musika
Explorer
Joined 6 years ago
User Profile
User Widgets
All Activity
Re: Thinking About Nova Scotia/PEI July/Aug 2020
How much time overall do you want to spend, and how much time do you prefer to drive every day? PEI and the Cabot trail look close on the map but it's a fairly significant drive between the two. You will definitely need reservations. Our camping season is very short (June-Oct for some provincial campgrounds) so even mid-week can be tricky at the more popular ones (Caribou-Munroes Island for example, which is awesomely placed for the PEI ferry). Be aware that one of our major national park campgrounds, Keji, is closed this summer so competition will be more fierce than usual, especially for mainland spots. Provincial booking opens in early April for NS. The Cabot Trail is a very outdoorsy destination. There are a few trails here and there that are accessible - look for the green ones - they are colour coded by difficulty on the map.642Views0likes0CommentsRe: Niagara NY to Acadia NP in 5 days
VTLee wrote: Take the ferry from Plattsburgh to Route 2in Vermont to I-89 to exit 7 to Barre and then stay on rt. 302 to Twin Mountain. Thanks, I think we will be likely doing that. Question - any suggestions on a route through the Adirondacks to get to Plattsburgh? Rte 3 or alternate?680Views0likes0CommentsRe: TCH through NB, NS, and PEI
The Trans Canada is a 2 lane highway in spots along your identified route, FYI. For example, between Antigonish and Port Hawkesbury Hwy 104 (as it's known) is not twinned. The TCH in Cape Breton continues as Hwy 105 all the way to North Sydney and does not go to Inverness. To get there, you'll be taking Route 19 - it's a 2 lane, recently paved (in parts) decent highway. If it were me, I'd take the ferry back over from PEI to NS. It's about an hour, and while expensive, it's a fun family thing to do. We took our camper last summer with no issues, though you do need to take either the first or last 2 crossings of the day with a high vehicle. If you're intent on doubling back via NB, you'll be hooking up with the Trans Can at Aulac NB, then heading south through Sackville/Amherst on the 104. From there, you have the choice of the Cobequid Pass (toll road) or Wentworth Valley (Route 4) to get to Truro, if you're intent on taking the highway. Just before Truro, the 104 veers towards New Glasgow/Antigonish where it meets the 102. You will have plenty of big rig company on the Trans Can, but also on some of the smaller roads. Plenty have done the Cabot Trail with bigger rigs. I would venture to say all Maritime roads are fair to middling in terms of road quality, but we locals drive them and survive :) Do you have any particular spots you want to see or camp at? That might help with road recommendations.399Views0likes0CommentsRe: Crossing into Canada from Maine
Regarding food, you're not permitted to bring in fresh fruit, milk, nuts, meat, that sort of thing. Anything pre-packaged/shelf stable should be fine. You are also not allowed to transport wood. We've not crossed with our camper yet but totally didn't think about the fact that means our leveling blocks need to change. Apparently if they are sealed with paint it is okay? I haven't tested that theory. We've crossed at Calais a few times with a car and it's generally been straightforward both ways every time.950Views0likes0CommentsRe: Niagara NY to Acadia NP in 5 days
Update on the camping front - we do have reservations as of today in Twin Mountain NH and at Hadley Point in Acadia NP area. We decided based on the advice so far to travel to Maine on July 2 instead of July 3. So the good news is that we will have 2 nights in NH (Jun 30/Jul 1) and 3 nights in Maine (Jul 2/3/4, leaving the 5th for home). The not so nice news is that we now have 2 nights to get ourselves from Cambridge ON to Twin Mountain NH. This is where I need some routing help. We will be crossing the border at Niagara Falls. My initial thought was to hug the lakeshore (Following the Seaway Trail), then cut inland on Route 3. We'd take Route 3 through the Adironacks and overnight somewhere between Cranberry Lake and Saranac Lake (still picking a spot). Questions - What's the best route through the Adironacks with a trailer? We need to make some time, but we also want a semi-pretty drive. How's the grade on route 3? We will need to cross over into Vermont. Keeping in mind our ultimate destination is Twin Mountain NH (therefore Rte 302 into NH), what's the best crossing? I feel like it's not worth it to go as far north as Plattsburg?680Views0likes0CommentsRe: Niagara NY to Acadia NP in 5 days
Crowe wrote: If you have not yet made your reservations for the White Mountain area and Acadia it may be a moot point. You are also picking one of the worst possible weeks from a traffic standpoint to travel. From North Conway, NH, to Bar Harbor is just over 200 miles. How long it will take will depend on your route (there are multiple) and traffic but it should be less than your 5-6 hour timeframe. July 3rd being a Friday will compound this. It could be a miserable trip trying to get through it all. If you can travel to Acadia mid-week that would help some. There's plenty to do in the area to keep you occupied for the extra time. Your trip does not allow for a lot of "down" time to enjoy what the area has to offer and will be compounded by the extra traffic due to the holiday. With kids I'd drive straight through VT and spend the time in NH & ME. Unfortunately the week is fixed, as I said we are travelling for a wedding so not much we can do about the timing. I'm trying to book sites this week so you're right that will really determine where we end up in NH. For ME, looks like a couple of sites still have availability so we should be good on our general plan there. With regards to travel from NH to ME - Do you think it's of value to boot on through on I-95 as far as we can, or would we benefit from going Rte 1 along the coast? We've done both before, but not with a camper. I'm guessing from your comments that Rte 1 is likely to be a bit of a gong show.683Views0likes0CommentsNiagara NY to Acadia NP in 5 days
Hi folks, I tried a search but couldn't quite find what I'm looking for. Hopefully you are able to help! Sorry for the book that follows... We are travelling from Nova Scotia to Ontario for an event in June. I'm pretty confident I can figure out the Canadian leg of our trip, but the US side is tripping me up a bit. We will be leaving Cambridge ON on Sun Jun 28, plan to cross the border at Niagara Falls NY, and want to be in Acadia National Park by July 3rd at the latest so we can experience all your Independence Day glory in Bar Harbor :) That gives us 5 nights along the way. Here's where I need route/campground suggestion help: - We will have 2 kids with us, so our maximum drive time every day is a factor. We'd prefer to spend no more than 5-6 hours total driving each day. - If we can squeeze it in, we'd like to spend at least a night, maybe 2, in the White Mountains area of NH to take the kiddos on the cog train. - We're from the East Coast, so we're used to bumpy roads, but not mountains. Avoiding very steep grades would be helpful (how do I identify the grade?). - I need the most help figuring out the NY/VT/NH side of things. My initial trip plan has us doing something like this: Jun 28 - Drive to Hamlin Beach/Lakeside State Park in NY Jun 29 - Follow Niagara scenic byway for a stretch. Stop at Brown Tract Pond SP in NY to break up the drive. (This would take us through the Adironacks and this is where I start to get iffy on road conditions) Jun 30 - Either drive straight through Vermont (would like to hit Burlington and Waterbury, likely go via Montpelier to Franconia area NH?) or stop overnight in Groton Forest - downside to this plan is needing to book 2 nights when we only need 1. Jul 1 (Happy Canada day!) - Start of our 2 nights in the White Mountains area - route and campgrounds TBD - still can't decide if it's better to be up near Jackson...or Franconia... or the Conways... July 2 - Still in NH July 3 - Cut cross country to Acadia NP (I am aware this will be a long driving day but not sure how we can break it up). From there we'd plan to spend the nights of July 3 and July 4 in Maine, then the super long trip back to NS.3.2KViews0likes10Comments
Groups
Bucket List Trips
Bucketlist destinations you just can't miss. Which spots stick with you?Jan 18, 202513,487 Posts
