Cabot Trail through the States route | GTAMotorcycle.com

Cabot Trail through the States route

I've got one saved on my computer, I'll try and dig it out of my mapsource, now using Basecamp and having issues with compatibility.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
 
I'm also planning a trip to the East Coast this year. We are going to leave from GTA, head through Albany to Boston, then up the coast to New Brunswick, into Nova Scotia/Cape Breton and then onwards (and eventually home) from there. Here are some of the routes that I'm considering.

Hwy 2 from Albany to Boston was recommended to me by some folks on another forum:
https://goo.gl/maps/FooBwdQdaxD2

Route from Boston to New Brunswick via a short highway section followed by the coastal highway. This route was also recommended to me by the same folks. They suggested not to take hwy 1 the entire way because, with the traffic, it's way too slow.
https://goo.gl/maps/uo4Jtp9Qwi82

Something really interesting that I discovered are the cable ferries north of Saint John. I think they would be a fun thing to add to the adventure so I'll probably use a couple of them (more might start to get a bit tiring).
http://www.discoverthepassage.com/FerriesBrochure.pdf

If you're looking for a place to sleep near Cheticamp, I highly recommend the Yellow Sidecar Inn. My wife and I stayed there a few years ago and we really enjoyed it.
http://www.theyellowsidecarbnb.com/bed-breakfast/

I haven't looked at any interesting routes to get to Cheticamp. We will be staying a night at Fundy National Park and then riding from there to Cheticamp. That'll be a fairly long day so some of it will be the superslab, at least until we get to Cape Breton. That route might look something like this:
https://goo.gl/maps/S2UH1dY87do

We haven't planned our route home yet so please share anything interesting that you find.

Enjoy the ride!
 
when you ride the cabot trail do it counter clockwise.
i stayed at the trailsman motel last summer when i did it, it was the cheapest place we could find, it was waterfront, and there was a giftshop/restaurant about 2 min down the road called the red barn that was good.

also, get a hold of cabot trail rider on facebook, his name is daniel. good guy if you want to get any info off a local...but hes technically from PEI.
 
mroberto said:
They suggested not to take hwy 1 the entire way because, with the traffic, it's way too slow.
https://goo.gl/maps/uo4Jtp9Qwi82
Click to expand...

I did this trip last year, and I agree - hwy 1 was clogged with cottage traffic and frequent construction delays. It was frustrating and I bailed on it much earlier than I had planned. If I were to do this again, I'd have stayed further north; probably going through White Mountain national forest instead.

I found the #3/30/28N section through upper NY to be the most enjoyable section of my route through the states. Nice scenery, and it was empty of traffic when I went through mid-week.
 
i stayed in canada the whole drive... left toronto by the CNE at about 8pm, had a 1 hr lay over in trenton to visit a friend and got there in about 20 hrs.
 
I went east a few years back, I did it all through the states, some really nice riding. I crossed at Niagara and headed to the Adirondacks. Rode through from Old Forge, NY to the eastern side of the Adirondacks and took a ferry to Vermont (only about a 30 min ferry crossing). All nice country roads and highways from there out, went right by Mt. Washington which is a big draw for many. It only really got boring when I got closer to New Brunswick in Maine. I agree with EaZ8, do it counter clockwise keeping the coast on your right all the time, that is what I did and would do it again without question.

When I did the Cabot I left pretty early in the morning, partially to beat traffic, it was June or July so tourist season. Also did it to try and beat the weather, though that did not work out well for me. It was on the road around 6:30 am or so, was very nice pretty much dead out there. Met a few other bikers at a few stops along the way with the same idea.


 
EaZ8 said:
i stayed in canada the whole drive... left toronto by the CNE at about 8pm, had a 1 hr lay over in trenton to visit a friend and got there in about 20 hrs.
Click to expand...

Was that on a bike? When I drove to NS in the car, this is close to what we did as well. GTA to Moncton all in Canada in about 16 or 18 hours. It was a long day. Wouldn't be fun at all on the bike.
 
mroberto said:
What is the benefit of doing the Cabot Trail counter-clockwise?
Click to expand...

The coast always at your right, your view never interrupted by traffic and much easier to pull into the countless lookouts rather then stopping and making a left turn.
 
I would advise the all Canadian route. It will allow you to do the Gaspe loop which is worth the time and effort.
Assuming you have the time of course.
As stated earlier, avoid US 1 in Maine. It is absolutely crammed in the summer.
 
wonderings said:
The coast always at your right, your view never interrupted by traffic and much easier to pull into the countless lookouts rather then stopping and making a left turn.
Click to expand...

The downside is all the traffic is going the same direction as you, I always go clockwise, but a ride sport bikes, not much time to look at the ocean, until I pull into a lookout. If you want food my buds family owns the mountain view restaurant, just before the national park entrance, just after the switchbacks if traveling clockwise.
 
I took careful notes on my route through the Adirondacks and promptly lost them in a box of paperwork somewhere. All I can say is take care going through there - it is actually possible to plan a tedious and uninteresting route through the mountains.

Also, on the clockwise-counterclockwise Cabot Trail thing - going counter clockwise I did get stuck behind "traffic" (not really dense, just slow but deep enough that I wasn't going to pass on the windier bits), and you kinda have to be paying attention to whats in front of you anyway (moose, weekender Camrys crossing the line, deadly cliffs, moose) so your opportunities to take in the scenery while on the move are limited. I recommend making allowance for frequent stops for photo ops / wistful gazing. Also don't be a knucklehead like me and forget to leave enough time to see Meat Cove...
 
Yeah, I'm not too worried about the counter clockwise thing.
I'm sure the view is there anyhow and I don't think I'll have too much difficulty pulling over if there's a neat place. I'd rather go against the majority of traffic instead.

I'm also not rushing to get there. For me the trip is the fun part. That's why I'm going through the States. ... Because they have better roads and way more of them. Slabbing on 401 kills my soul.

As for the Meat Cove - on a KLR, I'd do it no problem. On a super sport - not sure if I feel like 8km of grave there and 8km back.

Anyone take HWY 9 instead of 1 in Maine? My plan was 1 but after what you guys said, I checked some more and it does seem to be a trap.

And for Gaspe, maybe on the way back but most likely I'll be going through the States both ways just different route.
 
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DemonPig said:
Anyone take HWY 9 instead of 1 in Maine? My plan was 1 but after what you guys said, I checked some more and it does seem to be a trap.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I took #9 after I bailed on #1 near Bangor. #9 was fairly nondescript but serviceable - nothing too remarkable about it that I recall. #1 might be okay east of Bangor, but I had run out of patience by that point.
 
I was on #9 (going east from Bangor) last September. # 1 was too congested. #9 was an OK road, not to scenic but lots of twists and turns. I was in the car but I thought it would be a great road to bike. Seemed to be lot of bikes on it. We were warned to watch our speed on 9 because of radar traps but never saw one.
 
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