Looking for route from Toronto to Kingston

Hey everyone!

I'm heading out to Kingston over the September long weekend, leaving Toronto on Saturday morning, and heading back early Monday morning.

This is my first longer solo ride (just got my bike this summer), and I was wondering if anyone has any good routes to head out there. I'm not looking to spend ALL day on the road as I'm visiting family out there and want to make sure I have ample time with them, but I also don't mind avoiding the 401, or parts of the 401.

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing some suggestions!

-Nick

Hmm - new rider on a long weekend - depends on where you are in Toronto....

The 401 east of Pickering is likely you safest bet - HWT 2 will be slow.

You could slip up to 7 then down. Faster than 2 but slower than the 401. Depends on your tolerance for slab.
Find a car going at a comfortable speed for you and pace behind it ( a vehicle you can see through ) and get used to swinging our from the right lane at exits then back in.

IF however you leave at 5 am you will have fairly light traffic.
MAke sure you have ear plugs and wear them.

Good .luck - enjoy.

HWY 2 is pretty but a lot of towns.

If you don't want to spend a lot of time your options are limited. My preference given time would be to head north east...then east and then south into Kingston as you'll have way more options for better rides than the 401. You could also get off the 401 around Trenton and head into Prince Edward County, through the "island", going through Picton town and then either take the Glenora Ferry onto 33 towards Bath and Kingston, or head up to Deseronto and take highway 2 to Kingston.

Your best bet is taking the 401 to Kingston, and then do some exploring during the weekend in the morning if you're up for that. This way you have minimal travel time TO-Kingston-TO. You have Prince Edward County which is a nice to explore, but will be very busy on a long weekend. Go north of Kingston and there's some roads up there just from looking on a map. But I'm sure there's more experienced riders that can guide you to specific routes.

2 would be the obvious answer. The problem is, Hwy. 2 is also the main street for every small town between here and Kingston.
Lights, traffic and 40 km/hr speed limits.
As it is your first trip, I would make a very early start and use the 401.
Mimico polak made an excellent suggestion of going through Prince Edward county, especially if you will be making an early start.

Really depends on where you are starting from in Toronto, and also how long are you willing to spend getting there. If time is of no concern, then I'd say head up to HWY 7 and take that across until Whitby/Brooklyn, duck north through Port Perry, and then take 7A into Omemee. Once there, come down Old Ski Hill until it connects up with HWY 2. Then go straight down to where 2 continues in Port Hope, and take that through to Kingston.

Another option would be to stay up north (around HWY 7 on the east side of the 115/Peterborough) or take the 401 to the 115, to 7, and take that across until you are above Kingston, then pick a road (in advance) to descend down. Just make sure if you are taking smaller routes to double check for fuel stop well within the range of your bike.

mimico_polak said:

Your best bet is taking the 401 to Kingston, and then do some exploring during the weekend in the morning if you're up for that. This way you have minimal travel time TO-Kingston-TO. You have Prince Edward County which is a nice to explore, but will be very busy on a long weekend. Go north of Kingston and there's some roads up there just from looking on a map. But I'm sure there's more experienced riders that can guide you to specific routes.

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Prince Edward County is gridlocked in Picton town on a weekend and slow through Bloomfield, but traffic moves well everywhere else. Plus Picton really isn't very big and its only a 10-20 minute delay usually. Getting on the Glenora ferry might be slow depending on when you arrive though but you're travelling in the best direction for a speedy ferry ride, it's the opposite direction that will have lineups in the morning. Unlike a lot of other ferries you have to wait in line on a bike for this one. Very scenic if you can get on though.

I'm a big fan of the roads around highway 7 north and northwest of Kingston. I took Macdoc around a few of them recently. South of highway 7 they can still be entertaining but not as much as the ones around Kaladar up around Mazinaw lake. If you really want some nice roads back to Kingston try the following:

Get Yourself to highway 7 somehow and then just east of Kaladar take Arden Rd south to Tamworth. From Tamworth you have a few options to get back to Kingston on backroads but unfortunately, one of the nicest is being paved...and unless you like off-roading on dusty big gravel chunks I'd avoid it. So stay away from Mountain Rd from Tamworth going east to Parham unless you get a construction update. If it is now paved that road is excellent.

option 2 is continue on Highway 7 past Sharbot Lake and Silver lake, and take Bollingbrooke Rd south to Westport. From Westport take Westport Rd west (yes I know it's the wrong direction but bear with me) to highway 38, then highway 38 into Kingston. Not far from the town of Westport on Westport Rd you'll come across the most entertaining set of curves in the whole area as far as I'm concerned. Just keep your eyes on the road though and not the lake or the cliffs at the sides and understand that on these curves the 20kmh advisory...is not a joke.

option 2 is the more entertaining but will take a bit more time because of the direction change.

From Westport, you can take Perth Rd. south to Kingston. While the curves may not be as good as on Westport Rd., they are certainly impressive.
Perth Rd. becomes Division St. in Kingston once you are south of Hwy. 401.

statsman said:

From Westport, you can take Perth Rd. south to Kingston. While the curves may not be as good as on Westport Rd., they are certainly impressive.
Perth Rd. becomes Division St. in Kingston once you are south of Hwy. 401.

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usually I'd agree but this year Perth Rd has some massive tar strips right in the corners in places that unsettle my bike and make the tire skip. It's a shame as there's some freshly (ish) paved sections too but they are connected by the messy repair job portions.

Don't forget that that Sunday is most likely the move in date for Queen's students. Yep, Sept 6th. Kingston is liable to be very busy.

Personally, I'd go up North and then back down. Maybe up through Bancroft and Denbigh and then back down through Napanee to highway 2?

Not quite north enough to get to the 500 series, but not bad roads. Just be careful of the cell phone coverage and know your gas tank limits.

Baggsy said:

Don't forget that that Sunday is most likely the move in date for Queen's students. Yep, Sept 6th. Kingston is liable to be very busy.

Personally, I'd go up North and then back down. Maybe up through Bancroft and Denbigh and then back down through Napanee to highway 2?

Not quite north enough to get to the 500 series, but not bad roads. Just be careful of the cell phone coverage and know your gas tank limits.

Click to expand...

I try to be out of town on that day. It's also, coincidentally I'm sure, the day when I find the most out of town drivers driving the wrong way down one way streets.

Do you have a kid going to Queens?

jc100 said:

usually I'd agree but this year Perth Rd has some massive tar strips right in the corners in places that unsettle my bike and make the tire skip. It's a shame as there's some freshly (ish) paved sections too but they are connected by the messy repair job portions.

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I rode it in June. No problems.

Slab it on the 401 to Mill street and then take this route. As a new rider, you are probably looking for something simple.

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/43.9...0x4cd2b2747e965a03:0x1e1441097907c746!1m0!3e0

RebelSoul said:

Hey everyone!

I'm heading out to Kingston over the September long weekend, leaving Toronto on Saturday morning, and heading back early Monday morning.

This is my first longer solo ride (just got my bike this summer), and I was wondering if anyone has any good routes to head out there. I'm not looking to spend ALL day on the road as I'm visiting family out there and want to make sure I have ample time with them, but I also don't mind avoiding the 401, or parts of the 401.

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing some suggestions!

-Nick

Click to expand...

ZX600 said:

Slab it on the 401 to Mill street and then take this route. As a new rider, you are probably looking for something simple.

Click to expand...

Simple, more scenic, and less traffic is this, starting at Mill St, ending at the Kingston-Wolfe Island ferry ramp.

Includes a free and short ride on the Glenora ferry. Goes by Millhaven, Bath, Collins Bay, and (now closed) Kingston penitentiaries so the OP can stop in and see relatives on the way by.

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/43.9...0x4cd2acc6da6a0b1d:0x73592dc531a386a7!1m0!3e0