East Coast Tour GTA to Halifax

Fellow motorcyclist,

My dad and I are Planning a 10 day trip out east from the GTA, crossing the border at the thousand islands/Gan. Just wondering if you guys had any must see spots and great place to stay? We plan on camping and staying in hotels/motels and ending up in Halifax if all goes well!! We have been out east before but only through Canada so we would like to see the Eastern USA.

Our temporary route as it sits takes on to Lake Placid, into New Hampshire then to Maine and up. I have done a bit of research online but that never goes as far as first hand experience!

Hope to hear from you guys! :cool:

I've got a thread below, in this section
My States/East Coast Trip, I crossed where you're planning to & went through the States.

I would consider planning to at least stop in Digby, it was an interesting place. Convenient if you're taking the Acadia Ferry! I picked a bad route through the Adirondacks, but I don't have a better one to suggest.

Also there's more than one place called Newport in that side of the States. Maybe obvious in hindsight, but I wasn't using a GPS and it tripped me up. :P

I did a VERY similar trip last year. If you want a very unique and amazing riding experience, plan to visit Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done on a motorcycle, but it is not for the faint of hart! If Mt. Washington is not for you, at least plan to travel through the White Mountain region of NH as it was the most beautiful riding of my life. I could happily take 4-5 days just to ride around that area. As for traveling through Maine, take the time to swing further south/east and ride the coast. We made the mistake of riding through central Maine up to Saint John New Brunswick and it was a very boring, straight ride.

http://www.motorcycleroads.us/

This website was very useful for us when planning our route through the States. I would definately use it again.

I used to go to school out east and drove back and forth many times. Done both the US route and the transcanada route. US route is more time consuming and the speed limit jumps all over the place. I always did the drive in one shot so I'm not sure of places to stay along the way but I can recommend stuff all through Nova Scotia if you want. I went to Placid last year and would recommend the Art Devlin Motor Inn as a good place to stay. A buddy and I found a random motel for $50 just outside of Lake Placid and it was nasty. Also Tail of the Pup is a great rib place near there. As for the ferry from St. Johns to Digby its a good rest but its 3 hours to get to a place you can see from the start if it's a nice day. If you are referring to the Cat from Bar Harbour to Yarmouth, that ship has sailed. (Pardon the pun, it was discontinued in 2010) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...iling-300.html Let me know if you want any recommendations.

I assume the Cabot Trail is on your itinerary. If you want a suggestion for a motel along there there are some little Cabins in Ingonish that are really nice, with jacuzzis and satelite TV. Igonish is towards the end of the trail if you enter by the Big Red Barn. If you're traveling off season the prices are reasonable. I got one for about $100. I dont remember the name of the place, but its the one that's ocean side attached to a restaurant (You'll see what I mean when you're there). The guy who runs it is a racist idiot, but he treated me well. I would also recommend taking the Sunshine trail, which is an alternative route to Cape Breton from the main highway. Its a great way to see the province.

im doing a 10 dayer out there as well this summer. have a look at my itinerary for some thoughts. my main focus is the maritimes with a quick sight through the USA coming home.

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...ast-Coast-trip

I've done the trip about fifty times (all by car unfortunately). If you like beer there's plenty of good microbreweries down there so be sure to sample something different at mealtime (especially in the Dartmouth area). St Andrews is nice to see (stay at the Fairmont Algonquin there for a nice treat).
If you were riding an adventure bike I'd tell you the really cool places to see ;)

Gents,

I really appreciate all the recommendations and will definitely plan to see what we can!!

This being our first large trip, is there anything you guys overlooked when it came to packing that you wish you would have strapped on the bike?

I can tell you are a rookie - cross at Prescott, PRESCOTT and don't bother with highway 3...