New Brunswick. At Acadia be sure to take in the view on Cadillac Mtn. Once in the daytime and again after dark.

[CloudDriver]

We drove our Class C up to Nova Scotia back in June 2008. We had 22 days and wished we had more, but had to get back for a wedding. We had been to Acadia back in 2004, so didn't stop there in 2008.

The route we took was Garden State Parkway to Tappan Zee Bridge to I684 to I84 to I90 to I290 to I495 to I95 then I295 at Portland to route 1 up the coast. We crossed the border at Calis/St. Stephen and took route 1 to the Trans Canada Highway (route 2 in NB and Route 104 in NS).

Our main destination was Cape Breton Island in NS, so we didn't spend much time elsewhere in that Province. I think we had a week for Cape Breton and had a great time.

We did spend 4-5 days in NB as we wanted to experience the Bay of Fundy tides. IMO the best place for that is Hopewell Rocks. Fundy National park was also good.

I agree with happynow that you should plan on 3 or more days for Acadia. IMO 2 weeks isn't enough time to get as far as Nova Scotia and enjoy it.

[happynow]

We loved our 6 day visit to Acadia NP in July 2013,we will go back. IMO you need 3 long days in Acadia NP to get a glimpse of the park area's and enjoy a couple of short hikes. The hikes along the coast afford stunning scenery, recommend you make time if able. Bike exploring on the carriage roads, minimum one day.Hundreds of lovely places to stop for a picnic.
The Popovers at Jordon Pond House are worthy. We stayed at Blackwood's CG in Acadia NP and have wonderful memories of walking a path to the Ocean with our morning coffee to take amazing sunrise photo's. There are many CG with hookups outside the Park.
Visit Bar Harbor for great food,everything Lobster including ice cream, a wonderful farmers market and the tourist traps. Check out the downtown harbor area at low tide, fun. Tidepooling was excellent at Stanley Brooke. So much to see and do. Suggest minimum 4-5 days at Acadia to enjoy the flavor of the area. 6 pints of Wild Maine Blueberries traveled home to Maryland (in a cooler)with us!