Toronto to the Cabot Trail - September 2015

Looking to ride from the Toronto area to the Cabot Trail in early September. Have heard that the roads through Vermont and New Hampshire are not very good right now - in disrepair after the last few winters. Can anyone recommend the best route/roads to take if we go through VT, NH and Maine? Want some scenic roads but not if the asphalt is crappy! May have to reconsider and go riding through Pennsylvania, W. Virginia, Virginia...?

I was on the famous 112 through NH last month. It was rough

Why not do the all Canadian route.
it's a little longer, but you can do the Gaspe run on the same trip.
Two great rides for the same price.

I got back from a similar trip a couple of weeks ago. I crossed the border at Ogdensburg and headed southeast through NY to Queensbury, then over to Concord, NH (10 hours riding time on the first day). If I were to do it again, I'd spend quite a bit more time to explore on this segment of the trip. All the roads I took were very lightly traveled and in good shape.

Second day was another 10 hours to Amherst, NS. I do not recommend taking the #1 through Maine - it was nice and scenic along the coast, but it was also rammed full of vacation/cottage traffic and road construction.

I came back through NB and Quebec, but only because I didn't want to be traveling through the states on the July 4th weekend. Maybe it is because I've done this route many times in a car, but I can't recommend it unless you're making the effort to do Gaspe. The highway is just mind numbing. Going through the states gives you many more options to hop off the highway when you get bored, and then to hop back on when you want to put on some miles.

If you are worried about road conditions, you should prepare yourself for NB and NS. The secondary roads between population centres are generally pretty good, but the less used ones can be in truly awful shape. I enjoyed these roads on the bike since they are almost completely empty of traffic, and part of the fun is avoiding the potholes, but I can see how that would not be everyone's cup of tea. Driving a car on them can be miserable since you can't weave your way through the holes like on a bike.

Also plan on doing a cabot trip around the same time. Would like to know some of best routes as well!

Actually have two good sources that have complained to me about the roads in VT and NH...one rode as recently as last weekend through both states.

i just got back but stayed in canada the whole trip. road pavement was fine.

one warning for ya on the cabot trail, if you go counterclockwise its awesome but there is a tight right turn onto a bridge within the first 20 min (ill see if i can flip through vids and see find out where it was exactly), big dip that you can barely see and could really twist your front end if you are in a solid lean. i went a little wider on that corner and just started to straighten up when i bottomed out the forks on my 600rr on it.
then there is about 20 min of very sketchy, patchy pavement....after that its amazing.

the end of the Cabot Trail if you go counterclockwise you will end up at the red barn gift shop/restaurant. Trailsman Motel is just down the road from there and was the cheapest place i could find, also was fairly good too.

Gotta say riding all the way to Cabot Trail is a lot of work for the best part of the trail (along the ocean) which is about a 90 minute stretch of road, and when weather allows decent visibility (frequent periods of drizzle and intermittent fog, depending on time of year) . Vermont roads are terrible, but New Hampshire is much better and you should take in the road up Mount Washington. No idea on Maine roads. If you go and are a history buff, be sure to spend a day at Fort Louisbourg and experience actors enacting daily life back then.

Would definitely recommend PA, Virginia, etc. which are located in the Appalachian Mountains and have no end to the best riding roads in North Eastern USA.