Trans Labrador Highway

Very interesting trip. I made notes so I can find this in the future, when we have more time for a long trip. We like going north, where it's cooler, in the summer.

Thanks for posting everyone!

Yes, and you should try it sometime. It is a wonderful adventurous ride.

Labrador has a highway?

WE went in 2013....June. Actively paving then and probably a fair amount done since then. Lonnieandsue.com Lonnie went this year Baie Comeau to Labrador City, etc. (we did opposite direction. However, Lonnie had some issues with hand so he isn't putting up his info for a few months he said...so you can wait for that..

You can read our blog about it here.

As soon as we got on the road in Red Bay, Hubby played with speeds. First slow and then he decided to kick it up a notch to kind of dance across the top. Faster worked better but all hell broke loose in the back; I sketched the rattling. The Quebec portion of the road was pretty hilly, weaving winding and REALLY hard to gain any moment to keep the Labrador speed so we had to go slower. There were some surprise paved areas that we hadn't expected there based on the info I had before we went.

We were not in Labrador a long time and the Churchill power plant was closed to touring (which we heard was common). Forest Fire burning near Lab City so we didn't hang there as there was enough commotion going on.

Quebec needed to grade their roads much better; Labrador was actively grading theirs. No mishaps...good because we kind of forgot to get the satellite phone. Saw wildlife along the road = nice! Note there are not many "rest areas" along the whole root at all (just a few). Rest area = a parking area and maybe a picnic table at best.

We are glad we did it but will wait to do it again when more road is paved and spend more time.
We overnighted in Manic 5 along with a ton of truckers and left early (really early...read that part to find out exactly why!). Boon docking wherever you can find it (the couple of rest areas, gravel pit...easy enough I would say. We got gas when we saw it (no gambling on that should a pump be out or broken and didn't worry about price).

Mosquitos? we hoped we didn't have to get out to fix a tire. One road worker had the obligatory helmet plastered with some goo and TONS of mosquitos stuck on it.

I don't know about the sharp stones as we didn't have any problems with our 10ply tires on our 25 foot class c. I do know the gravel on the very edges can be "soft" so don't go too far over (we knew so we did not).

The truckers in Quebec are booking it FAST so do yourself a favor and get out of their way.

Go for it. This was end of June and we only saw 3 other rv's of any sort along the whole way. There are very few cars on the road so be prepared with anything/everything you need...nothing between the towns (absolutely nothing but lovely scenery).
Watch weather and make sure snow is gone before you start in Baie Comeau (which is why we went the other way so we could go early).
Donna

Roadpilot wrote:
Since you haven't had any responses yet, I'll provide our experience that is about 5 years old. We were staying in Newfoundland and took the ferry to Blanc Sablon with the intention of driving the toad towards Goosebay. The first thing we noticed is that anybody walking outside had netting over their head. In NH we have May flies because they occur in May only, The same flies in Labrador have 5 life cycles not one, so they're there all summer.

In Red Bay the Road ends, We didn't go further because we were told the gravel road is made of very sharp stones and flats are very common.

Again this info is 5 years old and they may have paved the road since then.

WELL, can't agree with you AT ALL. Many drive the gravel road at 70 km per hour. I didn't a) because I wanted to look at all and sundry and take pictures and b) it suits me to go more slowly.

They opened the section from Cartwright JCT to Happy Valley-Goosebay in 2009.

My photos are linked in the signature in 5 sections. & then you can see how good the gravel road is. I've heard of further paving.

Remember my trip was in 2006 and I moved over across The Gulf in 2008.

GO!

:B


-New Road 2006 -- Old Tote Road

We made the trip in a 40' motorhome this year. Am just getting ready to move today so will try and write up something for you tonight when we get parked, or tomorrow.

06-26-2015 – Departed campground in Baie Comeau, QC at 9:20 am. Fueled the motorhome and bought groceries.

Highway conditions: Asphalt but condition varied from bad to very good. Just drive the conditions.

We arrived at Manic-2 at 11:20 am, 21 km. There is a large parking lot just above the site of the visitor’s center. The tour started at 11:35 with a video. Tour completed and back on the road at 1:20 pm. Recommend the tour but personal effects, ie purses, or camera are not allowed.

The road is very curvy and constantly up and down. I drove most of it at 30 to 40 mph, not because of the road condition but because of the curves. In the bad section’s I got down to 20 mph.

It is 216 km to Manic-5. We passed over 15 large pullouts suitable for camping. When we got to Manic-5 I went into the visitor’s center and asked if there was a place here we could park overnight. Was informed we could park in their parking lot, which was on the left side of the road, or in the parking lot across from them, which is on the right side of the road. Their parking lot is asphalt and running downhill. The one on the right is gravel and level so we selected it. It appears we were parking in the area where there are barracks or the employees. Signs are posted that indicate NO PARKING. Got setup at 4:55 pm.

06-27-2015 - Departed at 9:05 am. The distance to Labrador City is 376 km. We drove 363 km today because we stopped short of the town. With time out for lunch and stopping for photos we drove a solid 8 hours today. That comes out to 28.25 miles per hour.

Highway conditions:
From Km 216 to Km 256.2 gravel for 25.1 miles – rough and slow
From Km 256.2 to Km 263.2 asphalt for 4.4 miles – fair to good
From KM 263.2 to Km 314.2 gravel for 32 miles – rough and slow
From Km 314.2 to Km 480.3 asphalt for 104 miles – first 50% very good, rest fair to good
From Km 480.3 to KM 547.3 gravel for 42 miles – rough and slow
From Km 547.3 to Km 570 asphalt for 14 miles – good – Border crossing

7 km into Labrador we turned right for Duley Lake Family Park. Stayed 2 nights and cost $20.00 CA with no services.

06-28-2015 – Departed at 10:15 am. The distance to Church Hill Falls is 261 km. Very good 2-lane asphalt all day. We passed 20 large pullouts suitable for camping. We arrived in Churchill Falls about 2:30 pm. No campground but RV’s are allowed to park at Town Center. Church Hill Falls is a company owned town. Town Center houses most of the services in town including the grocery store, library, restaurant, and many others. RV’s can park in the truck area and plug into 15 amp electric for free.

If you are interested in a tour of the power plant I recommend calling in advance. The tour guide quit a month before we got there so NO TOURS until they get another one.

06-30-2015 – Departed at 8:00 am. The distance to Goose Bay is 288 km. I had an accident in Churchill Falls and was medevac’d to Goose Bay. Sue had to drive the motorhome. The road was new asphalt all the way. She arrived around noon. She only noticed a couple of large pullouts suitable for camping.

We took 520 out of town to Goose Bay Lodge and RV Park. At the edge of town is the airport fence. Just past there is a sign that reads “Trailer Dump”. Then in about 8 miles you cross a bridge. One mile past the bridge is the campground. It was closed. We returned to town. A man in town found us parked on the side of the road and asked if we were looking for a campground. We told him “yes”. He told us that the only campground in town was closed but that his family had a large area on a lake and we were welcome dry camp there for free. It was located just past the campground that was closed.

He offered to show us where it was; we followed him. We went 1 mile past Goose Bay Lodge and RV Park and turn right onto a narrow gravel road, then went 0.3 mile. There is a huge gravel area that is large enough for 50 to 75 RV’s to park. We stayed there 4 nights. Other RV’s were also using it.

We picked up our granddaughter at the airport. She spent a month traveling with us.

07-04-2015 – Departed Goose Bay at 2:55 pm. Went back to 510 and took it. It turned to gravel immediately. Sign indicates next service is 392 km. Within a mile of the turn onto 510 was a sign for 590 km. We stopped at a large pullout at 92 km at 4:45 pm for the night. We passed 2 other large pullouts this afternoon.

07-05-2015 – Departed pullout at 9:35 am. Fueled at P & K in Port Hope Simpson. All services available accept a campground. It closed a couple of years ago. We were offered a spot to park at P & K but the area was very unlevel. We drove back east of Port Hope Simpson, 8 km, to a Rest Area we had passed and parked for the night. Drove 301 km today. Passed 8 to 10 large pullouts and Rest Areas.

07-06–2015 – Departed the Rest Area at 9:10 am. From Red Bay to Blanc-Sablon, QC is 215 km. We saw 8 tom10 large pullouts to Red Bay but not many from Red Bay to Blanc-Sablon. Got to the ferry landing in Blanc-Sablon at 2:45 pm. The ferry departed at 6 pm.

The road from the jct of 500 and 510 to Red Bay is under construction in many areas but very seldom effected the flow of traffic because there is very little traffic. Much of it is due to widening the road and some from the installation of a new power line. I found the driving very easy and pleasant and would not hesitate to do it again. Just maintain speed depending on the road surface not the speed signs.

Small problem with mosquitoes but controllable with spray. Sufficient fuel stops; just make sure you fuel either at Goose Bay or Port Hope Simpson. Speed determined on how much you want to rattle your rig, both on asphalt and gravel roads. Much of the gravel is better than the older asphalt. Water and dump is available in Labrador City, Churchill Falls, and Goose Bay.

Go and enjoy. It is a great trip.

Since you haven't had any responses yet, I'll provide our experience that is about 5 years old. We were staying in Newfoundland and took the ferry to Blanc Sablon with the intention of driving the toad towards Goosebay. The first thing we noticed is that anybody walking outside had netting over their head. In NH we have May flies because they occur in May only, The same flies in Labrador have 5 life cycles not one, so they're there all summer.

In Red Bay the Road ends, We didn't go further because we were told the gravel road is made of very sharp stones and flats are very common.

Again this info is 5 years old and they may have paved the road since then.